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ON the eve of International Women’s Day, a group of Novocastrians is looking to shed light on the plight of disadvantaged women and children in one of the world’s most remote locations.
A team of four Newcastle residents will head to Nepal on Monday to begin filming a documentary on the plight of the some 20,000 women and children who are sold to human traffickers from Nepal each year.
They’re running the project in conjunction with 3Angels Nepal, an orphanage, school and safe haven for victims of human trafficking set up by Dr Rajendra Gautam in 2008.
The group includes marketing guru come project manager Belinda Bow, cinematographer Daniel Bracken, photographer Melissa Histon and benefactor Robin Raymond.
Ms Bow first heard of 3Angels about two years ago and has been involved with fund-raising efforts in Newcastle since.
She said bringing to light the reality of life for other women in the developing world was the major motivation in creating the documentary.
‘‘I’m a wife, a mother and a businesswoman, and the reality is if I had been born in Nepal, in the exact same situation I am in now, the risk of human trafficking to me would be real,’’ she said.
‘‘Say I was in the same position, if my husband left me or died there is no recourse to justice for me.
‘‘It really isn’t something you hear about [but] there are literally communities in Nepal where there are no women or children, that’s the extent.
‘‘I want to be able to help share exactly what 3 Angels do with a western audience.’’
Ms Bow will be blogging about her experiences at www.belindabow.com, and you can find out more about 3 Angels at www.3angels nepal.com.