Block Youth Foundation

We’ve been set up here in Shanti Nagar for a bit now, specifically at Gala No.1 in the Babla Compound. If you know Bhiwandi, you know it’s a busy place with lots going on all the time. Our group, the Block Youth Foundation, is just a few people from around here who wanted to do something useful. It isn't a big fancy office or anything like that. It’s a practical space where we handle things day to day. Usually, someone is around if you drop by, though things get pretty hectic on the main road. We focus on the younger crowd in Thane, trying to keep them busy with stuff that actually matters for their future. It started out quite small, just a couple of desks and a lot of talk about what needs fixing in our neighborhood. Now we spend our time organizing different activities and making sure kids have somewhere to go besides just hanging around the streets. We don't have a big marketing team or a shiny website that looks like a corporation. We’re just regular people working out of a small unit. Sometimes the electricity acts up or the noise from the road is too much, but we get the work done anyway. Being in the Babla Compound puts us right in the middle of things, which is where we need to be to stay connected to the local families. We just take it one day at a time here.