After the success of USHA Silai schools at various levels, government entities have come forward to join hands with USHA and seek support for the skill development of the rural women of India. Here is how USHA's partnership with the CWA (CRPF family Welfare Association) and the Government of Rajasthan making a difference.
Currently, 15 ladies are being trained at USHA-CWA Silai School and many other women who are interested will be trained later. These 15 women will be given advanced training. After that, three women will be selected to be trained as master trainers. They can then start training other women and earn money for themselves.
Unnayan Samiti, an NGO that works on women's issues, especially health and social empowerment is a key facilitator of the partnership between USHA and the Government of Rajasthan. It has played an important role in identifying women and bringing them to the USHA Silai School camp. It also ensures there are no dropouts during the training.
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by NDTV and USHA, aims at empowering women from rural India and encourages them to become entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities. Since 2011 Usha Silai Campaign has trained more than 3.95 lakh rural women within five years, with 17,000 Silai schools, spanning over 9272 Indian villages in India.
Kushalta Ke Kadam in Season 4 has returned with new goals and vision. The new season will witness the establishment of the new cluster in Kashmir, apart from the existing four clusters setup last year. The women from volatile Kashmir will work with well-known fashion designer Rohit Bal and get an unique opportunity to learn from him and make clothes for him. The work done by the Silai School women will be presented at Lakme Fashion week 2019.
During the COVID-19 pandemic when people were struggling to earn a living, several women across the country benefitted from USHAs 'Adopt A Silai School' programme
With an increase in the number of Silai Schools across the country, a need for more trainers to deliver quality training was realised and this led to the concept of Master Trainers, which has now been in practice for a few years
Silai Hero Sweta Sudarshan is the face of the joint initiative of USHA and UNFPA to take life skills to women in rural areas
USHA has been training rural women in sewing and stitching for 11 years. Now, with UNFPA, it is providing life skill education to help them earn a better income
USHA and Balrampur Chini Mills Limited have come together to help women in rural areas from Uttar Pradesh to open their own USHA Silai Schools and become financially independent
USHA and Aavas Foundation have joined hands to promote skill development among rural women in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra