Thirty years · Sonagachi to seven states

Built by sex workers. Owned by sex workers. Since 1995.

Usha is the first sex workers’ financial cooperative in South Asia. Owned and managed by its members, it has offered savings, credit and a route out of debt bondage since 1995.

Support this workSee what we have done
  1. 17,695 community members given social entitlement support KP Grant, across 7 states
  2. 18,286 documents and registrations facilitated PAN, bank accounts, pensions, health cards
  3. 12,490 sex workers reached on SRHR and GBV through 1,249 awareness meetings
  4. 1995 founded, and member-governed ever since Regd. 6/Cal, 21 June 1995

What we do

Six areas of work, all of them member-governed.

Achievements

Programmes, and what they actually delivered.

  • Completed

    KP Grant

    A multi-state key-population grant covering social entitlements, health rights and community leadership.

    7 states covered

    The Global Fund (GFATM)

  • Ongoing

    Dream Building

    Psychological empowerment workshops for women's self-help groups, now being institutionalised statewide by the West Bengal State Cooperative Union.

    55pp rise in interest in joint enterprise

    University of Glasgow · West Bengal State Cooperative Union

  • Ongoing

    Red Umbrella

    Work carried out under the red umbrella, the international symbol of sex workers' rights.

All programmes

Partners

Who we work with

  • University of Glasgow
  • West Bengal State Cooperative Union
  • The Global Fund
  • UNFPA
  • Ashodaya Samithi
  • Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee