Episode #364: April Berg, Aruna Project, Co-Founder & Customer Experience Director

April Berg is the Co-Founder & Customer Experience Director of the Aruna Project, an incredible organization which empowers women through employment. The Project, "Creates lifelong freedom marked by holistic care for victims of human trafficking. Products are crafted in freedom by skilled Artisans who are finding their voice, experiencing independence and growing with a sisterhood of others who have overcome."

They've employed over 120 women since they began in 2015 (products launched in 2018) with 60 women currently employed, and they look to bring on 3 new women per month. Their training center serves over 3,000 in the redlight area in India which they started from. "Will never employ a woman unless we can fully sustain her ongoing," states Berg.

She continues, "Everything that we create . . . was made by women who we've helped set free and have overcome quite awful situations. We provide sustainable employment through holistic care so they're fully sustained. And then our products are sold and marketed here in the USA." 

Her life was forever changed when her and her husband on a trip to India--witnessed a two square mile area with over 15,000 sex slaves existing in tiny corridor and awful living situations. She and her whole family returned, embedded in the area and spent months researching mission, vision, values of other organizations before they launched. 

She discusses how they fund the business, how they train the women to not only live their life after they get out of the brothel, but then to get them into work, how they compete with other, larger athleisure brands, plans for working with the HALO sector, and more. 

Be sure to reach out to April to inquire about donating, or if your organization would consider reselling their items. Lots of possibilities here for brick and mortar facilities of all sizes!  

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