The gleaming Sector 18 metro station buzzes with Noida’s affluent crowd, Mercedes and BMW sedans glide to the curb, disgorging well-dressed professionals into the midday rush. Amid this sea of privilege, Aayom Welfare Society stages a quiet revolution: open unused sanitary napkins , tied up on the branches of the tree in plain sight for all to see.
Faces contort. People recoil. The reaction is visceral, immediate.
“Even people from the richest class showed disgust just looking at a sanitary napkin. It wasn’t used or dirty, but the taboo was strong,” Mr. Prerrit Mansingh, Secretary of Aayom Welfare Society, tells The Logical Indian. “This wasn’t meant to shock for shock’s sake; it was meant to hold up a mirror to India’s hidden attitudes.”
For nearly two decades since its formal registration on February 8, 2006, Aayom has been shattering such barriers, one campaign, one life, one community at a time. What began as a family effort in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district has evolved into a sprawling network touching lives across India, driven by a legacy that stretches back 150 years.
A 150-Year Bloodline of Service Finds Form
Aayom isn’t a freshly minted NGO riding the wave of social entrepreneurship, it’s the crystallization of a century-and-a-half tradition rooted in Fatehpur, the history-soaked district nestled between Kanpur and Prayagraj. The lineage reads like a who’s who of public service: Rai Bahadur, Rai Sahab, Padma Shri awardees, Kayastha Ratan, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Awardees and First Indian DIG Mansingh.
For generations, the family tackled everything from reclaiming barren lands through “Banjar Zameen ” (rendering infertile soil fertile) to launching cooperatives, establishing India’s first Leather Institute, bringing music as a subject in India and master-planning districts like Prayagraj. These weren’t one-off gestures of philanthropy but a relentless rhythm of community service woven into the family’s DNA.
By 2005, individual family efforts begged for unity. “Why work separately when collective strength, Sanghay Shakti , could serve the masses?” Prerrit Mansingh recounted. Thus Aayom Welfare Society was born, channeling this heritage into a structured NGO with a corporatized framework: national heads overseeing the entire nation for various programmes, state heads in 10 states, all women, followed by district and cluster units, balancing institutional scale with grassroots soul.
“It runs in our blood,” Mansingh says simply. “Our entire team gives everything to serve.”
Those early years tested that commitment. Parents questioned the logic: “If my child studies, when will he earn?” Volunteers were scarce, requiring repeated appeals. Yet Aayom persisted. Through events and tangible results, trust grew and word spread. Then the pandemic struck. Many ground workers who went door-to-door paid the ultimate price. “During COVID, we watched many of our dedicated volunteers pass away,” Mansingh shares. This tragedy forced a strategic pivot, merging efforts into eight interconnected initiatives focused on depth over breadth.
From Fatehpur’s FACE to a National Web
Aayom’s journey began locally, anchored in a deceptively simple acronym: F.A.C.E. –Food, Accommodation, Clothes, and Education. Food drives fed the hungry. Clothing distributions kept the vulnerable warm. “Chalo Padhein” brought educational light to young minds trapped in darkness.
Accommodation proved the most formidable challenge. “Accommodation is where money is crucial,” Mansingh explains. “You cannot build a hut just to show you are working. If you take responsibility for something, do it properly. If you provide accommodation or an old age home, their food, hygiene, support, everything matters.” Despite this hurdle, FACE laid a foundation solid enough to support everything that followed.
From humble local beginnings, Aayom’s reach expanded organically. What started within Fatehpur’s borders now spans the entire nation, with all state heads being women, a deliberate choice that reflects more than rhetoric.
“When we believe in women’s empowerment, we actually implement it,” Mansingh affirms.
The organization tailors skills training to regional ecosystems, teaching driving and gas pipeline work in Tripura, crafting Rudraksha beads and sweets in Banaras. “Our motto is not to give training on niche skills,” he explains. “Where the raw material is cheap, where you can sell easily, where there’s demand, that’s where we focus.” Their effective train-the-trainer approach bypasses big cities and metros, delivering impact straight to villages and slums where it’s needed most.
Campaigns evolved from ground realities, not boardroom trends. They tackled mental health long before it became fashionable. Organic farming efforts naturally gave birth to environmental initiatives like Healing the Earth. ‘Next Innings’ emerged as a cornerstone program for vulnerable communities, jail inmates and abused women, providing skills for fresh starts and breaking cycles of crime and dependence.
“If we don’t make a person coming out of jail capable, he will attempt to murder again, commit theft or robbery,” Mansingh explains, highlighting partnerships with organizations for job placements after training. Post-COVID, initiatives became even more interconnected: jail literacy programs boost employability, menstrual hygiene education reaches inside prisons, and waste recycling creates microbusinesses employing ex-offenders.
One program, LAAW (Legal Awareness Amongst Women), remains vital yet low-profile due to backlash. “People say you are distracting our women by telling them their legal rights, you are breaking our homes,” Mansingh notes, explaining the careful approach required. This organic evolution from local needs to a nationwide web keeps Aayom grounded and impactful.
