Gender Equality India Project #22899

Training Space for 600 Poor Girls in Mumbai

by Vacha Charitable Trust

Project Report | May 31, 2017
Almost Reaching the Goal

By Sonal Shukla | Managing Trustee

Greeting Cards Made From Old Magazines

Dear Friends,

With your kind support of almost $ 25000.00/- we have been able to pay off for a much needed space for our coordination center for trainings in hard and soft skill for girls in second decade of life. Space is one of the costliest commodities in Mumbai. We had raised 250000.00 over the years but were stranded for this last ten per cent. We are deeply grateful to you for making a permanent place possible for Vacha’s programme with girls. We will send you pictures as soon as it is furnished. Right now it is just empty space of 350 square feet. We are likely to get it designed in a way that this small space can be utilized optimally. This is why we also have to appeal to you and all other potential donors to contribute towards it. We have come a long way already and some essential furnishing will help us get going.

The rooms are in a new residential building as commercial areas would be too expensive for us to even consider. It is fairly centrally located with easy access to public transport. To turn this residential space in to a formal admin and training area will take special planning. Fortunately, a woman architect trained at MIT (Boston, USA) has offered to make this space in to a place for women and girls at the lowest possible rate. She and her sister are supporters of Vacha. Still we will need to raise $ 25000.00 for some demolition (kitchen, second toilet etc., reconstruction (storing space) and furniture. Of this we already have funds in rupees up to $16000.00. We are looking for the remaining $9000.00 so that we can finally move in to the new place. We hope you will be reach out to us once again and donate generously.

We are sharing some pictures of work of one of our past program participants in a slum. She is now in a design institute and trains other poor girls in to making beautiful things out of waste materials.

With thanks and best wishes,

Sonal Shukla

Creativity Workshop

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Mar 16, 2017
Imparting Job Readiness Skills to young women

By Medhavinee Namjoshi | Executive Director

computer lab session

Dear Friends,

It is a joy to share with you that our third batch of job readiness course is on the roll. We have had 45 young women , first generation learners completing the course and finding employability and acquiring skills required for working in the organised sector.

In the current batch we have 25 young women in the last year of their degree in an all women’s college. These are all marginalized and mostly first generation learners who have reached college. They do not have family members employed in the formal sector and do not have exposure to resources and opportunities.

One of the young women in this course had run away with lover at a very young age as no baody valued or loved her in family. Her father used to beat her and her mother severely. The lover took sexual advantage of her but did not marry her and absconded one day. She somehow managed to come back home to be beaten up again and called names. She was married off to the first proposal that came to her, a divorcee. In that relation too she was constantly abused and battered.

She escaped from him to realize her family do not want to take her back. Today she works as a residential maid (house help). Her employers are good to her and have encouraged her to continue studies. She is determined to complete her graduation and also the job readiness course so that she can find a dignified job and support herself.

Our aim is to enable the girls with self efficacy that will help them securing an employment in formal sector and will also negotiate in their personal lives.

The course imparts skills in computer, building and making presentations, preparing C.V and facing Interview, Career counseling, negotiations and problem solving . It also covers understanding gender and sexual harassment at work place, basic laws women should be aware of in the employment sector, basic banking and investment .It covers topics like work ethics, group dynamics and formal telephonic conversation etiquettes.

We have a partnership with Indian Council of Basic education and L.J.N.J. college ( affiliated to S.N.D.T. Women’s University) to run this course. Antarang foundation is the partner for carrier counseling and placements.

We thank all of you for your financial support which has made this program possible. Securing a designated training place is going to empower us to hold many more such short term courses for young women and girls.

Session on career prospects

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Dec 20, 2016
Season's Card and New Year Wishes

By Sonal Shukla | Trustee

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