Shield Foundation (SHIELD India)
Shield Foundation is a Mumbai-based not for profit founded in 2009 by Swati Ingole, a qualified medical and psychiatric social worker. The full name stands for Society for Health, Innovation, Education, and Liaisons Development. It is based in and around Dharavi, and works with two primary groups: underprivileged senior citizens who lack access to care and support, and young women and youth from low-income communities who need skills and employment. The two program tracks are deliberately connected: women trained as caregivers go on to serve elderly clients, turning a welfare problem on one side into an employment solution on the other.
Headquarters: Dharavi, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Programs
- Resource Centre for Senior Citizens A free services centre for underprivileged elderly in Dharavi. Services include memory clinics, personal and social counselling, legal counselling, and cataract screening and surgery referrals.
- Respite Caregivers Training and Employment Program A three-month training program that prepares young women, often school dropouts with no prior healthcare experience, to provide home-based holistic care for the elderly.
- Skills Training for Women (Dharavi Centre) Free six-month vocational courses for women in nursing and ITES/BPO skills, followed by three months of on-the-job training. Graduates are placed in hospitals and BPO organisations. The courses are free and include post-training placement support.
- SMART Project (Mumbra Centre, in partnership with Tech Mahindra Foundation) Vocational training for youth in Mumbra covering furniture making, basic welding, workplace readiness, English communication, and computer skills.
- Tailoring and Fashion Design Vocational training for women in tailoring and fashion designing, resulting in transition from homemaker to workforce participant.
- Intergenerational Sensitisation Workshops for public health workers, ICDS workers, and nursing college students to raise awareness about the challenges faced by elderly people in low-income urban settings.
Tech Mahindra Foundation (SMART Project, Mumbra), Rio Tinto (tailoring program), ARDSI (Alzheimer's and Related Disorders Society of India, for awareness events), and 50+ other organisations and corporates that the Foundation has networked with for elder care services.
Shield Foundation does direct, ground-level work in one of Mumbai's most complex urban communities. Roles here are typically in program coordination, caregiver training, community outreach, elderly care services, and placement and employment support. People with backgrounds in social work, geriatric care, vocational training, or community health will find the work relevant. The organisation is small and field-facing, which means people joining take on broad roles with direct community contact.
