Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA)

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) supports the oppressed and marginalised communities of India by primarily concentrating on their human rights. The NGO engages in constructive dialogue and critical partnerships with the government alongside civil society, including movements, trade unions, women’s groups, academic institutions and the private sector, to enable and strengthen people’s empowerment processes.

Their programs aims to focus on the weaker section of our population and steer them into their development to eventually bring about a social change as a society.

Major Interventions:

Poverty Alleviation: The NGO aims to address multi-dimensional aspects of poverty in a holistic and integrated manner. It engages with the urban poor to support their access to rights, so that they can participate in decision-making for themselves and realise their ‘Right to the City’. The work is done in an integrated manner on both thematics, so that people’s right to habitat and work can be upheld. YUVA supports the development of sustainable habitats, with access to land and housing as a right. It works with people living in insecure housing conditions, facilitating their access to basic services and building community resilience to handle forced evictions via the Anti-Eviction Support Cell. Programs are focused on capacity building, research and advocacy, and participation in campaigns and networks. YUVA is also engaged in helping people access their Right to Work, Wages and Welfare and setup child-friendly communities and cities, with the participation of children as equal stakeholders. It encourages young people’s self-determination and empower them to claim their social, economic and cultural rights by offering youth platforms to express their opinions, organise themselves into collectives and advocate for their rights.

Environment Sustainability: The aim is to address environmental inequities through a participatory process. The advocacy team focuses on aligning development praxis within social and ecological justice frameworks. As a collaborative effort with the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), YUVA monitors water sectors in India to sustain and develop existing ecosystems of various water bodies and to address environmental issues. Ensuring disaster support, the NGO supports affected households, engages with the media to highlight the issue and take ahead the advocacy support to ensure rehabilitation address environmental inequities through a participatory process. The focus is on how the requirements of most vulnerable regions and marginalised citizens can be represented in the climate planning and decision-making processes.

Urban Governance and Planning: YUVA represents the voice of the most marginalized communities by continued advocacy efforts on issues of evictions, survey of informal settlements, the rights of underprivileged, informal workers, youth and children. It have been facilitating the formation and strengthening of Mohalla Sabhas and Mohalla Samitis.