A beacon of hope in Mumbai’s red light area This NGO in the heart of Kamathipura has rehabilitated 3,000 women and 1,150 children in 18 years through vocational centres.

Founded in 1998, Apne Aap Women’s Collective (AAWC) is an anti-trafficking organisation that works with commercial sex workers and their children.

Manju Vyas who joined AAWC in its infancy stage, has served as its director for the last 19 years.

“When I got the opportunity to understand the women, how they landed into the profession and their struggles, I realised, merely working with them was not enough. I started interacting with their daughters too,” she says.

These interactions established one of the major objectives of AAWC to “prevent the cycle of inter-generational prostitution” among the community.

For more details, read: The Better India