It all started with a birthday being celebrated at an orphanage in Nalasopara on June 10th 2014. What followed gave rise to one of ‘India’s Coolest Youth Organizations’ working for a social change. The rest as they say, is History.

Not many teenagers would decide to throw their 17th birthday party at an orphanage. What sets Himanshu Goenka – the Founder of Muskurahat, apart from the average teen, is his unique vision. It was after the celebrations were over, that the seeds of this tree named Muskurahat were first sown.

After that birthday party celebration, he suddenly became aware that these kids with whom he had spent an entire day were not just orphans but also juveniles. He would have to do something about it; and do it Now.

Most of his friends continued accompanying him to these shelter homes for a short while, but after a brief period, they’d all left to pursue professional careers. Because till this day, social work is something people consider to be a side business, not to be pursued full time. Himanshu who was burning with the passion to give back, was the only one left. 

So he decided to pursue it by himself and find like minded people to join his journey. It was essential that this be a youth driven Endeavour mainly because he wished to dispel the myths associated with social work that usually derogate the ability of the not-so-rich youth to mobilize for change. He soon found a zealous young team and their unbending faith is what helped Muskurahat become an established independent entity. 

Joy Ride was Muskurahat’s first event where their dream was first transformed into reality. As the name suggests the idea was to take Street children on a luxurious car and bike ride along the Queen’s necklace at Marine Drive. After this Muskurahat supported different causes such as menstrual hygiene cancer care as well as awareness about problems of senior citizens.

KEYtab is Muskurahat’s first flagship project which has today grown to seven centres including four in Mumbai, two in New Delhi and one in Bangalore. July 2017 was when Muskurahat set up base in Andheri, with its first office ever.  Soon after this, team Muskurahat crossed the 100 volunteers mark. A few of their other projects are- Project Vastradaan- their own unique cloth donation drive for the rohingya suffering across the borders, Masika Mahotsav and Being Women 2.0.

Having come a long way, we have not only grown financially but also experientially. The existence of a full-time Core Team of eight members shows how well and how much the garden has grown. importantly, the smiles and for that we are extremely grateful.