Campaigns That Redefine Impact
Snap the Taboo transcends simply distributing pads; it’s a comprehensive movement dismantling myths while teaching exercises, nutrition, and proper etiquette. “Until all genders understand, safe spaces remain out of reach,” Mansingh emphasizes.
Village work was initially brutal. Male volunteers faced abuse. Women needed escorts for safety. The 2018 film Padman helped soften attitudes, though Aayom had been pioneering this change years earlier. The campaign peaked on May 28, 2022, International Menstrual Hygiene Day with 238 Â events across 56 locations in 28 states and two union territories, delivered in 13 regional languages , reaching 280,522 females in a single day, earning recognition from the India Book of Records as the Biggest Menstrual Hygiene Awareness Drive.Â
Felicitation held simply in girls’ foster homes without media fanfare, it served a dual purpose: rebuilding post-COVID volunteer morale while expanding reach, with Big FM providing pro bono radio promotion.
Aayom’s work extends to those often overlooked on the frontlines: police, CRPF personnel, army officers, and doctors enduring rain-soaked, sleepless shifts yet frequently dismissed as callous. Through Rakshak ki Raksha (Protecting the Protectors), they provide psychologist sessions and mobile medical camps directly where these guardians serve, embodying the motto: “They protect us. We protect them.”
Mental health support weaves through all efforts, from COVID-era jail projectors playing songs that left Fatehpur’s superintendent marveling, “First time in months I’ve seen them lively,” to announcing 100% literacy in some jails. Healing the Earth promotes sustainability through waste management, plantation, horticulture, organic farming and plastic recycling via microbusinesses run by ex-inmates. Need of the Hour mobilizes for emergencies like Sikkim floods and pandemics. Today, a global company trains Aayom’s trainers, amplifying impact to every corner.
When Persistence Rewrites Policy
Early Aayom sought believers in a skeptical landscape. “People had doubts. We worked tirelessly, earning trust bit by bit,” Mansingh recalls. Irritation morphed into conviction when results materialized. “When people see impact, word-of-mouth carries you.”
The social sector gradually transformed. CSR mandates compelled corporate giving. Films like Padman and celebrity endorsements normalized discussions once considered taboo. Corporate employees began logging mandatory volunteer hours; students pursued NGO internships. “Awareness and openness have grown,” Mansingh acknowledges, before adding a reality check: “Everyone says they want to serve society, but how many actually do it?”
By 2018, visibility became strategic. “We like doing good work quietly, but sometimes you need to show you exist,” he tells The Logical Indian.
During COVID, Aayom noticed states hoarding ration supplies, refusing to share with other regions despite desperate requests from their teams working with the hungry. They decided to challenge this through a Supreme Court petition to universalize the Public Distribution System, making it accessible to all Indians regardless of location.
Three times, the petition was rejected. Officials criticized their efforts. On the fourth attempt, persistence paid off. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor, universalizing PDS access to over 80 crore Indians, more than 57% of the population, could receive subsidized food grains until 2029. This landmark decision ranks among India’s top 10 judicial rulings.
“We were just a channel; the government is serving its people,” Mansingh says.
20 Years On: A Legacy Without a Fixed Map
From Fatehpur’s fields to reaching 280,522 people in a single day, Aayom has shattered taboos, rebuilt lives, protected protectors, and healed land. Women lead states. Inmates read. Recyclers earn. All rooted in experience, not imported agendas.
Aayom Welfare Society has earned widespread recognition for its work, including letters of appreciation for COVID efforts from BJP Vice President Satyendra Nagar and IAS Advisor Dr. D. Bhalla. Awards include the Shri Kunwar Swaroop Bhatnagar Smriti Shiksha Award from Navratan Foundations, India Social Impact Award for Secretary Mr. Prerrit Mansingh, IHGF for banana fibre products, and Global Sustainability Gold Honor (SDG-1, 2025). Founder Sharat Mansingh received ‘Kayastha Ratan’ in 2025, alongside Indian CSR Awards 2024 for empowering 3,000 with sustainable energy in Tamil Nadu.
There’s no grand blueprint. “Campaigns arise from need. Snap the Taboo, Next Innings, they grew naturally,” Mansingh reflects. Future challenges will shape them: disasters, overlooked pain, emerging crises. With thousands of volunteers, CSR alliances, and an unwavering rural-slum focus, Aayom continues deepening empowerment rather than chasing superficial scale.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
In an age of performative activism and loud gestures, Aayom whispers a different truth: that sustained acts of grace ignite genuine optimism, touching futures one village, one inmate, one protector at a time. Two decades strong, with 150 years of heritage behind them, their legacy isn’t just about what they’ve accomplished, it’s an invitation for all of us to join.
If you’d like us to feature your story, please write to us at csr@5w1h.media
