Engage&Empower girls & boys for Girl Effect-India

Dear donors,

Greetings!

IDEA provides vocational training in Tailoring, Beautician, Basic Nursing and Art & Craft for the young women in slum communities. It has proven to be a great support for many women to earn supplementary income for their families. Kavita is one such woman. This is her story. 

Pune intimidated Kavita. For a young girl from a small village in the interiors of Maharashtra, moving to the city after marriage was overwhelming. Soon, she busied herself with domestic duties and with the birth of two daughters and a son, she found little time to think of the outside world. But, comfortable in the cocoon of her home, Kavita wasn’t complaining.

Eventually, she faced a strong need to step outside the house and work in order to supplement her family’s income as the family was growing. Although she was accepting small tailoring assignments from the women in her vicinity, it wasn’t enough.

Kavita saw a golden opportunity when social workers from the IDEA Foundation visited her locality for a mobilization meet. She learnt of the Art and Craft classes offered by IDEA and liked some of the articles they promised to teach. Although initially reluctant, she finally enrolled for the course. The classes were much more comfortable than she had expected. She quickly befriended other women attending the classes.

Having completed the 2 month long course, IDEA offered to absorb Kavita as a master trainer. But this meant leaving home for long hours and travelling to remote corners of the city to teach. This was unthinkable for Kavita!

However, with support from her husband and encouragement given by Anita Ma’am from IDEA, Kavita accepted the job. She started conducting Art and Craft classes for other women at Jai Bhawani Nagar. She has successfully taught 6 batches till today. Determined to further face her fears, Kavita conducted training sessions for potential trainers (TOT classes) at Ramnagar, far from her home. She also conducted workshops for adolescents. For the under confident and shy Kavita, this was an achievement in itself.

Her vocation has helped Kavita build a healthy self-image. Working with IDEA has drawn her out of her shell. She stands a much more confident person today, interacting with diverse people without any hesitation.

In addition, since she has started earning well, Kavita contributes to domestic expenses and pays a part of her children’s school and college fees, thus fulfilling her initial objective. Her family is extremely proud of her accomplishments, expressing it through their unconditional support.

Today, Kavita has a new purpose in life. She plans to enroll for more classes at IDEA and conduct many more in future. She knows she is always welcome here.

Thank you dear donors for reading her story and being a part of her journey. It is only because of your continuous support we reach out to hundreds of Kavita and bring them in mainstream.