Empowering women for a better tomorrow

                            DHANPATMAL VIRMANI EDUCATION TRUST & MANAGEMENT SOCIETY

WOMEN LITERACY PROGRAMME under the title “Providing Functional Literacy to Women in India (Project No. 1784)”

There are 287 million illiterate people in India as per report published by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

      “EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

 The Virmani Trust has in the last 10 years taught 22,370 Adult Women to read and write Hindi, Arithmetic and Vocational Skills.

VIRMANI TRUST started the Women Literacy Program in 2004 with the objective of educating the illiterate women, so that they can improve the quality of their life and the life of their entire family.

Our mission is to bring Happiness & Joy in the lives of the disadvantaged & marginalized section of society

An educated woman in society

¨Will assist in reducing the infant mortality rate.

¨She will control the increasing population.

¨She gains self-respect and confidence.

¨She becomes aware of health issues.

¨She is able to manage financial matters.

¨She is able to travel and communicate easily.

                             Our target this year is to have 400 centres and teach 24,000 Adult Women.

Dhanpatmal Virmani Education Trust uses Computer Based Functional Literacy, animated software, which provides basic knowledge of Hindi alphabets for language and numerals for mathematical activities. To start a centre, a lady from the community is selected and given training. Her jhuggi/Home serves as a Class Room for the women beneficiaries of the area. Hence, the system provides a suitable space for illiterate women in their own atmosphere.

At present 312 Women Literacy Centers in and around Delhi supported by Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), BSES and others are being successfully run by the Trust.

 We have also introduced vocational training courses, like tailoring and beauty culture at our selected centers in New Delhi and adjoining towns, so that the women can earn a little more for their families. This will help in raising their standard of living and gain self respect in the community.

We are also providing books, magazines, newspapers and other stationary material to the beneficiaries. Also we organized Rallies for Celebrating Festivals, Annual Day.

                                                                                RALLY

Beneficiaries of Women Literacy Centers also play a very important role for themselves as individuals and  also for other illiterate women. They organize a Rally Programme on every Saturday in their own residential area. Due to this well organized programme, other women are also motivated and encouraged and also they are able to come out of their houses for their own benefits and for self-employment. Because of Rally Program, we found very good result. Hesitate women will also motivated and come forward to get admission in our Literacy Centres. Even their families also agree who were against earlier.

OUR PASSOUT BENEFICIARIES ALSO PLAY THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTORS (teachers) IN OUR CENTERS. SO THAT THEY CAN MOTIVATE OTHERS BENEFICIARIES REGARDING EDUCATION.

                                                                             CASE STUDY

Vibha

Bhalaswa Dairy

“ Since I hail from a backward village Inever got a chance to go to school. After getting married, I invested all my energy into household chores. One day, I learned about Women Literacy Classes being held in my neighborhood by TPDDL and I decided to enroll in the program. Today, I am well versed with alphabets, words, numerals and can read bus numbers, electricity bills, newspapers and magazines. I now feel a sense of empowerment.”  

She is very thankful to Women Literacy Centers being run by Virmani Trust and TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited.

 It fills us with pride and joy to learn that illiterate women taught at our centers are now able to read the bus destination and bus numbers and are able to use a telephone, and read newspaper as well as their children’s report card. Also they are able to attend their children’s school meetings. Education is very important for women, not only for them but for a whole family because women are the mothers of the future generation.

                               “IF YOU EDUCATE A MAN, YOU EDUCATE AN INDIVIDUAL

                              BUT IF YOU EDUCATE A WOMAN, YOU EDUCATE A NATION.”

                                                                   SELF HELP GROUP

Virmani Trust along with Tata Power believe that Economic Empowerment of women, strengthens families and societies. It has therefore launched Women’s Empowerment Programme to provide sustainable economic opportunities to poor women in Slum Areas. The women coming for learning have been asked to form Self Help Groups so that they can build up small savings and finance self employment. A group of 10 to15 women belonging to our Women Literacy Center, deposit money into a bank account. The women of this group borrow from this account at a nominal interest as per their needs.

As on date, 155 such Self Help Group bank accounts have been opened. Our target is to open 300 accounts by the end of this year.

                “ This scheme has been of immense benefit to the poor women living in the slums.”

“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman?"
- Mahatma Gandhi

Many Thanks

Anil Virmani