HerSmile Federation works with women and youth across health, education, skills and livelihood — so that the people we work with leave with something they can use, and something they can earn from.
HerSmile Federation was started on a simple observation: the women and young people around us were not short of ability or willingness. They were short of an opening — a first opportunity, a skill someone would take seriously, and the confidence that comes from earning your own money.
Charity closes a gap for a day. What was missing was something that lasts longer than that — health knowledge nobody had explained, a skill that could be practised, and a way to turn it into income without needing capital, a shop or a qualification to start. The federation exists to provide that opening, and then to stay alongside people while they use it.
The core problem is dependence: women and young people who cannot make their own decisions because they do not control any income of their own. It is held in place by things that rarely get addressed together — health and menstruation treated as subjects too shameful to discuss, education cut short, skills that never turn into earnings, and a job market that asks for experience nobody has been given the chance to build.
Treating any one of these on its own tends not to hold. An awareness session changes little if a girl still cannot afford what it recommends; a training certificate changes little if there is no route to work at the end of it. HerSmile Federation works on them together, and measures itself on whether people end up more independent than when they arrived.
A society in which every woman and young person can look after their own health, has a skill they are proud of, and earns an income that lets them decide their own future — regardless of where they were born, what they can afford, or what they have been told they are capable of.
To work with women, youth and underserved communities through programmes in health and hygiene, education and counselling, skill development and livelihood — building awareness first, teaching a usable skill next, and opening a genuine route to income from it. We work with people in their own communities, on terms they set, and we stay until the opportunity is real.
We start by showing people what is possible — often through someone from their own community who has already done it.
Skills matter, but so does believing you are allowed to use them. We build both, deliberately and in that order.
Independent income is what turns advice into choice. Our programmes are judged on whether people can decide for themselves afterwards.
No one is a case to be managed. Programmes are built to include socially and physically challenged participants from the start, not as an afterthought.
We publish what we can evidence and say plainly what is still being finalised. Supporters and partners deserve accurate numbers, not flattering ones.
We work inside existing communities rather than around them, and grow through the people who are already trusted there.
Our founder's story — what they saw, and what made them start the federation — is being written up and will be published here shortly, along with a photograph.
Verified figures for the number of people supported, the cities and states we cover, and our major achievements to date are being compiled and will be published here.
In the meantime, our programme areas and how they work are described in full on the Programmes page.
Our priority is depth before breadth — making each of the eight programme areas work properly in the communities we are already in, before extending to new ones. Alongside that, we are working towards training participants to become trainers themselves, so that a programme can continue in a community without us running it; strengthening the livelihood tracks so that people who complete a skills course have a genuine route to earning; and building partnerships with corporates, NGOs and institutions that let us reach communities we cannot reach alone.
Expansion plans, new programme locations and intake dates are published on this site as each is confirmed.
214 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Borough-X, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Kolkata, West Bengal – 700045
Registration and certificate details are being finalised and will be published here shortly.
Join a programme, volunteer your time, or partner with us as an organisation.