If you lived in India around 2017, you would have definitely heard the names Arul and Pachayamma. Between newspapers, television, and radio, this duo’s story was unmissable. We begin in their hometown, Chennai.

When you notice your neighbors disappearing one-by-one, you have to ask why. But for Arul and Pachayamma, it wasn’t enough to simply ask. They needed to find the answer for themselves—then stop it at the source. What they would soon discover is that their community was being forced into bonded labor, enslaved by debts they could never repay.

Arul and Pachayamma couldn’t live with this reality. Instead, they decided to go on a mission to rescue them, not resting until they helped each neighbor return home.

How could these two people, youthful and poor, possibly help? With a simple, yet undervalued ability that we all have: our voices.

They used their voices to build meaningful relationships with their government officials. They lobbied for their neighbors to have food, land, and everything they needed to live in freedom. Any way that they could bring freedom to these hidden families, they demanded it—loudly.

Their passion for justice only grew along with their voices. Local leaders and neighbors alike began to take notice of how powerful this couple was becoming. So, when word spread of a survivor-led advocacy group forming, Arul’s and Pachayamma’s names immediately came to mind.

The question on everyone’s mind was, who would rise up to become the group’s courageous leaders? The answer was obvious and unanimous: Arul and Pachayamma. With this empowered couple leading their mission, the rescue operations could finally begin.

Together, they started searching for the hidden and rallying for their rescue. Because of them, hundreds once trapped in slavery are now walking in freedom.

But they weren’t always this power duo. In fact, these rescuers were once the rescued.

“I never had an idea that in my life I would come out of bondage,” Arul said.