At a recent Aastha Parivaar health camp for female sex workers and HIV sufferers, I had the privilege of speaking with the attendees. The women interviewed had varied stories, some devastating, some hopeful, however all shared one thing in common: the financial pressure which forced them into sex work. Two of the women I spoke…

The Aastha Parivaar Targeted Intervention project, implemented with support from community based organisation (CBO), Vishwas Sehat Mahila Mandal (VSMM), operates out of a small second storey office in Malad, Mumbai. The Aastha Parivaar-supported project has a core staff of only ten women, yet is making a huge difference in the lives of its community members.…

Sex work is as diverse and varied as the workers themselves; different forms have different needs and risks. Through having 13 community based organisations (CBOs) spread throughout Mumbai, Thane and Pune, Aastha Parivaar is well set to cater to the communities it supports. Aastha Parivaar’s Malad-based CBO, Vishwas Sehat Mahila Mandal (VSMM), cares for bar-based,…

Periods have been a historically stigmatised issue in India. Although the stigma is decreasing, some temples still do not allow menstruating women on the premises and many young women associate their period with a sense of shame and impurity. Due to this stigma, young women in impoverished communities do not have access to the education…

  From a rural village in the Indian state of Assam, where jobs are few and far between, 16 year old Sarita* was an easy target. It is custom in many Indian families for children to support their parents once they get to a certain age. In poorer and rural communities, this time comes far…

Aastha Parivaar recently launched Life Skill Education Sessions; an initiative aimed at the children of our Aastha Parivaar key population communities. The children, aged between 10 and 16 years, often come from deeply impoverished and dysfunctional families. These sessions aim to educate children on critical thinking; crisis identification and de-escalation; problem solving, and safety as…

Aastha Parivaar works with sex workers, transgender individuals and wider marginalised communities throughout three districts of Maharashtra; Mumbai, Thane and Pune. We conduct regular health camps for women and children in each of these districts, providing services including testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections and HIV counselling. Often, the attendees come from slum areas…

Overcoming police harassment and a horrific accident as a community. Aastha Parivaar Unit 2 (AP 2) and Targeted Intervention Centre, Aasha Darpaan (AD), support a community of female sex workers (FSW) in the Grant Road suburb of Mumbai. This support includes, but is not limited to: facilitating events, health check ups, HIV screening, counselling and…

On the 5th of February, 2019, I, along with three other interns, had the privilege of visiting Aastha Parivaar Unit 2 to learn about the work they do in their community and the issues they face. I am a student from University of Auckland (New Zealand) completing a 6 week internship with Aastha Parivaar, developing…