By Vama Rajpal | Fundraising Manager
After All it’s The Experience That Matters The Most!
Yes, it was indeed a pleasure to learn that we were selected at Saath Charitable Trust for the internship under the Yes Bank Fellowship Programme. And it came to us no less than a pleasant surprise. The reason being it is so popular and enthusiastic organization that you’ll have a proud story and an extraordinary experience at the end of the internship, you can boast off!
Today, it’s almost three months and not even once we felt subdued here. I (Abhishek Arora) along with my fellow delegate, Udit Bengani consider ourselves bestowed that we got a chance to associate with this organization. And more than everything, we are glad that we got a learning of a lifetime while working with the super supportive and caring mentors.
Our day starts with typical morning briefing session with the mentors wherein we submit the report of the previous day, chalk out the strategy for the present day and start ticking off the pre-designated daily targets we have been assigned at the very beginning of the month.
Our module comprises of daily field visits which can be grueling and tiresome at times, but is very cliché and meagre when we compare it to the lives of those whom we tend to change for a better tomorrow. We work here as a team and constructively manage the social media handles of the organization such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and WordPress. We wish to spread out our success stories to masses.
We started with observing the activities which are conducted at the centre. We capture amazing stories and publish them in both digital and print formats. We interview the faculty and other associates along with the beneficiaries. We play with kids. This has inflicted a broad change to our mindsets and made us realize that our brains have been conditioned and stereotyped over the period of time and We are thankful to these kids brought us back to the real lives full of innocence, creativity and valor.
In the course of life, we come across people who are less fortunate. But still we strive hard to make their lives better instead of cribbing about their fortune.
Here at SAATH, our search continues for such beautiful stories and how we are contributing our part.
Success Story
During our journey, we came across another such awe-inspiring story of Tasminaben (name changed). Oh! What a wonder-woman she is. Though her face speaks a thousand words of the ups and downs and struggle, she’s cheerful and tells her tale with a smile. So, here is what she has to say,
Like all of us, she was once a kid, who always dreamt of being married to a loving bridegroom. But she never knew, that her marriage will become a nightmare and she would be kicked out the house in the state of pregnancy after inhuman grueling. She had been another victim of the male chauvinism.
She came to Ahmedabad in 2002, in search of better job opportunities. And started a beauty parlour of her own along with her continuing graduation. Then one day, out of blues, she was pulled out of the school and was forcefully married to a conservative builder. And thereon, her life became a living hell. Day and night, she was abused both physical and mentally, she reached out for help, but was left for dead.
There we came in as a savior. We gave her a new life. Taught her skills to be a better beatypreneur. Fought for her rights. And above all, instilled faith in her. After getting trained for almost a year, now she earns sufficiently well to sustain herself and her kids. She has got her own house. And most importantly, she is fearless now. Today, she is optimistic about the future of her daughter and wants her to be a doctor.
This is how we rejuvenate lives. Contribute and be a part of this noble cause. Hence, restoring the faith in humanity. We are keenly looking forward to a helping hand, so that we can extend ours. Hence, we shout in unison, We are what we are, and we are proud of what we Are!
Training at SAATH’S Livelihood Program;
We follow a selective training process for the livelihood course enrollment, and usually we see that, the ladies are coming from lower social strata. We provide them various kinds of help such as emotional or financial. First of all, a the member undergoes training at the Salon-I , Followed by Beautipreneur, And at last she undergoes intensive training programme at homepreneur.
OUR Experience and Learnings;
We understood the functioning of the whole livelihood setup at Saath. And it is to be noted that they are doing a commendable job, in this respective field of work. They are going out an extra mile for the benefit if the underprivileged women.
The ladies, who are usually unskilled at the time of admission, are trained intensively, have to attend various workshops, they are personally attended to and made to undergo professional course of learnings at our centres. All their basic demands and fulfilled, and all the required amenities are provided to them at the minimum cost. They are thoroughly given future guidance. One batch comprises of 30 girls. And additional seminars such as on the topic of Spoken English are occasionally conducted. The loan is provided to them in two classifications being 1,500 and 7,500 INR. Also, additional help is provided to them for generating overheads and additional income.
This is how Saath is committed to make a change and the change is now visible!
Abhishek Arora
Udit Bengani
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