The women living in Basti Hzt. Nizamuddin have few opportunities for earning an income. Coming from conservative backgrounds, their families prohibit them from stepping out of the neighborhood without an escort. They are often dependent on the earning male members of the family. This makes their position extremely insecure. There are also many cases of deserted wives, young widows and women headed families.

With little or no savings and no social security system in place, most women turn to moneylenders or pawnbrokers for loans in times of crisis. This may help temporarily but it increases their vulnerability in the long run as they have to pay exorbitant rates of interest. The formal banking systems do not attract the poor because of bureaucratic procedures and inflexibility of the banking system. As a result poor women do not have a buffer against emergencies and are impoverished further in times of crisis

The Livelihoods and Income Generation Program addresses these issues through three main interventions:

• Vocational Training
• Thrift and Credit Program
• Women’s Micro-enterprise Unit