Some changes in life come sudden. For me it was the moment I visited the destitute women and children at Sharan shelter home, Mumbai, while I was working as an HR Manager at IBM, MNC.

Their spirit, zest for life, resilience and passion to start something anew even when faced with so many hurdles by taking training in subjects like English speaking, parlour courses, computer was something which really moved and inspired me.

Conversing with them made me realize that due to lack of education, avenues, societal pressure and financial backing many women and children from vulnerable communities lose out on opportunities for a better and empowered life.

It was right then that I knew how I could give back to the society and started working towards starting my NGO Wara Foundation. Ever since my engineering days and MBA years at NMIMS, I have been working with multiple NGOs like Pratham, Center for Study of Social change. The work mainly involved working with communities from slum areas in the field of education, non- vocational training and impact assessment.

Taking forward this experience and belief, Wara foundation was born. We began our work in the year 2018 across slum areas of Mumbai distributing sanitary pads and health kits made by women from various self help groups and NGOs. We then started our work for children from low-income communities via art programs like Kathakathan and Dora.

Since then we have reached more than 2000 students across Mumbai and distributed sanitary pads and health kits to nearly 10,000 women. Wara foundation works with a vision that every child and woman in India should feel safe. Keeping this vision in mind, we plan to develop multiple ‘Suraksha Kavach’ centers across India, a safe haven for children and women from vulnerable communities by year 2030.

The objective is not just to be identified as a shelter home but an ecosystem to support, guide and empower them so that they can lead a quality life. Our current goals are aligned to achieve this by focusing on enriching their strengths and eliminating vulnerabilities faced in their daily lives.

We look forward to your support in our effort to achieve this mission!