Project
Ashshash Phase II: For Men and Women Who Have Escaped Trafficking
Funder: The Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh
Project Timeline: June 1, 2023 - May 31, 2027
Country: Bangladesh
Program Areas: Human Rights, Education and Empowerment , Countering Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Entrepreneurship
Contacts: Aicha Traore, aicha.traore@winrock.org and Dipta Rakshit, drakshit@winrock.org
The second phase of Winrock International’s Ashshash project is being implemented in Bangladesh, in collaboration with local partners and governmental agencies. Ashshash is funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh. The project works to ensure the protection of human trafficking survivors through various social and economic support services. And, prevent trafficking across at-risk and vulnerable communities in Bangladesh through various awareness activities. The project provides psychosocial counselling to human trafficking survivors directly, their families, and community members, under the umbrella of social services. It also provides healthcare and legal support to the survivors through referrals. Under the umbrella of economic services, Ashshash provides training on vocational skills and entrepreneurship, and subsequently enables wage and self-employment opportunities for the survivors. Ashshash also works to forge strategic partnerships with key governmental and private sector stakeholders of the country, and capacitate service-providers to avail various support services in a more effective manner, with increased accountability. Thus, committing to the project’s motto that ‘men and women who have escaped trafficking will improve their physical, social, and economic wellbeing through project-enabled support services’. The second phase of the project will be implemented in ten of the most trafficking-prone districts across Bangladesh.
Ashshash Phase II builds on key lessons learned from the first phase, expanding important local partnerships to support the delivery of a more comprehensive and personalized package of social and economic support services. The Ashshash team will achieve this through continued to collaborations, and by strengthening institutional capacities to manage cases and provide trauma-informed, better-adapted services.
