By Arushi Dhawan | Project Officer
Girls and women, Maitri is engaging with, are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Lack of diverse and market responsive education and skill building opportunities often result in these communities being left out from mainstream opportunities. Many girls are pulled out of school to take over household responsibilities and never develop the skills to enter the job market.
Maitri aims to bring these girls and women out of their homes, empower them with education and provide them with important technical skills in tailoring and culinary and English speaking. Since, the girls and women are essentially homemakers, they are well versed with the basic skill of tailoring and cooking. With training, they are being skilled and empowered with techniques of clean cuts, finishing in the final products they stitch which would have a market value. Maitri is also providing them opportunities to become entrepreneurs or support them if they want to work with an export house.
The training provides women with employment and self-employment opportunities. The self-employment creates self-confidence in the trainees and also helps in improving their living conditions.
We are proud to inform you that 7 women were facilitated on 15th February 2017. They have now acquired the basic skills and confidence they need to either venture into a home based self-employed small business. We are happy to inform our supporters; all our trainees from culinary class and English speaking class found employment with companies like Starbucks, Café Coffee Day etc.
There is exceptional determination in the students to learn and empower themselves. We saw that the trainees are in a hurry to complete their basic course so that they are able to step up to learn designer boutique wear stitching. The students not only know how to stitch basic blouses but also have started stitching designer Indian wear. The drive to learn and implement the skill is so much that the students within a month of their course start taking basic orders for stitching Indian wear from their neighbourhood. Gradually as their skill improves they will start taking more advance orders from the ladies.
Story of Empowerment
Seema, enrolled in Maitri’s tailoring course with an aspiration to learn a skill that can empower her to be independent and support her parents financially. She has been a part of the classes for over a year now and has completed her basic sewing course. Seema is pursuing her advance designer course with us and spends two hours a day in learning the skills. Rest of the time during the day she spends in completing the stitching orders given to her by the ladies in her community. Within six months of her enrollment under the course and completing the basic course with excellent skills she has started taking stitching orders from the ladies in her neighborhood. She mostly takes orders for Indian wear that comprise of salwar suit and petticoat , but stitching work pays her enough to earn a pocket money for herself, fulfill her basic needs and contribute a little to the family income. She is able to earn around four thousand rupees a month. At times when the sewing class teacher is on leave she acts as a substitute teacher for her peers. It is a proud moment for us that our Student has become capable enough to step into the teacher’s shoe.
Seema is grateful to Maitri for giving her the opportunity of learning the skill of tailoring and making her confident enough to be an independent earning member in the family. She not only earns for herself but also is able to help her parents financially when required.
Some of our students need financial support to purchase a sewing machine to become entrepreneurs; Maitri seeks support from our compassionate donors.
All in all, the past couple of months have been full of excitement and satisfaction for our Tailoring Class students. You have been a very important link to bringing change in the lives of vulnerable women and young girls we work with. We are very grateful for your support and are positive that with your continued support, we can reduce the incidents of gender-based violence.
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