The Gateway Project

T H E G AT E W AY P R O J E C T

BUILDING FREEDOM

For 14 years

Freeset has provided a

vocational alternative to the sex trade for at-risk and trafficked women in Kolkata, India. Freeset trains and employs women who produce fair-trade bags, apparel, and fabrics, which are sold around the world. These women gain financial independence, access to healthcare, literacy education and other social services— transforming their lives, their families and their communities.

Freeset’s model is a sustainable programme with one objective: FREEDOM. And Freeset is about to get bigger.

Much bigger.

We want to see the area where Freeset is located, transformed. Freeset currently employs 190 women (about 2% of the trafficked women in this red-light district area) and many hundreds more can be brought to freedom through The Gateway Project. When you take into account the benefits that these woman can and will receive through Freeset’s business and social services, the true impact on extended families and the wider community numbers in the thousands. We are making a dent in our area.

THE BIG GOAL

THE NEED

The goal of The Gateway Project is to expand the capacity of Freeset—allowing more women and girls to have access to employment, social services and training. The focus is our neighbourhood of Sonagacchi, one of the largest red-light districts in Asia where more than 10,000 women and girls are trapped in the sex trade.

The total cost of The Gateway Project is $3 million and an international fundraising campaign is in full swing.

The more we can raise in NZ (remembering that Freeset is a NZ-owned enterprise) the less we have to rely on overseas donors. Our goal is to raise this as soon as possible, but certainly by the end of 2015.

Our broader vision is to build on our experience and success to be a catalyst for the growth of new “freedom businesses”, providing women with an array of vocational choices. The Gateway Project will set the foundation for achieving that vision.

THE OPPORTUNITY Finding space in Sonagacchi for our work isn’t easy as property is in high demand. But our work must take place here—this is where the women live, and being a part of the neighbourhood is key to building the relationships and trust required for the women to join us.

At the heart of The Gateway Project is the purchase of a 6,000-square-metre building in Sonagacchi, which we believe is ideal because: 1. It provides ample space for Freeset businesses and community to grow, and 2. It is strategically located at the gateway of Sonagacchi, allowing our efforts and the women’s freedom to be visible to all who enter this area.

Freeset does not require assistance for business operating costs—we pride ourselves on running a sustainable business.

This campaign is purely raising funds to purchase and renovate this unique building that will substantially increase the capacity of Freeset to achieve its goal— FREEDOM for women and their families.

TO CONTRIBUTE TO FREESET’S GATEWAY PROJECT, HERE ARE THREE ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE: Mail a cheque to Freeset International Limited The Gateway Project PO Box 12-149 Penrose, Auckland 1642 Pay an online gift to Freeset International Limited Bank Account 02-0191-0013970-00 Reference ‘The Gateway Project’ Contact us Should you wish to talk more and/or for receipting purposes, please e-mail admin@marketplacers.co.nz or phone (09) 526 6363

freesetglobal.com

Freeset International Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marketplacers International Limited which in itself is part of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society (www.nzbms.org.nz). All funds raised for The Gateway Project will be explicitly directed towards the purchase and renovation of The Gateway Building.