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Apnalaya

Apnalaya was founded in 1972 by Tom Holland, the then Australian Consul General in Mumbai. Initially called the Holland Welfare Centre, the organisation provided food and care to children of migrant labourers. In 1973, Apnalaya (“our space”, in English) was registered as a Society, and was being run by a small group of volunteers. By 1981, Apnalaya was working in five areas in the city – starting from the south, and expanding into the west, central and eastern parts. Interventions were varied, deep and were most often a direct response to what communities needed – from balwadis (early child care centres) and clinics, to facilitating educational opportunities for women from indigenous communities. The 90s saw Apnalaya evolve from supporting immediate community needs, to programmes using rights-based frameworks as their backbone. Towards the end of the 90s, in four out of five communities, Apnalaya’s presence was no longer necessary, or the communities were strengthened to take over. The sole exception was Shivaji Nagar, in the M East ward, the area Apnalaya has been operating in, since 1976. We developed a community care approach in Shivaji Nagar which involved capacity building of individuals for availing basic entitlements such as ration cards, PAN cards, birth certificates among others. We also started a disability programme. Recasting an Integrated Community Development Approach, we developed a structured curriculum-based citizenship programme and ensured that all our interventions were gender informed. We began to set targets at three levels: Individuals, Community and Government. Detailed measurement and evaluation tools were put in place to capture data across all programmes to track the impact of our work. Apnalaya is now recognised for its sustained holistic work with the urban poor and the local government, informed by evidence from the ground. Apnalaya works with the urban poor- Enabling access to basic services, healthcare, education and livelihoods; Empowering them to help themselves; and Ensuring provision of civic entitlements through advocacy with the government.

Headquarter Country

India

Geographies served

India

Issue areas addressed

Diversity & Inclusion Education Health Livelihoods Water

SDGs focus

SDG 1 - No Poverty SDG 10 - Reduced Inequality SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being SDG 4 - Quality Education SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

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