Sponsor vocational training for poor young women by Protsahan

Basic and Advance Cutting and Tailoring Course (Duration – 6 months): Cutting and Tailoring is one of the most popular courses in Kamalini. Since many of the women and girls who come to our center have migrated to Delhi from different parts of India, sewing is one skill which gives them an option to work from home or any other location they are living in. It helps them to earn a minimum income to fulfil their basic needs and contribute to their families. Kamalini offers both basic and advance courses, each of which has a duration of 6 months. Milestone achieved – In the last 6 months, we conducted training in Cutting and Tailoring. We were able to certify them upon completion of the program and a total of 28 women/school drop outs benefited from this program. Since they have been trained in a professional way, after the completion of the course, four students got job placements immediately, one student got job before she could complete her course and some have started their own small business. Rest of the students get orders from their neighborhood areas. Two students work at our center in the production unit which helps them to earn some additional income to support their family. Our history record shows what a success story becomes in real life, it appears with achievement records of our beneficiaries that most of them get job placements in boutique or in production units, once the training has been accomplished which leads to benefits as individuals and to their families. Major Events – a) To encourage them by Mobilizing the married women and drop out students/young girls to be part of the Cutting and Tailoring program b) On women’s day celebration which was held on 08-March-2022 a group of ladies from Peru Embassy
visited our center to encourage and motivate our beneficiaries in culture and Traditions of the country, in showing the quality of the fabric, designs and how it has been prepared out of a Sheep fur, which was designed in a traditional way and some talk was shared regarding the culture and traditions with each other’s in thoughts and ideas were put together. c) We continued the MasterG professional Training Project/course in Cutting and Training till April 2022 to upgrade the Cutting and Tailoring curriculum. d) In the month of April 2022 there was a career Guidance program held at Sohna Road, Haryana. We took our beneficiaries to attend the program. The program was very helpful for them as they have directly interacted with those resource persons which helped them for their career growth. We keep them busy and engaged so that they remain focused on their career to provide financial support. e) To enhance our beneficiary's training skills, we take a group of students from the Cutting and Tailoring courses to the local fabric market for a visit for them to have the knowledge on the quality of the fabric, the cost of the fabric, and which fabric is used for which purpose so as to build confidence within themselves, which is a good experience. Cities, region, areas covered – 33, Ground Floor Shahpur Jat, New Delhi -110049

Number of People impacted, directly/indirectly – There are 28 beneficiaries who have been impacted either indirectly/directly. Through the training courses offered at the Kamalini Training Centre, many women from the urban villages of Delhi, especially the ones from Shahpur Jat and nearby areas locality have achieved the opportunity to receive employability skills training. How the Work was carried out – The Cutting and Tailoring class was conducted on daily basis from 10 am to 4:30 pm, which included 4 batches of different time schedules from Monday through Friday.

How did the program help and impact the people – The program assisted the marginalized women to empower themselves and be part of the progressive society by increasing their self-esteem and by contributing financial assistance in their respective families. With that said, their daily life standard rose to better than before which brought more happy faces in their families as they got job to support their spouses/families financially.

Challenges/ Hurdles- Post covid, the school re-opened due to which most of the students who had joined the center for upskilling, started to go back to school to pursue their studies, while married women were coming to the center in the afternoon session. We had to change the schedule and asked the married women to come in the morning shift and continued the training session for students in the afternoon ensuring the learning continues. Aims/Goals for next 6 months Program –

1. We intend to continue to impart training in cutting and tailoring so that women of the localities learn the trade and be able to provide additional financial support in the families for their betterment.
2. Repeated Mobilization has been done and will be continued, to get more beneficiaries and help them to get proper training in Cutting and Tailoring.
3. Weekly assessments are conducted every Friday to improve their skills in sewing and stitching quality.
4. We continue to follow the system of training activities trained to the beneficiaries with the curriculum of MasterG project to improve their skills and professional outlook
5. Since everything turned out to be normal after the pandemic, we keep track on the attendance. The beneficiary’s attendance has to be a minimum of 75% to be able to appear for the final exam.
6. We continue to follow proper techniques and upgrade our Cutting and Training curriculum in the training program.
7. Keep a track on how many samples per topic are prepared by the beneficiaries and accordingly give marks in the weekly assessment
8. Once in a while we encourage our beneficiary by showing them motivational videos that they are able to think beyond their thought process.
9. The beneficiaries are guided by the teachers in how to maintain and fix and repair the sewing machine.

Name of the Beneficiary: Nighat Parveen Khan
Age: 36 Background Story: Nighat lives with her husband and her three children. Her husband has a mobile repair shop and she is a home maker. Her younger daughter suffers from Epilepsy for which they have to take her frequently to the doctor for treatment and they are unable to meet the medical expenses. Her husband is the sole bread earner and they are finding it hard to meet their daily expenses, as most of the money goes for treatment. And to provide support for her family financially. With that thought she comes to our center and undergoes training in Cutting and Tailoring and hopes to get good job opportunities to remove all hurdles which are faced in health and financial front. Support Given: Sponsorship Cutting and Tailoring program Progress: She is currently pursuing the course in cutting and Tailoring and at the same time she is trying to get a job at the earliest so that she can provide financial assistance to her husband and support her family. She is very keen to learn at a quicker pace and her attitude towards life is very inspiring.

