(Photos courtesy of Shannon Keith & Sudara)
How much can we really change what we don’t like in the world? How much influence can one person have? If Shannon Keith, Founder and CEO of Sudara, is an example, the answer is a lot more than we ever realized. In its March 15 meeting from 5-8pm, ConnectW’s program—From Making Kids’ Lunches to Changing the World: Finding Balance as a Social Entrepreneur—will feature Shannon and her social enterprise, Sudara, a thriving benefit corporation with a mission rooted in job creation for women in India who are at the highest risk of or survivors of sex trafficking, while empowering them to create a lasting, generational impact for their families.
It all started in 2005 when Shannon, a Bend local, traveled to India where she witnessed modern-day slavery for the first time. After visiting the red-light district, she heard stories about how young women were sold as sex slaves to help their families and then often held against their will. Even those who managed to escape the brothels usually returned due to social stigma and having no other means to survive.
Shannon wanted to stop the vicious cycle by creating a solution. On her tour of India, she noticed the beautiful fabrics used to make saris and realized she could use this fabric to create her own product to be sold in the U.S. She returned home and soon founded Sudara (formally known as the International Princess Project). Sudara hired the first six women who had been trapped by the sex trafficking cycle in 2006, and trained them in a newfound trade. Together these women gained confidence, dignity, and learned how to sew a pattern for loungewear pants called PUNJAMMIES®.
Sudara now employs more than 150 women in multiple NGO partner sewing centers in India, where they receive steady, living wages, allowing them to pull themselves out of the sex trafficking cycle for good. “Charities alone just don’t have the resources to tackle all the injustices in the world alone. It’s imperative that businesses come along and provide a platform for social change in terms of job creation, economic sustainability and a path forward,” says Shannon, a wife and mother of three. “I am completely convinced that the power of social business can and IS changing the world.”
Yes, people like us can change what we don’t like in the world, and women can be a catalyst for innovative, social impact. Find out how one woman, Shannon Keith, does just that at ConnectW’s March program.
For more information about ConnectW, please contact ConnectW Programs Chair Chelsea Callicott at programs@connectw.org or 541-410-4162, check out www.connectw.org or come visit in person.
ConnectW meets at 5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Bend Golf & Country Club. Tickets are available on the website until noon the Friday before the event, which is March 10 for this program. You can attend twice without being a member, but ConnectW is pretty sure you’ll want to join. After all, where else are you going to find such a mix of business opportunities, networking, friendship and fun?
