Sangeeta Giri led NGO equipping schoolchildren with skills to fend of sexual abuse.

A staggering 53% of Indian children face some form of sexual abuse while growing up. This statistic is enough to make one recoil in horror until one discovers the feeble attempts made by the government and private schools alike to bring this statistic down when the horror just doubles in intensity.

Sahas, a non-profit foundation, helmed by Sangeeta Giri, 43, in 2012, is working towards raising awareness and running safety programmes for children of age 2-10 years. Sahas was started in Hyderabad by Sangeeta's sister Sumana Rao and her childhood friend Chandana Raju. Sangeeta, whose is director of sales at VMWare India in her day job is in charge of the NGO' Bengaluru chapter.

However, sometimes just the intention to help is not enough. The NGO realised it the hard way when most schools refused to entertain them. "The private schools I reached out to did not have a set process. The government schools I spoke to were uncertain about how we could speak of sexual abuse as the topic was taboo," recalls Giri.

Ultimately, she reached out to minister of agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda. "He not only responded but put me in touch with his wife Meenakshi who helped me gain access to schools and gather volunteers," says Giri.

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Slowly, the initiative gained momentum. Money started coming in after the Giri invested the first ₹1,00,000 from her personal savings into Sahas. Continued interactions with schools showed Giri that government schools needed these workshops more than other schools. "Long distances from home to school, working parents who have no choice but to leave their children unattended and limited or no access to toilets at home keep these children in constant fear of abuse," she says.

Giri reveals that almost 95% of such incidents go unreported. It is only when you encourage children to speak that you realise the horrors that lie beneath the surface. As a part of the programme, a safety club book is distributed to kids on safety skills. The book has been designed with intuitive illustrations and covers topics that include safety at home, on the road, safety when the kids are on their own, good touch and bad touch. The book lists important numbers to remember and activities at the end that reinforce the learnings of the book. Sahas has close to 20 volunteers from different walks of life today.

Says Meenakshi Byre Gowda about Giri's work: "In government schools, parents are not as involved and they have limited access to information. Sahas is doing a great job in filling the gap there, for both girls and boys, who are equally at risk from sexual predators. I would urge more people to get involved with a cause like this in whatever capacity so that Sahas can keep doing this remarkable work." 

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