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USHA And Star Cement's Innovative Mechanic Training Program
Team NDTV | Updated: February 06, 2025 17:09 IST
In a groundbreaking initiative, USHA, a leading brand in home appliances, and Star Cement, a leading cement company in northeast India, have come together to launch a first-of-its-kind project. The program aims to train men in the mechanics and maintenance of sewing machines, enabling them to provide technical support to women graduating from USHA Silai Schools, their learners, and other women from the villages.
Located in the picturesque Chamata Pathar, near one of Star Cement's plants, the USHA Silai School has been running successfully in partnership with the cement company.
According to Sadhana Sharma, Program Coordinator at USHA Social Services,
“USHA has been working very closely with Star Cement since the last few years and we have started a model called training the trainer model. From last year we have covered nearly 800 students and we have covered in Assam more than 20 villages. After completing the course from star cements, it gives the best students a few machines free of cost.”
Collaborative Change: How Partnerships Elevate Women In Rural India
Located just an hour and a half's drive from Assam's Guwahati lies the USHA Silai School at Chamata Pathar. Run in partnership with Star Cement, this school is fostering self-dependence among the women of the region. USHA's alliances with similar organisations have significantly contributed to positively transforming the lives of numerous women across diverse communities.
Karan Dey, a trainee at the USHA Silai School, proudly shares,
"Everyone who has passed their training from this school has been given a machine each. I have done a mechanical course. Everyone has a machine at home. If any of the parts get damaged, then we can use our training & whatever we have learned to fix the machine, and we can also open our own shop."
The partnership between USHA and Star Cement has not only empowered rural women but has also created new livelihood opportunities for men.
Sukanya Goswami, Assistant General Manager at CSR, Star Cement, notes,
"There was always a lack of mechanics in the entire area, so we thought of this concept and discussed it with Usha international. We found that there is a possibility of organizing this training for these upcoming youths as budding entrepreneurs."
Heritage Meets Humanity: Ismail Khatri And The USHA Silai School Connection
The initiative has already shown promising results.
According to Sandip Samanta, Assistant Vice President at Star Cement,
"More than 300 students in every batch, after doing the training successfully, complete their courses and get certificates. We help whoever is qualifying, we are helping them with the machines and with the machines they are doing their own incomes."
This innovative project is a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential for empowering rural communities. USHA and Star Cement's partnership has not only addressed the pressing need for skilled mechanics in the region but has also created a sustainable livelihood for the trained individuals.
As USHA continues to empower women through its Silai Schools, this mechanic training program stands as a shining example of how innovative partnerships can make a real difference in the lives of rural communities.
Published: February 06, 2025 12:10 IST
Team NDTV | Thursday February 06, 2025USHA and Star Cement launch a pioneering project in Northeast India to train men in sewing machine mechanics, empowering rural women and creating new livelihood opportunities
- Team NDTV | Thursday February 06, 2025
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Do you want to be a part of the huge change that Usha Silai School is bringing about in the lives of millions of rural women? With just a simple click of a button, you can now contribute towards the opening of an Usha Silai School or support various other aspects of the school.
Kushalta Ke Kadam, an initiative by USHA Silai School and NDTV has entered its eighth season. The aim is to empower more women across rural India by teaching them sewing skills and helping them open new doors of opportunities for themselves. The initiative encourages rural women to become financially independent and entrepreneurs by taking up sewing and training others in their respective communities.
Since 2011, the USHA Silai School initiative has trained more than 12 lakh rural women through over 33,000 Silai schools, spanning over 20,751 villages across India.
The women earn Rs. 4,000 – 5,000 per month on an average, with the highest recorded monthly earning being Rs. 84,000 in a month. This earning works as a catalyst towards building their self-confidence, reducing gender inequities, and raising their stature within their families and in society at large.
Kushalta ke Kadam: Aiming for Independence Through Stitching
Rebari girls grow up learning traditional embroidery, which along with their new found sewing skills developed at Usha Silai Schools, is helping them earn a living.
Usha Silai School has empowered many rural women to support their family and send their children to school.
The Usha Silai School, established in a small nondescript village that goes by the name of Kottai, is helping empower people from varied communities.
The all-inclusive Usha Silai School Programme covers the entire nation from hamlets tucked between hills to villages cast by the sea.
Vegetables farmers from the Mizoram hills earn very little given the topography of the area. Usha Silai Schools have played an important part in this region by skilling women to financially contribute towards their households.
Usha Silai School learner Lucy has trained seven other women in her community, helping them to become financially independent.
Women like Kaviben from the nomadic Rebari community are finally laying down their roots as they begin to gain financial independence and thereby stability through Usha Silai School.
Usha Silai School, located in the Gujarat's Bhuj village, is enabling rural women to earn as much as Rs. 2,500-4,000 each month.
Usha Silai School, in association with a Gujarat based NGO called Kala Raksha, is trying to bring about a Silai revolution in Bhuj.
Besides training other women from their community, many Usha Silai School learners have become entrepreneurs in their own right.
With sewing becoming easily accessible and lucrative, the silai schools are also helping revive traditional motifs and designs.