DIKSHA was founded in 2001 by Paramita Banerjee to work with children of female sex workers and young adolescents in red light areas of Kolkata and adjacent urban slums through training and dialogue on sexual and reproductive health rights and gender-based violence. They empower youth leaders and women's collectives to address community issues and help children break the intergenerational cycle of forced sex work and its associated social stigma. DIKSHA also creates safe spaces for children through 24-hour drop-in centers, participatory activities, and educational support.
DIKSHA has now taken their core model of agency building amongst children and enabling community leadership to rural West Bengal (Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia) through mediums like sports and livelihoods generation.
www.dikshaworld.org