A Message from the Director
Dear friends and supporters,
Navsarjan is a Sanskrit word. It means new creation. And that, in the simplest terms, is what we are here for.
Surat is a remarkable city, one of India's fastest growing, built on the skill and sweat of hundreds of thousands of workers who came from distant states and rural Gujarat in search of a better life. They came with hope. But many of them arrived to find themselves in slums, without clean water, without proper sanitation, without schools for their children or a fair wage for their labour. In a city that is celebrated for its diamonds and textiles, too many of its people remained invisible.
In 1986, the Gujarat Jesuits established Navsarjan Xavier's Cell for Human Development in Surat, not as a charity, but as a companion to these communities. Nearly four decades later, that companionship continues. And it has grown into something we are deeply proud of.
Today, Navsarjan works across 52 slum areas in Surat, and our reach extends to Bharuch. We work with women, children, ragpickers, migrant workers, adolescent girls, and families that the formal systems of society have too often overlooked. We do not work for them, we work with them.
Our 32 Mahila Mandals are the heartbeat of everything we do. These women's collectives-federated under the NAVCHETNA Trust hold meetings in narrow lanes, visit government schools and ration shops to ensure accountability, walk into ward offices and health centres to claim what their communities are entitled to, and organise themselves to speak with one voice when it matters most. More than 1,200 women are active members. Thousands more are reached through street-level meetings and family visits every year.
Our Balwadis and tuition classes ensure that children from the most marginalised families do not fall behind before they have even had a chance. Our computer and tailoring programmes equip young people and women with skills that open real doors and our alumni are working in banks, running e-commerce agencies, and building livelihoods that seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.
Our Bhagyalaxmi Credit Co-operative Society has freed over 1,900 women from the grip of exploitative moneylenders, replacing cycles of debt with savings, affordable credit, and genuine financial independence. Our Rag Pickers' Association, founded in 1997, has transformed the lives of women who sort and sell the city's waste ensuring they are paid fairly, protected from exploitation, and recognised for the essential service they provide.
Our Free Legal Aid Unit brings justice within reach for people who could never otherwise afford it. Our adolescent empowerment programmes give young girls the knowledge, confidence, and life skills to make informed choices about their own futures.
And through our government scheme facilitation work, we help families access what is already theirs ration cards, health schemes, labour registrations, scholarships because a right that cannot be accessed is not really a right at all.
None of this happens by itself. It happens because of a dedicated team that shows up every day, because of Mahila Mandal members who give their time and energy without being asked twice, and because of supporters like you who believe that the people living in Surat's slums deserve the same chance to thrive as anyone else.
We do not believe in dependency. Our goal always is to build communities that are strong enough to stand on their own. Our proudest moments are not when people need us, but when they no longer do.
If you are reading this, I want you to know that your interest in our work matters. Whether you choose to support us financially, volunteer your time, share our story, or simply carry an awareness of what is happening in the lanes of this city, you are part of something real.
Surat has given so much to so many. Together, let us make sure it gives something back to those who have given the most.
With deep gratitude,
Samir Macwan Director, Navsarjan Xavier's Cell for Human Development Surat, Gujarat