I feel like before I continue I need to set the scene a little bit and tell you about Freeset.
Freeset is a Freedom business in Sonagachi, the largest red light district in India. Freeset employs woman who are trapped in the sex trafficking business. They sew jute bags and t-shirts and offer fair wages to woman who want out from the line.
Freeset's goal is to help other Freedom businesses get started in Sonagachi and turns this red light district into a business district! As of right now there are other freedom businesses such as The Loyal Workshop and Sari Bari. I will be talking about these business in a different blog post though.
Freeset recently bought the Gateway building. The Gateway building sits at the edge of Sonagachi and once renovations are done the hope is to turn it into a place where woman can feel safe, have tea with friends and also expand their t -shirt making business.
The renovations are slow (like everything in India) but there are a ton of volunteers helping with the work. Our goal was to support the people working at Freeset and the Gateway Building in any way we could.
That meant a few of us worked in the IT department, others did electric work, some others painted and then there was Kristen, Leslie and I and we got to clean toilets...
At first, I was like "I came all the way to India to clean toilets?" But, I soon realized how much of a blessing it was for the people living and working long hours at the Gateway Building to come home to deep cleaned bathrooms. It was just one tiny thing that they didn't have to worry about.
So we spent the majority of our first day cleaning bathrooms. It was no easy task with limited supplies and all we wanted was a large bottle of bleach and some rags! But we got the job done.
Hopefully, this gave you a little overview of Freeset. Please check out their website HERE and also their Cincinnati warehouse on Riverside Dr! Their T-shirts are amazing quality and just knowing what a difference Freeset is making in India is all I need to know to support them!
