Founded: 2004
Headquarters: Hazaribagh, Jharkhand
Geographical Focus: Jharkhand
Lives Impacted: 232,858
Organization Overview:
JSK was founded and is run by tribal leaders in Kotra block which is a hilly region at the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat and has a tribal population of 95%, primarily Bhils and Garasiyas. It works to empower migrant laborers, youth and women by investing in education, livelihoods, forest rights and health.
Founded: 2008
Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal
Geographical Focus: West Bengal
Lives Impacted: 69,400+
Organization Overview:
Talash works with girls, boys, youth and the queer community from minority religions, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities, in the Kolkata and Malda districts of West Bengal. They work to transform gender norms by enabling adolescent girls and young women to redefine their life-scripts, building awareness among men and boys and capacitating young people on sexual and reproductive rights.
Founded: 2005
Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu
Organization Overview:
Sr. Valamarthi, a former domestic worker has led the organization since 2006 and is a proximate leader. The organization involves the target population at every stage, from design to decision making. The community actively shapes the organization’s interventions through feedback mechanisms and comprehensive data collection, including community surveys and primary data. A notable example is the journey of elderly domestic workers post-COVID. Initially facing job terminations, these individuals became trainers within the organization. Similarly, the organization’s community-centric approach has been contributing to building leadership in the community and providing a platform for the voices of the target group to empower and educate themselves and others around them.
Founded: 2006
Headquarters: Ranipet, Tamil Nadu
Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu
Lives Impacted: 25,000+
Organization Overview:
Thendral Movement (TM) works with women and children from Scheduled Caste (SC), nomadic and other tribal communities. They work towards empowering women and girls who face different forms of violence and sexual harassment, through a range of community-based, action-oriented, and people-centric programs. TM started working in 2004 and was registered as a Trust upon collective demand by women from the target communities.
Founded: 2006
Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu
Lives Impacted: 89,000+
Organization Overview:
Thozhamai was established as a resource centre for human rights and a study of the state of relocation sites in the Semmencherry neighborhood of Chennai resulted in the organization’s focus on serving the urban poor. Thozhamai works with women, children and youth belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities residing in two resettlement colonies (Semmanchery, Perumbakkam) on the outskirts of Chennai.
Founded: 2013
Geographical Focus: Madhya Pradesh
Organization Overview:
Sangeeta, a survivor of early marriage and abuse, leads the Udan Women Empowerment Welfare Society. The organization initiates its efforts by collaborating with various stakeholders (families, community members, local police officers, and medical professionals) to support the communities. Awareness camps, workshops, and partnerships with schools and law enforcement agencies support their interventions. The organization extends support to victims of sexual abuse, offering crucial services such as medical and legal aid, rehabilitation, and mental health support. Regular engagement with survivor forums reinforces a sense of community, creating a space for shared experiences and healing. Survivor forums provide a support network and foster a resilient community that enables survivors to rebuild their lives.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Geographical Focus: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh
Lives Impacted: 106,000+
Organization Overview:
UTMT Society promotes beekeeping with indigenous bees to increase agricultural productivity, adapt to climate change, and enhance the biodiversity & incomes of marginal farmers in dry, semi-arid regions. It works with tribal communities including Wagdi, Bhil, Kopna, and Gond tribes in backward and remote villages of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
Founded: 2011
Geographical Focus: Assam
Organization Overview:
Utsah engages with children in need of care and protection through a holistic intervention model, serving as the first point of contact for a child and their family, understanding the support they are seeking – this may include legal aid, education support, compensation and counselling. Utsah’s model keeps the child at the centre, and their aim is to create a safe space for children to own their narrative and heal at their own pace. This is done through system strengthening by working with the police system at three levels – the state, district, and police station to make these structures and processes more child-friendly. They also take a participatory approach by engaging communities where children are being reintegrated by running sensitisation programs.
Founded: 1998
Headquarters: Baksa, Assam
Geographical Focus: Assam
Lives Impacted: 53,000 households
Organization Overview:
The organization works with the farmers, women, and youths residing in the flood-prone areas of Assam. It aims to promote the sustainable development of communities through research and advocacy in the field of disaster management, livelihood generation, women empowerment, health, education, and vocational training initiatives.
Founded: 1996
Headquarters: Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu
Lives Impacted: 20,000+
Organization Overview:
Vaan Muhil is a rights-based organization that was set up to empower marginalized communities in Tamil Nadu. It works with Dalit communities on youth leadership programs, livelihood support for women, and advocacy for women & children, and labor rights for informal workers.
http://www.bundelkhand.in/vanangana
Founded: 1993
Headquarters: Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh
Geographical Focus: Bundelkhand Region(M.P, U.P)
Lives Impacted: 31,000+
Organization Overview:
Vanangana was founded in 1993 by Madhavi Kukreja with the focus to work with women coming from SC (chamaar,valmiki), ST (Kol) and religious minority communities who face violence within their families, community and beyond. Owing to geographical location and condition, livelihood has been impacted, high level of migration is observed and lack of access towards basic amenities is a common struggle.
Founded: 2005
Headquarters: Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu
Geographical Focus: Tamil Nadu
Lives Impacted: 20,000+
Organization Overview:
Vanavil Trust was started in 2005 in the aftermath of Asian Tsunami of 2004 to support children of two Nomadic communities, Boom Boom Mattikarars and Narikuravars, in Tamil Nadu. After 17 years of working with the communities, Vanavil now has grown into an organization with multiple projects that are aimed to support the education of the children from the nomadic tribal communities.
Founded: 2001
Headquarters: Banda, Uttar Pradesh
Geographical Focus: Uttar Pradesh
Lives Impacted: 15,000
Organization Overview:
Vidhya Dham Samiti (VDS), primarily works with bonded and farm laborers and economically poor communities of Dalits, Other Backward Classes, Muslims & small percentage of Scheduled Tribes in the drought-prone, remote and rural regions of Bundelkhand. Its mission is to empower people through education, health care, livelihood creation and access to social justice.