YUVA has been working with children on issues of adequate habitat for over three decades now, with interventions focused on upholding the rights of children. We aim to help vulnerable communities improve their quality and standard of living, especially so that the children can be safeguarded from threats, be assured of a better life, and grow up with adequate focus given on their physical, cognitive, and psychological development, thus achieving our goal of 'inclusive social transformation'.
Millions of children growing up in India's informal settlements (bastis) endure unimaginable conditions daily such as lack of basic services, poor sanitation facilities, inadequate health and nutrition, safety issues, substance abuse, and much more. The impacts of such dire conditions on their psyche and growth isn't adequately documented either as the vicious cycle of forced evictions, demolitions and resettlement in inadequate homes repeats itself with each generation.
This project aims to empower children by enhancing their rights awareness, and offering them the space and opportunities to develop their skills and capacities, so that their rights are realized. It draws from YUVA's experiences of working with vulnerable children for over two decades across spaces in the city of Mumbai. This will be done through training sessions that targets both life skills and vocational needs. Physical needs are also paid attention for all round development.
The long term impact of the project would look at two levels. The first would be to build networks of resilience in vulnerable spaces in Mumbai, India. This would be through life skills training, vocational training and vulnerability support networks. The second level would be to reconfigure urban spaces so that the marginalised have a greater voice in terms of housing and habitat, especially children, who are currently seen to be furthest in term of agency in deciding habitat choices.
