A few steps ahead, but miles to go!

Saahas has come a long way!Today, it operates as a Mobile App for iPhones, Android phones and a range of tablets and devices, as well as a Web App and a Facebook Messenger Chatbot. Over 40,000 entries across 196 countries are categorized into 11 verticals, and five libraries of information for survivors, bystanders, learners, legal and medical information stand to support survivors of Gender-Based Violence (#GBV), to create active bystanders and to educate learners.

Creating Saahas has been a great journey for me, personally, too: from learning to code to building a chatbot, this has been a very important experience of affirming the fact that girls can take to STEM, too, and that the sky's the limit when it comes to learning new things.

In the time I've spent with survivors and individuals seeking to become active bystanders in the recent past, I've come to understand thatsurvivors who have faced violence either don’t know where to go for help, or don’t have resources to find out where to go for help. Sometimes, their situation prevents them from finding help, and that can be extremely dangerous to their safety.The app continues to recognize that a survivor’s choice to stand up to violence and a bystander’s choice to intervene in a case of violence is an act of courage.

The goal of the app is now expanding: I want to reach out to more people in need of it. In the next few weeks, I am working towards getting our libraries translated into different languages, and towards building partnerships for a service-model delivery of the app for survivors and potential bystanders who may need and benefit from its resources, but may not be able to access the app. If you'd like to partner with me, please reach out to me on info@redelephantfoundation.org.