Uganda 2019
In collaboration with
Willow International and Hart Yoga
In October 2019, we collaborated with Willow International and Hart Yoga to bring trauma informed yoga leadership training to a group of 10 women survivors of human trafficking in Kampala, Uganda.
Willow International’s mission is to eradicate human trafficking starting at the root of the problem.
By working collaboratively with the Ugandan Government, as well as local Ugandan and international organizations, Willow aids in the rescue of victims and restoration of survivors. In addition, through international partnerships Willow provides legal aid to those in Willow’s care, disseminates information throughout Uganda, educates and empowers communities to prevent trafficking, and advocates for the strengthening of the criminal justice system. In partnership with state prosecutors, Willow is helping survivors bring their traffickers to justice. to the success of our program, Willow remains the government’s top aftercare referral agency for victims of sex and labor trafficking.
Willow in numbers:
573 women and children served to date
5% success rate in preventing re-victimization
220 women and children served in 2018
53 survivors graduated from willow’s aftercare program in 2018
150 judges trained on anti-trafficking laws in 2018
$1.3 million estimated budget for 2019
Healing and Resilience through Yoga
Hart Yoga is a twelve week psycho-social intervention for survivors of human trafficking developed in collaboration with Willow International in 2016. Informed by recent advances in trauma theory and neuroscience, Hart Yoga aims to create a nurturing environment where women and girls that have survived human trafficking can reconnect with their inner resilience, build a supportive community, and overcome the psychological effects of trauma. The program is survivor centered, emphasizing self-directed, intentional movement in an environment explicitly designed to promote safety, trust, and interpersonal connection. The curriculum evolves over twelve weeks, and is organized around three primary themes: Grounding, Gratitude, and Inner-strengths.
Hart Yoga by the numbers:
Since its inception, four groups of women and girls have completed Hart Yoga
Data from a pilot in 2017 showed improvement across ten self-reported indicators for depression, as well as self-rated perceptions of self-esteem and body image
Hart Yoga is currently undergoing steps to register as a charity in the United States
Kenya 2019
In collaboration with
RefuSHE and Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO)
Our first of two trainings in Nairobi, Kenya, in close collaboration with RefuSHE, we trained 11 amazing, inspirational women from across Africa in trauma informed yoga and tools for self regulation.
During our second week of training in Kenya, working with Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in the Kibera area of Nairobi, we witnessed the journey of 12 energetic and motivated young women. As a special treat, on the last day of the training, one of the women who graduated from the RefuSHE training the week before came to share her experience with the girls, and tell them how she has been using the practices in her daily life.
Over the first six days, we trained 11 amazing, inspirational women in trauma informed yoga and tools for self regulation at RefuSHE, the first and only organization dedicated to unaccompanied refugee girls in Nairobi, Kenya.
The young women in RefuSHE's programs have been separated from their families or orphaned due to war, conflict, violence, and terrorism in their country of origin. RefuSHE supports the girls in the areas of safehouse, education, economic empowerment, and case management, including trauma informed, psychosocial counseling.
Unaccompanied girls in Nairobi face unique risk factors, including: sexualized violence and physical abuse, marginalization, transient and hostile living environments, domestic servitude, a higher risk of depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and stress-related conditions, higher rates of illiteracy and fewer avenues for achieving self-sufficiency, higher risk of forced marriage and early pregnancy, higher risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Genital Cutting (FGC), xenophobia, extortion, and persecution from host communities.
The second week, we collaborated with Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO). Their mission is to address systematic urban poverty in East Africa’s largest slum – Kibera – by providing critical services, operating community advocacy platforms, and building female leadership to create lasting change.
SHOFCO also combats gender-based violence (GBV) by promoting community awareness and prevention, as well as providing survivors with psycho-social support - counseling, safe house shelter, and legal assistance. We will lead the OMPowerment training at the SHOFCO school for girls in Kibera, where a team of social workers and counselors support girls who’ve been affected by GBV, providing them with the above services, and a trauma informed yoga program called Growing Girl Gurus.
We witnessed the journey of 12 young women. As a special treat, on the last day of the training, one of the women who graduated from the RefuSHE training the week before came to share her experience with the girls, and tell them how she has been using the practices in her daily life.