New Shelter Underway to Support Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
By Carlea Bauman
Photos Photographers Without Borders
Sambhali Trust has built a reputation for meeting the community’s needs wherever they are. This is true for women, girls, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or the general population during the height of the Covid crisis. That remarkable ability to pivot and respond has been made clear again with the creation of a new center, the Sambhali Sarai in Jodhpur, that will provide shelter and services for women fleeing abusive husbands and members of the LGBTQ+ community who have been banished from their homes due to discrimination. Vocational and educational programs will also be housed there.
In the past, women and their children escaping domestic violence would be temporarily housed within Sambhali’s boarding homes, which was not ideal for either the families in distress or the already busy boarding home girls. It became clear to the program administrators that the need for shelter had outgrown the space and had to expand. Additionally, there was no emergency shelter at all for members of the LGBTQ+ community, a hole in Sambhali’s stellar Garima project for the LGBTQ+ community that needed addressing.
Sarai is a local word that is a resting place for caravans or people on their lifelong journeys to rest for a while.
Sambhali U.S. was honored to be one of the founding donors of Sambhali Sarai, contributing $25,000 towards the purchase of the building that is currently being renovated for the shelter.
The Sambhali Sarai will be spacious, allowing Sambhali Trust to provide mental health services, counseling, education, and vocational support. All of this, of course, will be provided free of charge.
“The main reason was to provide shelter to these women and men who were coming to Sambhali looking for help because there was no other way out of the abuse they were experiencing.”
The upper floors will contain several separate shelters. The length of their stays and services provided will be determined on a case-by-case basis because, in true Sambhali fashion, the organization will work holistically to help those who seek shelter find a way to reestablish their lives, including providing vocational and educational training as needed. There will also be a much-needed drop-in center for members of the LGBTQ+ community. On the ground floor, Sambhali will establish a new Empowerment Center for women and adolescent girls and a Primary Education Center for young children, enabling Sambhali to provide educational and vocational services to both those in the shelter and the surrounding neighborhood.
“Sambhali U.S. Vice President Ginka Poole and I first learned about the plan for Sambhali Sarai when we were visiting Sambhali Trust programs this past winter. Staff discussed the dire needs of women and members of the LGBTQ+ community facing gender-based violence and how the Sambhali community could meet these needs through this multi-dimensional project. As we left the room we agreed that we didn’t think we could be any prouder to be a part of the Sambhali family, but indeed we now were.”
Make a donation to this amazing project today to support the on-going renovations and program development.