Be INSPIRED, INFORMED, and IGNITED (=discovering a bit more of what matters to YOU), during the Seeds Storyteller Series with Soma Seal, program director with Her Future Coalition. Joining us from Kolkata, India, Soma (pictured above, in the middle of the sister trio) will be talking about her work to create hopeful futures with those who have been trafficked and traumatized in her community. This conversation is sure to inform, inspire and ignite your understanding of the world … and your one-of-a-kind calling to make a mighty difference near and far.
In case you missed the live premiere, check out the replay right here or head to your favorite social media platform: YouTube | IGTV | Facebook. While you’re there, subscribe to join the fun with us at Seeds of Exchange. Keep the convo goin’ in the comments below.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THIS 40-MINUTE VIDEO …
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- 0:53 seconds| Join Soma for a rooftop tour (with birds singing background music) of the village surrounding her home just outside of Kolkata
- 3:01 minutes | Get ready for a SPARK to go off in your life as you hear her story?
- 6:02 | Take a PoP (Place of Pause) tour of Soma’s prayer room and hear how she begins her day and finds a source of warrior power and inspiration. “Everything starts with prayer”
- 13:07 | Find a bit of your way to “live the dream” in Soma’s story that’s led to this: “What I want to do forever … is what I am doing now!”
- 15:13 | Find wisdom and good news in Soma’s vision for NEW identities for her sisters, the jewelry artisans of Her Future Coalition, many of whom have been freed from forced prostitution – “No matter where you’ve come from, there’s a FRESH start each and every day.”
- 18:00 | “Don’t forget, after every night – the sun will rise again. No matter how hard, don’t ever give up.”
- 20:21 | What Soma did to bring some hope and opportunity to her village – with no money, no community (yet!), and living in the middle of nowhere
- 28:27 | Lightning bolt wisdom – take a LISTEN “As more people start doing little things with love, it will grow into a big thing that will change our community and world.”
- 29:35 | “Share your compassion. Share your love. You will feel so good.”
- 30:50 | Soma beautyFULLY sings a song in Bengali by Tagore – the translation of it is, “Keep going on your journey.”
- 33:57 | LISTEN to this segment and REACH OUT. (Don’t go it alone. We are with you.)
- 35:40 | Do THIS (Soma’s recommendation to FEEL GOOD)!
- 36:37 | Soma’s view on how her story is connected to YOURS and her INVITATION to “STEP UP!”
WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME …
I believe we are lucky – sooooo very much so – to be welcomed into her VERY full world as a momma, a wife, a friend, and a jaw-droppingly creative influencer in her community of Kolkata, India. She is taking time to share WHAT and WHO matters most to her … and that is something that I want YOU to be a part of, because I believe she will inspire and ignite you to the core.
I cannot wait for you to hear more about Soma’s seemingly endless passion to compassionately create … whether drawing and making beautiful jewelry, creating lifesaving change within her community, or growing food and flowers in her garden. She never stops creating and always has an eye on how she can make life better for the women who have been rescued from the red-light districts in her community to the dogs in need that always seem to find their way into her heart and home.
ABOUT OUR STORYTELLER, SOMA …
I’m a very simple ordinary woman who gets a chance to meet some awesome people from around the world and get inspired. I have two kids, a husband, a mother in law, pets, and love my work empowering women as part of Her Future Coalition. When days are tough, I am reminded of 3 things: 1 – be patient, 2 – don’t give up, 3 – no pressure, no diamond. -Soma Seal
Soma spends part of her work week teaching, training, and offering counselling and another part of her week at Her Future Coalition’s (HFC’s) workshop in Bowbazar, one of Kolkata’s red-light districts, where she is a master jeweler, supervisor, and counsellor. (This is the very resource center where our Seeds fundraiser this month is aiming to pay rent for one year so the children of the women Soma is serving have a safe place to be after school. See the link below for more information.)
Having a seemingly endless compassion for all living things, Soma is an incredible counsellor, a vital part of the work of HFC, where she cares deeply for the girls and works in every and all ways possible to make their lives a success. At home, she cares for her children, her elderly parents, and beyond her work with HFC, she began a non-profit to provide employment for women and education for their children.
It’s amazing to have Soma on our team, because in addition to her hard work and compassion, she is hilarious! She can just crack you up, make you smile. Even when times are tough, she’s laughing and smiling through it all. I’ve never quite met anyone like her and am honored to call her friend. -Sarah Symons, founder, Her Future Coalition
TANGIBLE STEPS OF INSPIRED ACTION …
- COMMENT BELOW. What did you learn? How are you inspired? Share one thing you are ignited to DO differently or anew? What would you like to SAY TO SOMA?
- *DONATE*, GIVE A GIFT in honor of someone you love, or ASK FOR A DONATION be GIVEN for YOU towards our fundraiser this month in partnership with Her Future Coalition. Learn more donate here: Forever free & surviving human trafficking.
- CONNECT WITH, follow, and friend our team: Her Future Coalition: website | Instagram & Facebook – Seeds of Exchange / Sarah DT: website | Facebook Instagram YouTube | Sign up to receive stories from ‘round the world to inspire & ignite
- SHARE! Send this link to 5 PEOPLE passionate about human trafficking, making a difference, education, our global community, and/or human rights. Let’s see how we can EXPAND this organization’s community connections!
- WATCH: 1 – “It Takes a Girl”, about HFC’s work around the world bringing freedom and a fresh start to survivors of human trafficking, 2 – Sarah Symons’ Ted Talk on Living Heroically – or click on the videos below and watch ’em right here.
6 – LEARN MORE with these resources suggested by Sarah Symons: Movie: “The Day my God Died” (trailer below) | Book: “Sold” by Patricia McCormick or “Sex Slaves” by Louise Brown
ABOUT THE SEEDS STORYTELLER SERIES …
The Seeds Storyteller Series is a FREE online experience that is curated and facilitated by Sarah Davison-Tracy – author, speaker, and founder of Seeds of Exchange / www.seedsofexchange.org, where we are making a difference locally and globally, together, through community, storytelling, and giving.
The Seeds Storyteller Series connects you with EVERYday changemakers from around the world: activists, visionaries, artists, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, educators … (the list is long and the ways to make change are vast!). Join us for this conversation from anywhere in the world so you can be INFORMED about global happenings, be INSPIRED by an everyday changemaker, and be IGNITED in your unique ways to make a difference.
xo, -Sarah Davison-Tracy ❤️🙏🏻🌏