New PUNJAMMIES™ Available Online!
Check out our NEW bold, bright PUNJAMMIES™ online!
Posted on Jul 14, 2009
IPP Visits an Aftercare Clinic In the Red LIght District
We arrived in Mumbai yesterday and had the tremendous opportunity today to visit the Red Light District from which many of the women at our sewing centers are rescued. It was election day in Mumbai and a national holiday, so traffic was light, and we were able to drive through different parts of the city. When we arrived in the Red Light District, it was late morning, and many women were already working the lines. We met with several social workers and a doctor at a clinic run by the aftercare center with which our first sewing center is affiliated. Several of the social workers at the clinic are former prostitutes who have restored their lives and returned to help other women do the same. Out of the twelve of them we met, eleven had been working at the clinic for over a decade. The twelfth had been there only three months. Each woman spoke a different indigenous Indian language, and they all spoke Hindi, so their capacity for reaching out to women from all backgrounds is immense.
It was a privilege to meet with these individuals who are working on the forefront of the fight against human trafficking. They are the ones who go out into the District on a daily basis to meet the women working the lines. They established their clinic as a safe place for the women to come for help -- both medical and emotional -- and eventually provide the escape for women who desire to flee their lives of prostitution. The clinic has been in the District for over a decade and has become a safe-haven for many women and their children, as well as men suffering from drug addiction.
Posted on Apr 30, 2009
We’re off!
We will be traveling in India for the next several weeks and look forward to keeping you posted about our adventures here on the IPP blog. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit the ladies working in IPP sewing centers, provide some updated training for them and bring some resources to the after-care providers. We leave within hours so stay tuned for updates from the other side of the globe!
Posted on Apr 27, 2009
Pull on your PUNJAMMIE™ Party Pizzazz!
Looking for a practical, fun way that you can help spread the word about International Princess™ Project?
Host a PUNJAMMIE™ Party!
A PUNJAMMIE™ Party is a gathering of friends and acquaintances, who would like to know more about the reality of human trafficking and what they can do to help ease the suffering of its victims in India. Guests are empowered with knowledge of the reality of forced prostitution, the opportunity to provide hope for its victims through purchasing PUNJAMMIES™, and the chance to get involved further in the many opportunities International Princess™ Project provides.
We need your help to spread the word and sell PUNJAMMIES™! Please contact us at for more information on hosting a party.
Thank you for supporting International Princess™ Project!
Posted on Mar 04, 2009
New PUNJAMMIES™ Available Now
New PUNJAMMIES™ are on our online store! Please visit our website at http://www.punjammies.com to check out the re-stock of the popular styles Seema and Nanu. Both styles have been startlingly popular. They capture the vivacity of India in their vibrant red and rich green tones. Sizes XS-XXL are available.
Many of our supporters have noticed that we are low on the inventory of our larger sizes of PUNJAMMIES™. So many people support the rehabilitation of our women in India, that the demand for the PUNJAMMIES™ they make surpasses our supply. We are thrilled at the prospect of helping many other young women discover a new life! Like any young organization, we are working on ironing out a few wrinkles in the production process and hope to be producing many more PUNJAMMIES™ in the next several months. Please keep checking back for updates, and feel free to contact us anytime!
Thank you for supporting International Princess™ Project!
Posted on Feb 25, 2009
Local Child Prostitution
This morning a quick survey of Yahoo news displayed the following headline: "FBI, police rescue child prostitutes around US". Apparantly, the FBI, with collaboration from many different police forces and district attorneys offices (including some in Southern California, where IPP is headquartered) rescued 48 suspected teenage prostitutes, some of whom were as young as 13 (associated press). They also arrested many people in conjunction with prostitution rings around the country.
Part of IPP's mission is to "Advocate for women and children forced into prostitution". It is a good reminder for everyone that child prostitution and sex trafficking are not only issues in India, or other third world countries. They are happening under our very noses in America as well. If you would like to learn more about Operation Cross County, a broader federal initiative launched in 2003 to crack down on the sexual exploitation of children, check out http://www.fbi.gov for more information.
Posted on Feb 24, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
Every year when “Oscar” time rolls around, there seems to be one little independent movie that enthralls critics and charms audiences. We are thrilled that this year that movie is Slumdog Millionaire. Not a big-budget thriller or period drama starring an A-list actor, the story of Jamal’s life slums of Mumbai is heart-wrenching and charming at the same time.
With a fairy-tale ending and even a Bollywood-style dance number at the end, it’s no wonder audiences love it. We also loved it because it put Mumbai, a city in our thoughts and prayers daily, on the big screen, front and center for millions to see.
Pretty and charming as a girl, the heroine, Latika begins as an orphan girl who bands together with Jamal and his brother for survival. Her story takes a dark turn as she is thrust into Mumbai’s red-light district, forced begin the life of a child prostitute.
Although Latika is fictional, her story gives voice to the voiceless hundreds of thousands of girls in India and millions worldwide for whom the horror of her story is real. Many of them start like Latika, orphaned and living on the street, just wanting to eat and find a shelter from the rain, picked up by corrupt gang leaders who prostitute children and inflict unspeakable terror on them.
Much to audience’s joy, Latika’s story has a happy ending. We believe there can be a happy ending - or beginning - for thousands more girls living in the brothels of Mumbai. We have had the privilege of seeing the faces of girls who are finding their dignity again, as they live free, learn a trade and begin to support themselves financially and emotionally. Redemption happens in real girls’ lives, and we work in hope that it continues to happen every day in our little IPP sewing centers in Mumbai and Southern India - one “Latika” at a time.
Posted on Feb 12, 2009
Join Our Facebook Cause!
http://www.causes.com/ipp Posted on Oct 27, 2008
