Front for Rapid Economic Advancement of India (FREA): Akshara Centre

www.aksharacentre.org

Founded: 1986

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Geographical Focus: Maharashtra

Lives Impacted: 30,000+

Organization Overview:

Akshara Centre enables access to education for girls from deprived communities by building safe public spaces and college campuses for women and girls. They work with girls from families headed by single women, migrant and minority families, students in government colleges from marginalized communities and children from SC-ST communities. They do this through youth mobilisation, scholarship opportunities and advocacy efforts with local institutions. 

NGO List

  • Vimukthi Aids Tadagattuva Mahila Sangha (VATMS)

    https://vimukthi.1ngo.in/

    Founded: 1999

    Headquarters: Bellary, Karnataka

    Geographical Focus: Karnataka

    Lives Impacted: 1,300+

    Organization Overview:

    Vimukthi Ballari was set up by rural sex workers to address the stigma and discrimination against female sex workers (FSW) by focusing on issues related to health, livelihoods and social status of FSW in Bellary, Karnataka. The organization works with FSW, up to 45 years of age, from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Class communities including widows, women deserted by their husbands and Devadasis.

  • Viswa Bharathi Vidyodaya Trust- VBVT

    vidyodaya.org

    Founded: 1993

    Headquarters: Gudalur, Tamil Nadu

    Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu

    Lives Impacted: 3,000+ (children)

    Organization Overview:

    VBVT was set up as a school based on alternate pedagogy for the tribal communities of Gudalur, primarily the Paniyas, Bettakurumbas, Mullakurumbas and Kattunayakans. Their aim is to improve the quality of education received by children of tribal communities and to establish a culturally appropriate learning system with the active participation of the community.

  • Vizhuthugal Social Education and Development Trust (VSEDT)

    http://vizhuthugal.org.in/

    Founded: 1992

    Headquarters: Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu

    Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu

    Lives Impacted: 18,000

    Organization Overview:

    VSEDT started off as a students’ movement to prevent and eradicate caste based violence, manual scavenging and bonded labor in Tirrupur, Erode and Coimbatore, where a large portion of the Dalit population belongs to the Dalit Arunthathiyar community. The organization works with women and children from the community across the themes of education, livelihoods, rights based awareness and agency building.

  • Voice of Needy Foundation (VNF)

    https://vnf.1ngo.in/

    Founded: 2005

    Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka

    Geographical Focus: Karnataka

    Lives Impacted: 4,500+

    Organization Overview:

    Voice of Needy Foundation (VNF) was founded to enable parents of children with disabilities (CWDs) to support their children. From a small informal rehabilitation center set up in a slum area, VNF today is working with persons with disabilities (PWDs) across districts in Karnataka focusing on early-stage intervention and education among children with development delays and livelihood skill development for PWDs. VNF also builds capacity through community-based rehabilitation programs to enable target communities to advocate for their rights and entitlements​

  • Voluntary Integration for Education and Welfare of Society (VIEWS) 

    http://www.viewsindia.org.in

    Founded: 2008 

    Geographical Focus: Odisha 

    Organization Overview:

    VIEWS is co-founded and led by Beema Rao, a proximate leader from the Jalari community dependent on fishing for livelihoods in Odisha. The organization is actively working to develop youth leaders and capacitate them with all the skills required to function independently. By setting up adolescent resource centres in slums for girls and youth, the organization has been able to create a safe space for them to discuss their issues and build awareness on issues like SRH, child marriage, early pregnancy, menstrual health and more. Girls’ clubs have been formed to discuss problems in a mentorship format that enables problem solving. Youth are encouraged to provide remedial classes for their peers to increase completion of education. The organization believes in building social capital to strengthen reach and encourage local leaders or role models. 

  • Voluntary Medicare Society

    voluntarymedicare.com

    Founded: 1993

    Headquarters: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir

    Geographical Focus: Jammu and Kashmir

    Lives Impacted: 3,000+ (children)

    Organization Overview

    VMS is a medico-social voluntary organization that provides medical treatment, care, and rehabilitation to mentally and physically challenged persons in the politically conflicted region of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). It also offers education, sports, recreation, and counselling services for Persons with Disabilities (PWD).

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  • Women’s Education And Economic Development Society 

    https://weedsngo.org/

    Founded: 1989

    Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu

    Organization Overview:

    WEEDS focuses on building community participation and leadership by first collectivizing women into SHG groups. They build the capacity of SHG members across aspects such as financial literacy, advocacy with local authorities and political participation. Active members of SHGs are further trained in running programs on the ground and join the organization in the capacity of field staff/volunteers. Beyond this, they have also seen community leadership come through in certain projects which are fully run by SHG members, such as the tailoring unit that SHG members now run end to end and the computer and life skills training program wherein SHG members oversee implementation, monitoring and improvement. 

  • Yakshi

    www.yakshi.org.in

    Founded: 1993

    Headquarters: Secunderabad, Telangana

    Geographical Focus: Telangana

    Lives Impacted: 10,000+

    Organization Overview:

    Yakshi is a resource and creativity centre for children, youth and women from Scheduled Caste (Dalits), Scheduled Tribes (Savara, Jatapu, Konda Reddy, Konda Kammara, Koya, Chenchu, Gond, Pardhan) and minorities. They focus on building common knowledge and an aligned understanding of the issues of democratic governance, social justice and food sovereignty, within these communities.

  • Yuva Vikas Mandal 

    www.yuvavikasmandal.org.in

    Founded: 1999

    Geographical Focus: Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh 

    Organization Overview:

    Yuva Vikas Mandal works with communities through a participatory approach to building community leadership and bringing about shifts in trends about intergenerational caste-based slavery. They do this by engaging with community members at the stage of need identification through community meetings, research, and data collection. Through each intervention, they have a defined model of engaging with community members in a holistic manner – for e.g. the PR3- prevention, response, and rehabilitation model for addressing issues of gender-based violence and the social registry-security-protection model for working with migrants. Through each of these interventions, they have built community based organizations representative of community leaders that become forums for community members to come together and collectivise – Survivor Forum for Survivors of Violence (Survivors of Gender Based Violence), Balika panchayats (prevention of SGBV), Dalit shakti sangathan (manual scavenging). 

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  • Zubaan

    zubaanprojects.org

    Founded: 2003

    Headquarters: New Delhi

    Geographical Focus: 15+ Indian states*

    Lives Impacted: 150,000+

    Organization Overview:

    Zubaan documents hidden histories and lived experiences of different marginalized groups by engaging with students, women’s groups, unions and collectives, young researchers and theatre groups from these communities through knowledge sharing, mobilization and building unity. The organization has been an active participant of the women’s movement and continues to carry forward the work of its parent organization Kali for Women.