The activities covered under this programme are the basic and advanced cutting and tailoring courses. The region is covered by the urban village of Shahpur Jat, although we have students from other parts of Delhi as well, like Dwaraka and Tughlagabad. In the past 6 months, a total of 32 students have benefited from the course. In the month of September, Kamalini started a project with MasterG and Daughters Pvt. Ltd., a professional training company, with the goal of upgrading the skills of the students to be able to make products of better quality for better pay. The training given is for six months and is at the level of the standards followed by the garment industry. At the end of this course, the students who have done well will have opportunities to work or do internships in the workshops of designers. Some students also got opportunities to make products for orders placed by volunteers, for which they also got payment.

A major challenge faced in this course is the high rate of dropouts due to various reasons such as disinterest, personal family issues, health issues etc. At the beginning of July, 45 students were enrolled, but only 32 remained. In between, when there were many dropouts, a round of mobilisation was done in order to cover the seats that became vacant. In the coming months, the target is to secure internships for the students who successfully complete the course so that they also get industry experience.

Through the program with MasterG, the students are learning professional pattern making and garment construction. A couple of designers have already agreed to take some students as interns after getting to know the training program that they are going through. Our student Reshma comes all the way from Ghaziabad to attend this course. She wants to open her own boutique, for which this training would help her a lot. She plans to work with a designer for a while, after which she will open her own business. Another student of ours, Sanjana, who is 17 years old and has just finished her 12th standard, is a NIFT aspirant. But her parents could not afford the course at NIFT. The MasterG course at Kamalini gave her a feasible option to learn pattern making and garment construction, which are core subjects in fashion design. This knowledge, along with the internships that will follow, will give her the exposure she needs to fulfill her desire to work in the fashion industry.

The activity covered under this programme is the basic and advanced Cutting and Tailoring course. The region is covered in the urban village of Shahpur Jat, although we have students from other parts of Delhi as well. In the past 5-6 months a total of 40 students have benefitted from the course. During the lockdown, many of the students were able to continue the course online and also received COVID-relief food packages from us.

After the lockdown in April, it was difficult to get the students to come for the classes since many of them had gone back to their villages and some discontinued the course. But through our efforts in mobilisation, we were able to take new admissions and bring back some of the older students, although even now the centre is not running at full capacity. For the upcoming months, we are sponsoring 30 of our students, both new and old, to undergo a training programme by MasterG and Daughters Pvt. Ltd. The goal is to upgrade the skills of the students to be able to make products of better quality for better pay.

Stories from the ground: A student of ours named Mansi Kumari had come to Delhi from Jharkhand to visit her family just before the March 2020 lockdown. Due to the lockdown, she got stuck in Delhi for many months and as a result, she decided to join the Cutting and Tailoring Course. She has completed her basic course and is now going back to her Village in Jharkhand where she plans to set up a small tailoring business from home. She says that it would help her earn an income as there are not many tailors in her area. She will be getting married soon and this business would help her in meeting the small household expenses.

The cutting and tailoring course has always been the most popular course at Kamalini. During the lockdown our teacher made sure that she kept in touch with the students and helped them by giving classes online through WhatsApp video call. Those who could avail this facility continued their course and came back to the centre once it was opened in September. The students also got small orders to make and this exercise gives them a sense of responsibility and makes them more alert about their quality of work. It also gives them an idea of how they can find work for themselves or set up a small business and operate it. They are also encouraged to do embroidery, both machine and hand, to increase the value of their products. Thanks to the familial and friendly environment of the classes, it is a wonderful way for the women to break away from their mundane routines at home and to interact and make friends with others is a safe and cordial environment. We were also able to acquire and renovate a much larger classroom that is more conducive for learning.

Encouraging women and girls to enhance their skill

We had organised a special class for sewing zip pouches and tote bag were 43 students have attended the session and are now stitching for their families and for selling purpose to earn some income.
After completing the course of cutting and tailoring for 6months the students on the first week of every month attend exams after which they receive their certificate which marks the completion of the course. We also celebrated women's Day to encourage women participation.

Women immersed in vocational training activities

Program Update

Currently we have 28 students who are learning cutting and tailoring, Advance cutting and tailoring and Embroidery. 13 students have successfully completed the course and are pursuing advance cutting and Tailoring. 15 students are pursuing Basic IT.The students are also trained so that it can help them open up further employment opportunities for the beneficiaries attending the courses. , Awareness session and workshop are conducted for the beneficiaries on various topics to create a higher impact. We have four class session from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday. For the next quarter will enrol more students for Basic It, Cutting and Tailoring though Outreach programme and mobilisation.

Story from the field

Sabita is 29 Years old she married at a very young age when she was 18 years Old she migrated to Delhi with her husband in search of Job her husband works as a plumber and has a minimum income they live in shahpur Jat New Delhi in a rented house. Last year Sabita decided to Pursue Basic Cutting and Tailoring and enrolled herself in the course and completed the course and later pursued advance Cutting and Tailoring, she has completed all the level of the course. Sabita along with her Husband migrated to Delhi for job and to get better treatment. It has been 12 years of marriage Sabita could not conceive baby all the money that her husband earned are spent on her Medical treatment, Electricity bills, Rend and other expenses and also they have taken loan from their relatives for her treatment Which was very hard for her husband to pay alone so she decided to learn a skill so that she can be a support to her husband, now she is working at Lila boutique as a Tailor and also stitch from home and earns Rs. 9000/- per Month. Sabita is so grateful towards her husband for supporting her and she is now confident that she can have a better future and get a better treatment and manage her medical expenses on her own.