The Mahila Housing SEWA Trust is a social organization, helping women organize themselves into local groups to impact their environment; the growth of Resident Welfare Associations, Community Based Organizations and their Federation (the Vikasini) through MHT support has proved to be a remarkable development. MHT organizes poor women around habitat issues and it builds their confidence to deal with service providers, such as electricity companies, water boards, and housing boards as well as administrative and governance structures like municipalities and district panchayats.
The Mahila Housing SEWA Trust is a technical agency. It has built toilets, laid drain pipes, built water tanks; it has constructed houses for the poor according to their need, affordability and specifications; it has supported in community surveys required for implementing housing programmes; and most importantly it has done all this, in areas where no private or even public agency was ready to enter, and has shown how housing for the poor can be successfully implemented.
- Improve housing, infrastructure and overall living environment.
- Improve access to services such as shelter finance, legal advice and technical assistance for housing.
- Provide habitat related income generating opportunities.
- Advocate better habitat policies.
- Dignified home, dignified work, dignified life for women working in the informal economy.