Harold D’Souza and his wife, Dancy, moved to Greater Cincinnati from India nearly 20 years ago to pursue the American dream.
Instead, they became victims of labor trafficking and debt bondage, a nightmare for their family that lasted 19 months.
Now —18 years since the D’Souza family escaped that situation with the help of local and federal law enforcement — D’Souza works to help other human trafficking survivors and to prevent the crime from occurring through his nonprofit organization Eyes Open International.
That work has taken him back to India to warn others against being seduced by the same hollow promises that lured him to the U.S. He has teamed up with Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla, India, and the prince’s Lakshya Trust as part of that work.
An openly gay prince, Prince Manvendra and his Lakshya Trust work to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in India. That work includes collaborating with D’Souza to warn LGBTQ+ people about the threat of human trafficking.
Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss their work and Prince Manvendra’s visit to the U.S. are Eyes Open International President and Co-founder Harold D’Souza and Chairman and Founder of Lakshya Trust — and a board member of Eyes Open International — Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil.
You can learn more about Eyes Open International online.
For help or to report suspected human trafficking, call the Greater Cincinnati Hotline at (513) 800-1863. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center can be reached at (888) 373-7888. Victims can text "info" or "help" to the resource center at the number 233733.
Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.
Never miss an episode by subscribing to our podcast: