I cannot conceive of a greater loss than the loss of one's self-respect

- Mahatma Gandhi

Once humiliated and rejected, eight trafficking victims have earned a life of respect, overcoming the greater loss the Mahatma once talked about.

The trafficking victims, who have been living at a shelter home run by non-government organisation Prayas Bharti Trust, have got jobs at an eatery inaugurated on Fraser Road last week.

Christened - Aahar 7 to 7 (on the lines of breakfast to dinner joints) - the eatery is supported by Prayas Bharti Trust, which works almost on the lines of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, the organisation run by Kailash Satyarthi, the joint winner of this year's Nobel peace prize.

Since its inception in 1980, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan has been at the forefront in the fight against slavery, forced labour and bonded labour through direct actions leading to the rescue of over 82,800 children and the withdrawal of over 2,00,000 bonded and child labourers

Aahar 7 to 7 started providing service from January 23.

'This is my home,' said Nancy (name changed) when The Telegraph enquired about her hometown. She was brimming with excitement while talking about her new job.

'I had lost hopes after suffering so much. Now, I feel proud to be financially independent and work with dignity,' she said. Nancy was trafficked from Ara but the NGO abstained from revealing what she did before joining the eatery.

Nancy's colleague Manju (name changed), a 70-year-old economics graduate, is employed as the security guard at the eatery.

When asked how does she feel doing a job that doesn't suit her education profile, she withdrew into a shell.

After much coaxing, Shabana (name changed), an 18-year-old from Assam and articulate in Hindi spoke on her newfound recognition.

'I am happy to be employed now. I take care of the hygiene here. I have learnt how to deal with people,' she said.

Twenty-two-year-old Nisha (name changed), who was trafficked from Bengal to the state, looks after accounts at the Fraser Road eatery.

The girls working at the eatery were trafficked from various states, including Kerala, Assam, Bengal, to Bihar. Some of them were into sex trade, some were rescued during parlour raids and others were brought in Bihar with promises of marriage and then sold.

Roshan Kumar Srivastava of Prayas Bharti Trust, who is also the in-charge of the restaurant, said: 'It was important to boost the morale of the victims. They look after various functioning of the restaurant like accounts, cleaning, service and security. The eatery has an elaborate menu, including south Indian, Chinese and north Indian cuisines. We have trained chefs from renowned hotels to prepare the dishes.'

Prayas Bharti Trust has two shelter homes on Fraser Road and Bihta for trafficking and rape survivors. 'We have rehabilitated around 1,200 girls. They were either handed over to their parents or rehabilitated socially by providing them jobs. At present, there are around 50 girls at our Fraser Road home. Among them, eight have been employed at the restaurant,' Srivastava said.

The NGO has planned to generate employment for those who have not been accepted by their families or society. The eatery was one such initiative to rehabilitate the trafficked women.

'We have planned to come up with more eateries after six months to generate employment for more victims,' Srivastava added.