Route to a brighter life

A firm believer of ‘be the change you want to see’, astrologer and tarot card reader Anamika Yaduvanshi started her NGO Astitva — Mujhse Meri Pehchan in 2013. The non-profit organisation works for the betterment of underprivileged children and women empowerment. Talking about the reason behind setting up the NGO, Anamika says, “I was tired of cribbing and complaining about the state of women in our society. It was time to take some steps that would ensure that they have a safe environment.”

She continues, “That is when I decided to take a step forward and set up a vocational centre for women, ensuring that they are known by the work they do and not by their physical attributes. Also, the idea was to ensure that gender stereotypes do not come in the way of their ambitions.”

She believes that for a woman and child to live happily and safely, the surroundings must be clean, for which she started her campaign ‘Swatch Dilli, Swasth Dilli’, a cleanliness drive to create awareness among the masses about the importance of clean surroundings. Their volunteers distributed bags made of recyclable materials to car owners, students and at public gatherings so that people do not litter the road or public areas. “When the campaign hit the roads, I engaged local women from slums to string the bags and started paying them a rupee each, generating employment for them. Now, we focus on training these women in vocational skills,” explains Anamika and adds, “At our centre we teach these women how to make diyas and crochet work among other skills. To ensure a regular income to help them sustain their livelihoods, Astitva also collaborates with ‘Buzzaria’ — a multi-designer store that retails handcrafted works by these women.”

To increase employment opportunities for these women, Astitva also issues them certificates and puts up stalls at various venues across the city to display their creations on a regular basis. Anamika is also committed to the upliftment of children who drop out of school for various reasons. She explains that through Astitva, she provides basic primary education to children and helps them get admitted to regular schools. She affirms, “Astitva is open to all children who wish to pursue their education but cannot due to various reasons. Our aim is to reduce the disparity between these kids and the affluent ones.”

Anamika believes that the only effective way to motivate and encourage these kids is to advocate equal rights for them.

Apart from the kids associated with her NGO, Anamika also visits orphanages every Christmas. “We try to fulfil one wish of all the children at the orphanage we visit, as a Christmas present. Their brightened faces make Christmas more special for me.”

Talking about her difficulties in setting up this organisation, she says, “Since we got no financial aid, I invested my personal resources to run the NGO. But thankfully over the years we have found generous sponsors like Lions Club Delhi and APG Shimla University. At Astitva, we also organise fundraisers and award shows to honour our team members.”

Recollecting her journey so far, she states, “Astitva is my extended family and my experience has been overwhelming so far. I hope more people look to us for help and we can give a direction to their life.”

Talking about her future projects she says, “Taking inspiration from the lives we’ve touched so far, I wish to expand Astitva and consequently provide better living facilities to the women associated with us and their families. For the kids, I intend to organise a talent show to help boost their confidence and show them a brighter side of the world.”