Karuna News

South Asia has one of the highest numbers of women and girls being trafficked in the world. Around 8 million women are trafficked into and within South Asia every year. 

Areas that share borders are often key epicenters of activity. Women and girls are usually trafficked for bonded labour in informal sectors such as agriculture, construction, textiles, domestic work and forced sex work. Trafficking is also linked to early marriage of school-aged girls.

Sushmita’s story is sadly like many others.

Millions of people in South Asia are migrant workers, forced to travel large distances to find daily wage work in sectors such as construction, agriculture and domestic work.  

This kind of insecure work is often the only choice for people from excluded communities who are typically landless and rarely have access to education or vocational skills.

Join us for the last in our Film Festival. “Inhabitants” follows five Native American communities as they restore their traditional land management practices in the face of a changing climate.

Maryellen is an extraordinary person (right in the picture). Not only is she Karuna USA’s highly skilled, highly dedicated Major Donor’s Fundraiser, she has recently started a six-week door-knocking appeal to raise funds for Karuna’s work in South Asia.

Join us on Aug 11 in-person or online for the screening of Writing With Fire, as part of our Film Festival to highlight our work on building climate resilience.

Watch the trailer of this award-winning and Oscar-nominated film here.

Karuna USA is looking for a new member for our team!

The Digital Marketing Officer is a new and important role on the Karuna USA team, with lead responsibility for the digital user experience; in particular attracting and caring for a growing & important pool of lower level donors ($1000 pa value and below).  

Though circumstances are not as dire as elsewhere, transformation happens in the US too—recovering the health of neglected land and inspiring others to do the same.

A testament to the immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little Farm follows two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the land.

This Independence Day we ask: what does freedom mean to you? 

We invite you to reflect upon the freedom that comes from generosity. Yes, generosity. The release of endorphins and warmth in the heart that comes from spontaneous as well as well-considered generosity. The sense of wellbeing that you have freely offered help and assistance. 

This Independence Day we ask: what does freedom mean to you?

For many women in South Asia, the freedom to stand up as a survivor is an act of courage.

The Karuna family have supported the Voice of Women project since April 2019. It provides training and legal advice to Indigenous women survivors of violence in Northern India. The work focuses on legal support for these survivors, as well as training grassroots organizations and women's self-help groups on sexual and domestic violence.

Join us on June 23rd in-person or online for the screening of Pad Yatra: A Green Odessey, as part of our Film Festival to highlight our work on building climate resilience.

A series of four films to support Karuna USA's work on climate change, for subsistence farmers and their families in the flood-affected areas of South Asia. Presented by San Francisco Buddhist Center’s Green Sangha in partnership with Karuna USA.

As a non-profit inspired by Buddhist values, today is an important day for us. We celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment or awakening on the full moon of May.

We want to highlight the role of girls in changing their society. Indigenous girls in particular face multiple forms of disadvantage, yet they are central to long-lasting change. That’s why girls’ education and preventing early marriage are key priorities for us. An empowered girl will go on to shape her family - present and future, her community and society at large.

Cyclones are a regular feature for those living in West Bengal. Our partner, Nishtha coordinated emergency relief amongst the thousands of people who had lost their homes, their possessions, and their livelihoods from cyclones in 2022. Watch here for find out more.

Early marriage takes girls out of school, severely limiting their opportunities in life. When Amla was pursued by a 28-year-old man for marriage she managed to escape to her maternal uncle’s village and set up a simple new home on his land.  Most of Amla’s friends would not be so lucky.

Karuna supports over 20 education projects in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. We know that girls who suffer from discrimination are the most in need. Early marriage, traditional views on gender and classroom bias mean that 75% of girls drop out of education before the age of 16.

To stay in education, girls need the support of schools, their parents and the wider community. That’s why we work with schools directly, training teachers and helping raise awareness about the hidden biases that may be present in their classrooms. We help the parents too, creating parent groups and gaining government support they may be unaware of, encouraging them to think seriously about their daughter’s education instead of putting them second.

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the work of Nishta and all women’s empowerment organizations.

"I am Proud to be a girl!"

Ahead of International Women's Day, we share one young woman's story of overcoming family and society pressure to marry early. Instead, continued her education and now teaches others.

Who inspires you? Who shaped who you are today?

Watch these inspiring young women from Karuna's empowerment project in West Bengal and find out who inspires them.