When you shop at Savhera, you provide dignified employment for trafficking survivors.
Sex trafficking leaves victims with severe forms of trauma. Because we employ trauma survivors, we created a trauma-informed model of human development called “PIES.”
P.I.E.S. stands for “Physical, Intellectual, Economic, Spiritual.” These are the four critical areas of health and wellness that Savhera employees cover. The goal is to facilitate individual empowerment, relational growth, and collective flourishing.
This unique human development approach changes lives, and it wouldn’t be possible without you.
Here are just a few of the ways that your purchase empowers survivors:
- Trauma healing- Employees are given three months to go through trauma healing with the PIES model before they start their work responsibilities. They are paid their full salary for these three months!
- Literacy training- Many victims of human trafficking have been denied access to formal education. When some employees start working at Savhera, they don’t know how to read or write. The PIES model covers literacy training.
- Holistic skills training- Part of the PIES model includes learning about nutrition, diet, exercise, and basic sanitation – skills some of these women have never had the opportunity to learn.
- Technology training- The PIES model is flexible and is adapted for the varying needs and education levels of our employees in the U.S. and India. For example, while some employees need to start with learning to read, others can start with learning computer skills.
- Organizational growth- As employees work through the PIES model, they reach the point where they can start teaching and instructing recent hires. Empowered women empower other women!
- Fair, living wages- Savhera pays employees double the living wage in India. As part of the PIES model, employees take financial literacy classes to learn about budgeting, saving, opening a bank account, using debit cards, paying off debts, planning for the future, and giving back to their communities.
- Safe, independent housing- Most of our employees in India lived in extreme poverty before starting their jobs at Savhera. They suffered conditions of severe physical and environmental threats. Through the PIES model, they learn how to provide for their basic needs. They can move into safe, independent housing. They can purchase the things they need for their home, and enjoy dignified living conditions such as indoor plumbing.
- Redeeming Meditation- Part of the PIES model is learning about mindfulness. Employees are given paid time during their workdays to pause and meditate as a group.
- Internal growth + introspection- Through the PIES model, employees learn about themselves. They have the opportunity to take personality tests including Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinders, Enneagram, and DISC. This deepens their self-knowledge and helps ensure they are in work roles that they can excel at.
- The foundation to continue thriving- The eventual goal of the PIES model is to prepare employees for success beyond their current situations and roles at Savhera. When they grow in holistic wellness, they have the capacity to handle their own life challenges, while also inspiring and supporting other people.