USHA Silai Schools women eventually emerge as change catalysts, willing to make a difference and act against the prevailing social issues. They work as social activists and contribute towards the betterment of the community at large. Here is how three such women are making a difference by empowering others after empowering themselves.
Ms Devi, who started a Silai school in her village in October 2020, faced economic challenges since childhood. She as married off to a small farmer Hari at a young age. Ms Devi soon found out that her husband was cheating on her with another woman after which she was regularly subjected to domestic violence. As the incidences of violence against her increased, she left her in-laws' house and returned to her parents' house. Soon, after that, through an NGO, Banwashi Sewa Ashram, Ms Devi got to know that USHA with the support of SIDBI Bank established Swavalamban Silai Schools in Sonbhadhra district.
She participated in a nine-day residential training at the school established in her village in October 2020 where she learnt about fashion, sewing machine installation, repair and maintenance and also got 2 days of Life Skill training. Along with the training lessons, she also received one Sewing Machine, one signage board, one syllabus book, one service manual, and a teacher's certificate. This was a step towards a new beginning for her. She opened her own Silai school and started training other women.
Because of the encouragement and training received at the USHA Silai School, Ms Devi now has her own identity as gram pradhan, trainer, motivator, and counsellor. As Gram Panchayat head, Ms Devi has assured the people of her area that she will fight till the end to bring facilities for higher education, and facilities for water and health to the village.
Ms Tuti remembers her childhood as a difficult time as she saw the struggles of her father to feed all the five children. In spite of all the difficulties, she studied up to intermediate. Ms Tuti got married in the year 2006 at the age of 20 to Joseph Purty, a farmer and a teacher in Chirkubeda village Bandgaon block, West Singhbhum. She is a mother to two children- a boy and a girl.
It was the training received at USHA Silai School and the sewing machine that the Silai School provided her, that made all the difference in Ms Tuti's life. According to her, the biggest difference is the level of independence that the training has brought into her life, especially when it comes to household expenses.
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.
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