Seema Needs Your Support To Save Countless Children In Pune’s Red Light Area

“My immediate family and friends have often told me that I shouldn’t be wasting my time in the red light area of Pune. They see no reason for me to go knee-deep in this ‘muck’ and ‘filth’. But I tell them that this is my life's purpose - someone has to work for those who have no one,” - Seema Waghmode, Founder, Rev Haribhau Waghmode Patil Pratishthan. 

Since 1993, Seema, now 66, has worked tirelessly for the cause of the Commercial S*x Workers (CSW) and their children. This is no longer just social work for this woman who has given it her all - she believes that we have to open our hearts to understand what these women in the worst of conditions go through.  

“We need sensitivity and empathy and not distanced sympathy for them,” - Seema adds.  

Loved and respected by thousands, Seema is a ray of hope for all those who have only faced neglect and discrimination 

Seema founded Rev Haribhau Waghmode Patil Pratishthan in 1994 in Budhwar Peth, Pune’s red light area. It became the first NGO to cater to HIV/AIDS patients, while also working as a rehabilitation centre for the children of s*x workers. She has impacted over 10,000 s*x workers and their children for more than twenty years. 

“These children grow up in an environment that messes with their minds for life. I once heard a small boy asking his mother to take up more clients because he was hungry…it broke my heart!” 

Donate today and make a difference in the lives of these children  

Has society been more accepting of the s*x workers and their children - we asked Seema. She breaks into a small story about when she had taken a s*x worker to a government hospital for her delivery in the 1990s but the hospital didn’t allow her inside. 

“The woman gave birth outside, on the corridor. Doctors and nurses were not ready to attend to her because of her profession. And today, I have gotten a few of these children married into good families, some are pursuing higher education. I can slowly see the change but we have a long way to go!”  

Seema is in urgent need of an ambulance, groceries, and hygiene supplies for the children in the shelter home. She needs your support to give them a better life. 

“All my life I have worked for those in need, for the mariginalised. So much so that my elder daughter told me on her marriage day that my work didn’t allow us to spend time together - she said, don’t do that with my sister,” - Seema gets emotional as she speaks of this. 

But this is the only life she has known. Today, with your generous donations, she will be able to help many more children of s*x workers.  

About the NGO:  Founded in 1994 in Budhwar Peth, Pune’s red light area, Rev Haribhau Waghmode Patil Pratishthan became the first NGO to cater to HIV/AIDS patients, while also working as a rehabilitation centre for the children of s*x workers. She has impacted over 10,000 s*x workers and their children for more than twenty years.