Apne Aap Women's Collective

“Umeed” is the Hindi word for “hope”. The objective of the Umeed Programme is to help women in prostitution maintain their physical, mental and economic well-being. Umeed is not a one-time rescue programme; rather, we seek to empower women by providing them with services and long-term skills so they can exit prostitution permanently. We aim for their holistic development and overall empowerment through services such as finance, empowerment, education, health, recreation and shelter home placement. AAWC empowers Umeed women through the Adult Literacy Program, vocational training course, financial literacy sessions and helps them obtain identity documents (Voter Card, Ration Card, PAN Card) so that they are able to access government benefits and schemes. It conducts daily home visits and organizes monthly meetings and area activities to address important and raging topics. Since these women enter prostitution at a very young age, they are uneducated and therefore unskilled, which makes the empowerment process imperative. Salaries to staff – Rs. 14,60,776 p.a. Rent – Rs. 3,21,120 p.a. Nutrition – Rs. 1,92,000 p.a. Vocational Training – Rs. 96,000 p.a. Repairs & Cleaning – Rs. 57,600 p.a. Extra Activities – Rs. 53,000 p.a. Electricity & Water – Rs. 47,340 p.a. Conveyance & Petrol – Rs. 32,400 p.a. Communication Expenses (Telephone, Internet & Postage) – Rs.20,340 p.a. Medical Expenses & Insurance – Rs. 14,280 p.a. Printing & Stationery – Rs. 10,800 p.a. Total Cost – Rs. 23,05,656 p.a. (for 770 women) Cost for one woman for one year – Rs. 2,994