Reach India provides sexual reproductive health and nutrition education to 50 young women bidi (local cigarette) workers below the age of 30 years in Murshidabad (W. Bengal, India). They partake in self-help groups to save money and access loans whilst gaining knowledge of disease prevention, freedom of choice and access to products and services required to improve the wellbeing of themselves and their families. We will train and engage them using sewing and tailoring for their safe livelihoods.
This project will directly benefit women who are among the poorest of the 1,000 households of Dafarpur, Jamuar and other village councils in Raghunathganj 1 block. The women contribute to their family income by rolling bidi thus risking their health whilst the male figures migrate to big cities for income purposes. Young women and girls suffer of low literacy, early marriages before 18 years, frequent child birth, poor nutrition and inability to make independent decisions about their lives.
Intensive health training on sexual and reproductive health, hygiene, nutrition will help women grasp the knowledge and life skills needed to access products and services whilst asserting their sexual and non-productive rights. By being educated on special learning conversations and practical sessions, this will be achievable. Sewing and tailoring training will help them to transition from cigarette rolling to a safer and more viable business.
Reach India's work will train and educate 50 of the poorest young women on health issues through sewing and tailoring opportunities. These training programmes strengthen their collective voice, facilitate the linkages to health and income resources and advocates with government and private service providers. Therefore this promotes the right age of marriage, small family norms, and gender equality. As a result improving their families' health and wellbeing and income security.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
