People’s Courage International Inc., USA – Migrants Resilience Collaborative (MRC) (Jan Sahas)
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. 2
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. 3
It was one of the 286 NGOs that received a share of MacKenzie Scott’s $2.7 billion in grantmaking in 2021. 5
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. 6
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. 7
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. 8
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. 9
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. 10
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. 7
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. 12
Project support for a multi-stakeholder, collaborative effort to ensure safety, security, and mobility for vulnerable internal migrant workers living in countries outside of the United States
Core support to enable capacity building of grassroots civil society organizations in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka towards enhancing their institutional effectiveness, resilience, and sustainability
Building Resilience for Urban Migrants (Migrant Workers Collaborative) 2
$196,399
2024
We Trust (in Care of Aragon Trust Company)
THE 2-YEAR PROJECT GRANT IS TO SUPPORT GRASSROOTS RESILIENCE INSTITUTE PROGRAM IN INDIA FROM 2024 TO 2026.
$161,179
2023
We Trust (in Care of Aragon Trust Company)
THE 2-YEAR PROJECT OF USD 313,620 IS TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES IN INDIA FROM 2021 TO 2023.
$152,441
2021
We Trust (in Care of Aragon Trust Company)
TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT "TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES IN INDIA." THIS IS TWO-YEAR GRANT PROJECT AND PERIOD FROM 2021 TO 2023.
Project for national and state level advocacy for improving prevention and response to child sexual abuse in shelter homes and hostels funded by state and religious organizations
For general support of this organization, committed to promote the development and protect the rights of socially excluded communities with the special focus on girls and women through abolishing all kind of exclusion, slavery, violence and discrimination based on caste, class and gender
For general support of this organization, committed to promote the development and protect the rights of socially excluded communities with the special focus on girls and women through abolishing all kind of exclusion, slavery, violence and discrimination based on caste, class and gender
