VACHA Trust

In Mumbai’s vast slum communities, government-run schools are overcrowded and of poor quality, and opportunities for youth to participate in community life are scarce. Vacha Trust was founded in 1987 to work on issues affecting women, and expanded to work with at-risk youth in poor neighborhoods of Mumbai in 1995. Vacha Trust provides supplementary schooling for youth, equipping them with skills and self-confidence to succeed in the competitive job market, while fostering their contribution to the community.

EMpower’s seventh grant to Vacha Trust provides youth with computer and language classes in English, Marathi and Hindi, workshops in public speaking, community organizing, civic participation, and visual media.

Through another EMpower grant, the Vacha Trust supports the Learning Community to build and implement the mentorship capacity of younger female staff within each organization and engage girls in shaping the priorities for the learning community’s activities in the first year.