Apnalaya works with the urban poor - ENABLING access to basic services, healthcare, education and livelihoods; EMPOWERING them to help themselves; and ENSURING provision of civic entitlements through advocacy with the government.

Although urban centres present real opportunities for poor people, they also create and feed conditions within which poverty spreads. Tackling the problem of Urban Poverty is complex. To effect change on the ground, through our three verticals - Health & Disability, Education & Livelihoods and Citizenship & Advocacy - Apnalaya takes a multi-dimensional approach, one where we work with Individuals, Communities and Government at various levels.

We work with some of the most underserved communities in Mumbai. Most of our work is focused in the M East ward of Mumbai, an area where people live adjacent to Asia oldest and largest dumping ground, and where, on average 145 people share one toilet seat. The average age at death here is 39, every second child is underweight, women’s participation in the labour force is 9.7% and a family of five typically survives on a combined monthly income of Rs. 13,555.