Sappho for Equality

www.sapphokolkata.in

Founded: 1999

Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal

Geographical Focus: West Bengal

Lives Impacted: 196,000

Organization Overview:

Sappho strives to build a safe, gender affirmative society for members of the trans and queer community by enabling advocacy and dialogue around gender and sexuality. Sappho predominantly focusses on working with members of community assigned female at birth – (Lesbians, Bisexual women, Trans men, non-binary), through various support initiatives – peer support, capacity building, crisis helpline, counselling and shelter homes. 

NGO List

  • Talash Society (TS)

    www.talashsociety.com

    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.

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  • Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Trust 

    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. 

  • Thendral Movement (TM)

    www.thendralmovement.1ngo.in

    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.

  • Thozhamai

    http://thozhamai.in/

    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.

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  • Udan Women Empowerment Welfare Society 

    www.udanindia.org

    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. 

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  • Under the Mango Tree Society (UTMT)

    https://www.utmtsociety.org/

    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.

  • Utsah 

    https://utsahassam.org/

    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. 

  • Uttar Betna Samaj Sangskarak Bahini (UBSSB)

    ubssb.org/

    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.

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  • Vaan Muhil

    vaanmuhil.org

    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.

  • Vanangana

    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.

  • Vanavil Trust

    https://vanavil.org/

    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.

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  • Vidhya Dham Samiti

    www.vdsindia.org.in

    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. 

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