All the people of Preetpur were in slavery and living on borrowed land that belonged to the Forest Department. The slave owner had good rapport with the functionaries in the Forest Department and used this power to threaten that if the people of Preetpur didn’t continue working for him, he would have their land taken away. The villagers were so afraid and distrusting of anyone outside of their community that they would hide in the forest or their huts anytime someone outside of the village was seen. Because of this the initial stages of Schools4Freedom, building trust and organizing, was very challenging. Eventually the frontline team helped the people of Preetpur with some big wins and they realized they wanted whats best for their families. Everyone is Preetpur is now free, the adults are making their own money, and the children are doing great in government school.