In 2005, the movie "Robots" premiered. "Robots" features Rodney Copperbottom, a young, idealistic inventor determined to make the world a better place. Rodney's hero is a well-known inventor named Bigweld who's catchphrase has been used in many different contexts since the movie's release: See a need, fill a need! That is exactly what this month's featured human trafficking abolitionist did! He saw a need and was determined to do something about it.

Ryan Berg was preparing for a work trip to India when he saw a disturbing story on a cable news program. Children were being rescued from human trafficking in a brothel in the very city he was about to visit. Three weeks later, Berg saw for himself just how devastating and expansive the issue of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking in this area, was. While trying to assist these people stuck in the brothels with no hope to spare, a pimp's words demonstrated how traffickers operated with seemingly brazen impunity. "You do-gooders show up one day late and leave one day early." This story of passivity was not to be the case for Ryan and his wife, however. Instead, they saw this glaring need and decided to fill it in specific and holistic ways. They didn't assume they had any answers so they embedded in the area and started by asking about a million questions to government officials, NGO leaders, and women in brothels, learning all that they could about this problem, and the best ways to help. They discovered that sustainable employment and holistic care were essential to bring people out of slavery and into lifelong freedom. As a result., they created the Aruna Project.

The Aruna Project is an impact driven athleisure brand creating lifelong freedom for victims of human trafficking through employment marked by holistic care. Aruna frees the women through their Training Centers in the heart of some of the highest concentrations of sex trafficking in South Asia. The Training Center teams enter the brothels to help map a pathway toward freedom for those held inside. During small windows of time the Training Center is able to provide Skill & Trade development and Trauma Counseling and Care leading to empowering the women to step into freedom. Once freed, through the Freedom Business, Aruna provides survivors with everything from safe housing to  ongoing trauma counseling to employment with a living wage and even a retirement plan! All of the Aruna products are produced by these freed women and sold in select retail locations and online at ArunaProject.com enabling Aruna to employ women freed in the US as well. 

If you are interested in hearing more about the Aruna Project, please feel free to visit their website!