Government Of Rajasthan Partners With USHA International To Support Rural Women

Many state governments and other government entities are seeing the significance and impact of Silai Schools towards skill building and entrepreneurship development. The Government of Rajasthan is one such state that has partnered with the USHA Silai School program along with an NGO called Unnayan Samiti to train 100 women in four districts across the state- Jaipur, Kota, Dholpur and Pratapgarh. The partnership with the State Government of Rajasthan is through the Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation Limited (RKCL) which is a public sector undertaking of the state which works on empowering and skilling rural women. Madhu Rathi, Company Secretary, RKCL said,

When we talk about uplifting society and our country, the most important role here is played by women. We need to bring women forward. So, with women empowerment in mind, we could not think of any partner better than USHA International.

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She further explained that women in this camp will be trained in two significant areas. Sewing skill is of course the foundation of the course but also how to repair and run the sewing machines and to go back to their villages and become Silai School teachers who will in turn further train other rural women in sewing skills. The women being trained here will be taught how to run Silai School clusters in their villages which will work as small income generation modules in villages Ms Rathi said,

When we met with USHA, we looked at many of their schemes, we saw interviews done by the women they have trained. How a woman who is involved in agriculture in her village can reach a fashion show - when we saw that passion and the identity it gave them, that's when we thought USHA is the best to partner with. In this USHA project, we will select 100 women from across the villages and districts of Rajasthan. A cluster of 25 women from Jaipur, has started a 7-day residential training programme today. Similarly, we will make three more clusters of 25 women each, and start the programme in different districts. 

Unnayan Samiti, an NGO that works on women's issues, especially health and social empowerment is a key facilitator of this partnership with 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. The NGO will also do a follow up to see that women practice the skills learnt here and will be a monitoring agency following the work of these women even when they go back to their homes.

Vijay Parashar, Secretary, Unnayan Samiti said,

If we talk about the sustainability of this programme, we will train the women, who will then go on to establish Silai Schools in their houses. After that, our Unnayan team will be in touch with them throughout and provide them with hand-holding and support. Along with this, we will have a Monthly Information System or MIS, so we can keep assessing what kind of support they need – do they need to be linked with the markets, or if they need any other skill, we will provide that. We will also teach them life skills, and IT skills will also be provided.

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Shyam Sunder Sharma, Program Coordinator of Unnayan Samiti explained that the criteria for selecting a woman is that if a woman is needy, a widow, if she is physically challenged, or if she belongs to a poor family, and is interested in stitching and earning a living for herself. For many women, this camp is the first time they have stepped out of their homes. For many, it is a time to meet other women like themselves and work towards a better future. The Silai School will not only equip them to stitch and sew but they will also be able to train other rural women for a small fee which will be an additional income generation model for them. Sunita, Silai Hero shared,

I have come here to learn something and help my family. Our financial condition is not good, my husband earns very little. I will further train others and become independent.

Another Silai Hero Mamta Sain said,

My family's financial situation is not good, so I want to stitch and help in improving our situation. By stitching I want to do something for myself and my children. Whatever income I get from the stitching, I want to improve my financial condition with it.