Walk through Mumbai's informal settlements and you'll find stories that rarely make headlines: families who've fought for decades to secure legal housing, young people building enterprises from scratch, communities coming together to protect themselves from climate shocks. Behind many of these stories stands Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, better known as YUVA. For over 40 years, this organisation has been quietly reshaping urban India's social landscape. Founded in 1984, YUVA emerged from a simple but powerful belief: that marginalised communities aren't passive recipients of aid but active agents of change. All they need is support, solidarity, and space to lead.
That philosophy runs through everything YUVA does. In housing, they don't just advocate for better policies—they work with communities to secure tenure rights, improve living conditions, and challenge systems that keep people displaced. In livelihoods, they help individuals and collectives build sustainable enterprises whilst strengthening their ability to demand fair opportunities from the state and market.
Climate action at YUVA looks different too. Rather than focusing solely on environmental targets, they work with vulnerable communities to build resilience against floods, heat waves, and water scarcity—recognising that climate change hits the urban poor hardest. Their disaster risk reduction initiatives put communities at the centre of preparedness and response.
Meet the team
YUVA, on LinkedIn
Roshni N, Executive Director
Marina Joseph, Associate Director
Perhaps their most distinctive work is with young people. YUVA's youth programs aren't about top-down skill training. Instead, they create spaces for young women and men from marginalised backgrounds to discover their potential, develop leadership skills, and become agents of change in their own communities. Many former participants now lead social initiatives themselves. What ties all these threads together is YUVA's commitment to working from the ground up. They spend time understanding local realities before designing interventions. They build long-term relationships rather than rushing in with quick fixes. They challenge unjust systems whilst working within them to secure immediate wins for communities.
Based in Mumbai but with influence across urban India, YUVA partners with grassroots organisations, networks with civil society groups, engages with government bodies, and contributes to policy discussions. Their work has influenced housing policies, livelihood schemes, and climate adaptation strategies at city and national levels.
Today, as Indian cities grow rapidly and inequalities deepen, YUVA's work feels more urgent than ever. They're not interested in creating dependent beneficiaries. They're invested in building powerful communities that can claim their rights, shape urban policies, and create cities where everyone belongs.
