Cherished and Adored was founded in 2015 with the mission to restore hope to women and children working in the Red Light Districts in Kolkata, India. Cherished Woman Project, launched in November 2018, connects two people living across the world together through a special bond.

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I first visited Kolkata, India in 2012, as a part of a six-week cultural immersion trip. I had no idea what to expect when we went to Sonagachi. If you didn't know any better, you may have no idea what you were walking into. From the outside, Sonagachi doesn't look much different than the rest of India. But once you get inside those city blocks, women and children line the streets. These people are sex workers. Men go in and out constantly. They are the johns, or the "clients".

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As I was walking through the streets of Sonagachi, there was one thing that stood out to me. The eyes of these women. Indians have big, beautiful brown eyes that have just a bit of sparkle in them. But not these women. In their eyes I saw emptiness. I saw brokenness. I saw hopelessness. It was the most heartbreaking feeling I've ever felt. And in that moment, I knew that I had a calling to help these women. God broke my heart for the women and children in Sonagachi that day, and I have felt his calling on my heart every day since.

 

Three years later, Cherished and Adored was founded.