Satyaban and Budha's Story
Satyaban and Budha have always stood by each other’s side. When most neighbors had “arranged” marriages, they fell in love as teenagers. The two would exchange secret phone calls on a small Nokia cell phone that Satyaban purchased for Budha so they could stay in touch. This tight bond has sustained the young couple through life’s ups and downs.
Trapped in Bonded Labor
Life in their village in Odisha was challenging: Their families had pieced together day work on nearby farms to make ends meet, but it wasn’t enough to sustain them. When Satyaban’s father fell ill in 2014, he and Budha made the decision to migrate in search of better paying work. They eventually secured work at a brick kiln in a neighbouring state.
It was Budha’s first time migrating for work, but she said, “As long as he was there, I wasn’t scared.”
Conditions on the brick kiln were poor: lack of clean water, no access to healthcare, inadequate housing, and backbreaking work. They earned enough to get by, but Satyaban was weakened after falling ill.
Things got harder when the couple had to migrate again in late 2015, joining hundreds of neighbours from Odisha at a massive brick kiln in Tamil Nadu. Trapped by false debts from their traffickers, Budha and the others were forced to mold thousands of heavy clay bricks every day in the hot sun. With his health still suffering, Satyaban was put in charge of looking after the children.
Budha, small in stature, remembers the constant ache in her body from carrying heavy bricks for hours each day. Her husband, Satyaban, would sometimes step in to help with stacking, hoping to ease her burden.
What they didn’t yet realise was that Budha was in the early stages of pregnancy, which added to her fatigue. Satyaban gently encouraged her to rest when she could, but even that came with risk. The kiln owners regularly patrolled the workers’ quarters, banging on doors if they caught anyone resting.
As time passed, the violence at the kiln became impossible to ignore. Satyaban recalls, the owner violently attacking a woman who couldn’t keep up with the pace of work — leaving her seriously injured. The fear of violence was ever present.
Rescue and a New Beginning
Relief finally came in March 2016, when local authorities arrived with IJM to rescue 564 people trapped at the kiln—IJM’s largest rescue operation ever.
With speed and sensitivity, officials documented everyone’s painful stories and helped them return home safely to Odisha. Satyaban remembers, “We felt very happy…We felt like VIPs.”
From there, Satyaban and Budha began rebuilding their life through IJM’s two-year aftercare program and welcomed their son, Akash.
While others were content to return to life as before, Satyaban carried a bold vision for the future. He dreamed of using his passion and leadership to protect others in his community from abuse and exploitation.
A Life of Freedom and Purpose
The couple was instrumental in helping to form Odisha’s chapter of the Released Bonded Laborers’ Association (RBLA), a survivor-led community focused on raising awareness about human trafficking and supporting one another through shared experience. Leveraging his education and enthusiasm, Satyaban has served in various leadership roles since its inception.
He also stepped up to partner with IJM during the Covid-19 pandemic. This time as one of IJM’s seven Survivor COVID Relief Coordinators. From coordinating food deliveries to helping local officials identify vulnerable households, Satyaban played a vital role in protecting his community.
Motivated by his friends and work in the RBLA, Satyaban shares positively, “We can together make things happen. We are a team. We can get more work done together.”
Today, the couple runs their own family farm, growing watermelons and vegetables they sell at the local market. They’ve built a stable home in their village and are raising Akash in safety and freedom.
After more than 20 years in India, IJM has:
Helped bring over 422,500 people to freedom*
Supported more than 5,300 survivors through aftercare since 2014
Trained over 177,000 justice officials and community leaders
To help bring this reality to people across India and across the globe IJM is:
• Rescuing victims from slavery and providing aftercare that supports their long-term recovery and empowers them to thrive.
• Running training sessions across the country to equip survivors and their families to understand their rights and recognise the signs of bonded labour.
• Offering legal support to survivors so that perpetrators are held accountable with just sentences, preventing them, and others, from committing further crimes.
All of the images used are of the real sisters Vijayalakshmi and Nandini who are now free to dance, play, and dream for their future like every child should.
There are millions of children just like them who are still waiting for freedom.
Together, we can move faster, reach farther, and bring lasting change.
Thank you for walking with us. Will you take the next step today and donate to IJM?
*42,500 people were brought to freedom through rescue operations in India. From 2014 to 2021, IJM’s program helped the Tamil Nadu state government achieve an 81.9% relative reduction in the prevalence of bonded labour. This led to the freedom of an estimated 380,000 people who had been trapped in bonded.