Kolkata Sanved (KS) is a women-led organization founded in 2004 with the vision of creating a healthy, gender-equal, violence-free creative society through the transformative power of dance. We work on the core issues of women-empowerment and mental health. KS has carved a niche at the intersection of social development, gender equity, mental health and the arts, using Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) as a transformative tool for healing and systemic change. At the core of our mission lies the belief that the body is a space of power, strength, resistance, and healing, and that reclaiming it is essential to question the gender norms, breaking the cycles of gender-based violence and facilitating the journey from survivor to leader. We work across diverse contexts—rural villages, urban slums, shelter homes, schools, and institutions—to promote gender equity, well-being and leadership.
Over the past two decades, Kolkata Sanved has directly impacted over 65,000 individuals, especially women, girls, and marginalized communities. Significantly, 60% of our team has emerged from underserved communities with many of them being survivors of gender-based violence. They have broken cycles of oppression and now lead a dignified life.
Empowering Lives Through Dance Movement Therapy
Dear Friend,
Imagine a young survivor of violence reclaiming her voice, an underprivileged youth discovering purpose, or a marginalized individual stepping into leadership through the power of dance. Meera (name changed) was silent when she first walked into our program. Her childhood had been stolen by gender-based violence. Fear wrapped around her like a second skin. She barely spoke, flinching at every movement around her. But slowly, through dance, she found herself again. One step at a time, she began to trust. To move. To believe that she was worthy of something more. Today, Meera is a certified Therapeutic Movement Practitioner, working with a renowned NGO. She earns a stable income. She teaches others how to heal. She is no longer a victim—she is a changemaker. Meera’s journey is just one of many—this is what your support makes possible through Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). For over two decades, Kolkata Sanved has been transforming lives by nurturing resilience, healing, and economic independence.
Our Belief
We believe in the power of movement to heal and transform. Every woman and girl, no matter their background, deserves the chance to rise above trauma and become a changemaker in their community.
The Opportunity
Women’s empowerment is deeply connected to mental health, as reclaiming emotional and psychological wellbeing is essential for building confidence, agency, and leadership.
Your support will empower underprivileged women and girls in West Bengal by equipping them with life skills, mental health awareness, and professional training in therapeutic movement facilitation. This initiative will not only transform their own lives but also create a ripple effect of change in their families and communities. Every contribution will strengthen our work towards advancing women’s empowerment and leadership through innovative mental health initiatives.
We address mental health concerns using our culturally rooted and evidence-based Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) program. The project offers interventions and inclusive psycho-social education to make therapy accessible to marginalized women and girls, while also facilitating youth-led community mental health initiatives that promote resilience, collective care, and social well-being.
Activities include structured Training of Trainers (ToT) courses with certification, preparing young women and youth as facilitators and mental health advocates who can sustain community-based mental health support in low-resource settings. Ultimately, participants emerge as therapeutic movement facilitators, ready to lead trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and accessible mental health initiatives that strengthen entire communities.
By supporting our initiatives such as healing, life skills and mental health education, trainer certification, leadership development and wellness activities – you will help us equip young women, girls and key stakeholders including school staff, peers, parents, and community members—with the resources needed to create supportive, stigma-free environments. This holistic approach ensures that empowered women and girls are not only able to reclaim their own well-being but also become catalysts for building healthier, more inclusive communities.
Significantly, over 519 individuals have grown and transformed themselves into DMT practitioners and change-makers over the past two decades through this programme. Many of them are now equipped to earn and support themselves through this qualification.
Support us to empower women and girls – creating change that lasts for generations and strengthens entire communities.
How You Can Help
With your contribution women and girls will rise and lead change.
Together, We Multiply Impact
Your support is hope in motion. It is the difference between a future lost and a future reclaimed.
Let’s create change—one movement at a time.
Help us raise funds for our specific needs.
| Project Name | Project Description | Donate |
|---|---|---|
| Empowering Lives Through Dance Movement Therapy | Our project empowers women and girls from under-served communities across India through culturally contextualized, evidence-based Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). In partnership with schools and community organizations, we address trauma, stigma, and inaccessibility of mental health care. By training women, girls, and youth as facilitators and leaders, we strengthen resilience, agency, collective care, and sustainable, community-led mental health ecosystems. |
Impact 360 Foundation, FE-68, Sector III, Salt Lake Rd, Near Central Park, Karunamoyee, Kolkata, West Bengal 700106, India
Phone Numbers-+91-9830361790 , +91-8981029222
Email: tsw25k@impact360.org.in
corporate.tsw25k@impact360.org.in