People’s Courage International Inc., USA – Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC), also known as Jan Sahas, is a collaborative of nonprofit and private sector actors aiming to combat sexual violence and improve working conditions for labor migrants in India and Southeast Asia. ¹

It offers a helpline and dispatch support system for forced labor victims and provides social security benefits and safety nets to households registered with MRC. ²

It operates 130 District Migration Resource Centers (DMRC) in 13 Indian states, with a field force of 1,000 workers. ³

Financials

Jan Sahas USA had total revenues of $4.1 million and total expenses of $407,306, with $3.9 million in total assets in 2021. ⁴

The bulk of its funding comes from left-of-center grantmaking organizations. It has received $3 million from Co-Impact in 2022, $2.5 million from Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) in 2023, $900,000 from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in 2022, and $750,000 from MacArthur Foundation in 2021. ⁵

It was one of the 286 NGOs that received a share of MacKenzie Scott’s $2.7 billion in grantmaking in 2021. ⁶

Background

Jan Sahas (which means People’s Courage in Hindi) was founded by Ashif Shaikh after the death of a child laborer and two adults at a firecracker factory in the Indian city of Ujjain in 2000. It was established in New Delhi with the aim of reforming and empowering exploited workers in India. Since 2012, the nonprofit has campaigned to combat caste-based sexual exploitation of girls. It has rehabilitated 66,000 people from manual scavenging and other forms of forced labor and supported 28,000 survivors of rape and sexual violence. ⁷

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Jan Sahas established the Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC), focused on Indian migrant workers and seeking to expand across Southeast Asia. It offers a helpline and dispatch support system for forced labor victims and provides social security benefits and safety nets to households registered with MRC. Over the next 5 years, it aims to help over 10 million migrant workers and register 3.5 million households. It is the largest non-governmental initiative dedicated to migrant workers and their families in India. ⁸

Leadership

Ashif Shaikh is the founder of Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (National Campaign for Dignity) and Jan Sahas. He is the Secretary of Jan Sahas and has established the Migrant Resilience Collaborative (MRC). Born a Dalit, he recalls facing discrimination which motivated him to become a social activist. ⁹

He is part of many government committees in India, including NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. He is a board member of multiple CSOs and networks. ¹⁰

He has received multiple international awards and fellowships, including the Times of India Social Impact Award, the Ashoka Fellowship in 2016, the Schwab Foundation Social Innovator Award in 2020, and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Gleitsman International Award in 2022. He also received the Stars Impact Award from former President Bill Clinton. ¹¹

Partnership

Jan Sahas works with over 50 CSOs/CBOs and institutional donors, including EdelGive Foundation, the Ashmore Foundation, ING Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Axis Bank Foundation, GSMP Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, Fidelity Investments, American Tower, British Asian Trust, Amplify Change, Landmark Group, and Karuna. ¹²

2023 Audacious Project Recipient

Jan Sahas’ Migrants Resilience Collaborative is one of the recipients of the over one-billion-dollar grant series awarded to 10 projects in 2023 by Audacious Project. The funding comes from left-of-center philanthropic organizations and individuals such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, Emerson Collective, MacKenzie Scott, Skoll Foundation, Valhalla Foundation, and more. ¹³

ESG Advocacy

Founder Ashif Shaikh believes that responsible businesses must adopt ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policies, stating that “many employers seem to overlook the social aspect,” in an article published by the World Economic Forum. Furthermore, under his leadership, Migrants Resilience Collaborative seeks to reform worker protections, welfare, and redressal. ¹⁴

1. “Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC): People’s Courage International, USA.” People’s Courage International, July 26, 2023. https://peoplescourageinternational.org/migrants-resilience-collaborative/.
2. Collaborative, Migrants Resilience. “Home: Migrants Resilience Collaborative.” Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC). https://www.migrantresilience.org/.
3. Collaborative, Migrants Resilience. “Home: Migrants Resilience Collaborative.” Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC). https://www.migrantresilience.org/.
4.  “Peoples Courage International Inc.” Peoples Courage International Inc – GuideStar Profile. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/85-1604311.
5. “Jan Sahas USA.” Jan Sahas USA | Washington, DC | Cause IQ. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/jan-sahas-usa,851604311/#funding
6.  Scott, MacKenzie. “Seeding by Ceding.” Medium, September 26, 2022. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/seeding-by-ceding-ea6de642bf.
7. “About Us: Jan Sahas.” About Us | Jan Sahas. https://jansahas.org/about-us.
8. Migrants Resilience Collaborative – India Development Review. https://idronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Migrants-Resilience-Collaborative-concept-note.pdf.
9.  “Ashif Shaikh’s Ted Profile.” TED. https://www.ted.com/profiles/41865927.
10.  “Awardees.” Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. https://www.schwabfound.org/awardees/ashif-shaikh/.
11.  “Awardees.” Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. https://www.schwabfound.org/awardees/ashif-shaikh /.
12. Migrants Resilience Collaborative – India Development Review. https://idronline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Migrants-Resilience-Collaborative-concept-note.pdf.
13. Staff, TED. “More than $1B Catalyzed for 2023 Audacious Projects.” TED Blog, April 17, 2023. https://blog.ted.com/2023-audacious-projects/.
14. “How to Build Long-Term Resilience in Vulnerable Communities.” World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/how-to-build-long-term-resilience-in-vulnerable-communities/.