By Praveen Kumar | Program Manager
At Apne Aap we aim to empower women by finding it within themselves the innate strength to help themselves; hence our name.
Meet the two young women Reema Parveen (Name Changed) and Sitara Khatoon(Name Changed). They are from the de-notified tribes Nat community who are trapped in inter-generational prostitution. They have been rescued by Apne Aap Women World Wide and have been enrolled in our skills training programme for tailoring and are now in the process of apprenticeship after which they will be able to open their own small businesses. They follow in the footsteps of Shushma Khatoon(Name Changed) a 32-year-old woman, from the same community. After undergoing intensive skills training, she is now the proud owner of a boutique and is successfully earning a livelihood capable of providing her 4-year-old daughter with an education at a school supported by Apne Aap and a way to break the cycle of vulnerability and trafficking.
Through our various community outreach programmes, we ensure that women vulnerable to trafficking are in the position to find safe havens by ensuring their physical and mental wellbeing. We provide nutritional meals, support children from ‘At risk’ and marginalized communities in furthering their education, interrupted by the Covid 19 pandemic by assisting them with tuition fees, boarding etc. We assist vulnerable women with practical skills training, in order for them to engage in long term stable employment opportunities. Between January and March 2024, we have a total of 4670 beneficiaries, this includes 1015 families who are provided with food rations, 1410 women, 2335 children and 934 men. We also ensured a dignified menstruation for 2050 adolescent girls with sanitary pads.
We currently support 108 children with their primary, middle and high school education in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Forbesgunj Bihar. We are also funding the higher education of 11 young women. Our community of bright young women from various marginalized groups, who are at the moment pursuing education have made us proud of their academic achievements. We assist them with educational funding, including food, boarding and school supplies. They are spread over the country studying diverse subjects such as Physiotherapy, Nursing, Liberal Arts, Engineering as well as Teacher’s training. We are proud of Akanksha(Name Changed), who has received commendation at successfully completing her first year of Physiotherapy training as one of the top students in her class and Fareeda(Name Changed) who, at her teacher’s training programme is also one of it’s brightest. Both are advancing steadily in their goal to give back to society through their respective chosen professions.
*Please note: The names of every beneficiary mentioned above have been changed to respect their privacy.
By Debmalya Ray Choudhuri | Project Research Fellow
By Khushboo Mishra | Project Leader
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