ANIMEDH CHARITABLE TRUST (ACT) is a non-profit organization based in Mumbai, India.

ACT aims
to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children, youth & women in underserved
communities by:

a) Fostering individual capacity through building self-awareness, personal development, education

and livelihood skills;

b) Facilitating knowledge, resources and crucial linkages to enable the individual’s empowerment
and progress;

c) Contributing to a resilient, sustainable and just society for all.

To live up to our pledge, we established fourteen ACT community centres across low income
communities in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai:

• For children, we offer after-school coaching in Computers, English, Maths & Science. In cases of
special talent, we sponsor underserved girl students’ school fees and higher education.

• For youth & women, we offer free vocational courses in Tailoring, Beautician Skills, Computer
Basics, Digital Literacy and English Speaking, rural livelihoods, combined with life skills workshops
such as financial management and assertiveness, mental wellbeing, etc. to give them the self-
confidence to apply their skills to earn. We facilitate linkages to market and finance and provide
mentorship support to home-based entrepreneurs.

Name of the Organization: Animedh Charitable Trust

2. Mission: Animedh Charitable Trust (ACT) acts to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable
children, youth and women in underserved communities by:

Fostering individual capacity through building self-awareness, personal development, education and
livelihood skills; facilitating knowledge, resources and crucial linkages to enable the individual’s
empowerment and progress; contributing to a resilient, sustainable and just society for all.

3. Vision: ACT Vision for Children, Youth, Women and Vulnerable Communities:

a. Every child should develop to full potential, have access to education and opportunities for future
well being

b. Every youth should develop emotional resilience and capacities for to lead community towards a
positive change

c. Every woman must have equal right to access educational, social , emotional and economic
opportunities that build her agency

d. Every community must become resilient, sustainable, just and unbiased towards its inhabitants

4. Current Work scope: 8 Indian states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, Rajasthan, Haryana, Odisha,

Karnataka, TN & Pudduchery, 1 Union Territory – Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Thematic areas: Early
childhood development, Education, Vulnerable community development, Women, youth
empowerment through skills, livelihoods and water, sanitation and hygiene.

Since 2017, we have focussed on surging the vulnerable tribal communities in Western India. Dadra
Nagar Haveli is inhabited by tribal communities with a legacy dating back to 5000 years. In the last
few decades, due to changes in the industrial and land laws of Union Territories industrialization has
boomed causing adverse effects on people’s relationships with their lands, their understandings of
ways of living life and communal practices. This has led to increase in the mental health concerns in
the region. (FY Reference: Tribal Situation in DNH Development and Transition).

ACT has been working since 2012 on children’s education and women empowerment, in suburban
slums of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. In 2017, we started the rural outreach in 15
Adivasi villages in DNH by joining forces with community based Premankur NGO, Velugam, and have
2 flagship direct intervention programs: Project Sakshartaa for Adivasi children’s education (350+)
and Project Samruddhi- Livelihood Empowerment of Adivasi Women (125+). Both these projects
have stopped since lockdown and lack of fund support. As we delved deeper, in association with our
knowledge / training partner Ummeed CDC, the conversations and observations revealed that there
was an urgent need to address early childhood care and community mental health targeting
children, youth and women. In 2019 we started work these two crucial causes via projects Nanhe
Kadam – Early Childhood and Mehek – Community Mental Health Services. Currently, there are 17
full time staff in field, located in ACT offices in Khanvel and working directly in the identified villages
of DNH.

ACT’s work in DNH can be described on a continuum of supplemental, interconnected interventions

within this vulnerable community targeted at different life stages- starting early childhood, school
children, adolescents, youth and adults with our focus being on girls and women.

To date, ACT has enhanced the education of over 6,000children. We have trained over 60,000 youth
& women and connected them to livelihoods.