OUR STORY

Our story

We were founded as a grassroots project in Islington in 1998 by three South Asian women who identified a need for culturally informed support and guidance for single mums in the community. They started by hiring a room in a community centre for a group to meet and soon found that most women were on their own after fleeing domestic abuse. Originally known as Asian Women Lone Parents Association, by 2018 women wanted a name change. They decided on “Maa Shanti” which is Hindi for “Mother Peace”. “Maa” is a universal word for “mother” and “shanti” means “peace”. This is how women feel when they visit our services. We have cultivated this approach of involvement and collaboration throughout our journey with mums.