#85 | From Poverty to Purpose: A Movement to Empower Young Girls in India

ConservationEnvironmentWildlifeAnimal WelfareNon-ProfitCommunity PartnershipsPowered by Women

Sep 10

Written By Deborah Rohan

🎧 Full Episode: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

When given the tools of empowerment, young girls in India’s slums are proving that hope, support, and faith can break even the toughest chains of generational poverty.

Click HERE to support the opening of a Tailoring Training Center for young girls in Calcutta.

*Help Molly and Kayla support ASHA'S work in India*

Kayla and Molly, two American volunteers in India, alongside Sarah Davison Tracy, founder of Seeds of Exchange, are supporting a life-changing initiative called Asha.

Asha, which is Hindi for Hope, is part of Momentum Global’s mission to empower young girls and women living in extreme poverty. Their work focuses on preventing child marriages and human trafficking by equipping these young women with skills for sustainable work through the creation of a tailoring training center.

Help exploited girls in India learn a trade.

Help us raise $5,000 to establish a tailoring vocational training center for the Asha girls. This center will give them the skills and independence to build brighter futures and avoid the traps of early marriage and exploitation and break the chains of generational poverty.

"Some of these girls don’t even understand what it means to have worth, and that's why the work Asha is doing is so vital.” — Kayla

Kayla

A courageous volunteer with a profound story of survival, Kayla has faced addiction, sexual exploitation, and a near-death experience. These struggles have given her a unique ability to relate to the young women of the Asha program, who face similar threats of exploitation.

Kayla’s journey from despair to recovery fuels her passion for helping vulnerable women, offering them hope and the tools to build a better future. Kayla works at Safe Places for Women and leads an addiction recovery group at her church.

“I feel like I didn’t have a voice for so long and am finally settling into using it.”

*Kayla with young girl in the Asha program, Calcutta, India.*

"It's about empowering these young girls who society views as outcasts, showing them they have value and that their future is filled with possibilities." — Molly

Molly

A passionate advocate for women’s empowerment, Molly has risen from the depths of addiction, sexual exploitation, and intense personal struggles. Her own experiences of overcoming exploitation allow her to deeply connect with the Asha girls, inspiring them to break free from cycles of oppression. Molly’s powerful story of recovery and resilience drives her mission to empower vulnerable women, helping them find hope and purpose.

Molly has been able to work both locally and internationally serving different populations in need for the last 6.5 years. She’s based out of Oklahoma where she enjoys indoor rock climbing and hanging out with her bearded dragon, Oscar. She’s currently pursuing higher education in the mental health field.

Sarah Davison Tracy: Founder, Seeds of Exchange

In this episode, we discuss:

The mission of Asha and how it empowers girls and women in India.
Personal reflections from Kayla and Molly on their life experiences and how these have influenced their desire to help vulnerable girls and women locally and internationally.
The Seeds of Exchange fundraiser led by Sarah Davison Tracy to establish a vocational tailoring center to offer a sustainable future for the girls in the Asha program.
The power of faith in restoring life and hope.
The transformative power of turning pain into purpose.