..Through the looking glass

Rita was leading an ordinary housewife’s life in her village in Greater Noida near Delhi till she enrolled for the ‘Literacy to Self- Reliance’ Project conducted by Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) with support from the Noida Power Company Ltd. (NPCL).

Through TARA Akshar+ she learnt how to read and write, which had awakened in her a desire to learn more and to come out of the confines of her house. Subsequently, she could not resist the temptation to enroll for a vocational training.

The training in stitching and tailoring lasted for two months and proved to be a real turning point in her life. She had been worried because her bedridden husband was not working and the responsibility of looking after her two school going children, husband and in- laws was on Rita’s shoulders. There was also a debt to be repaid.

On completion of her training Rita started her own Stitching and Tailoring Training Centre. She has already trained 16 women in two batches. She also takes personal orders for stitching at home. Almost every day she gets a couple of orders and manages to earn up to 12000 rupees per month.

On the radar

Six months ago, Aarti from Sahanargra-Bankapurva village joined the ‘Haryali, Udyamita aur Sampannata’ project, a joint intervention of GAIL India Limited and TARA, to learn some vocational skills. Never had she thought that one day she would be training other women and supporting her family.

When she learnt that the project would be conducted at her village Aarti immediately enrolled herself and decided to make the best possible use of the training. Initially a student at the TARA Akshar+ Kendra, she successfully completed the literacy component and moved on to get training as a beautician.

Aarti completed the beautician’s course with excellent results and started working in a beauty parlour. An ambitious girl, she had different plans for herself. She started teaching a beautician’s course at the nearby Sehud village where she turned out a successful and popular trainer.

Now Aarti not only has a stable source of income but is also able to help support her family and pay for her siblings’ education. Aarti has some further plans and believes that she will be a success in her future venture.

The lesson

"The ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’ programme was the best thing that could have happened in our village. I’m thankful to TARA for starting such a beautiful and free of cost programme in our village for women and girls. It is depressing that girls are not sent to school in villages, and even if they are, these girls are forced to drop out due to various internal and external reasons. Hence, I feel that, projects such as ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’, serve as a platform for the home bound women to explore opportunities available for them". - Rita, Sunpura Village

"There was nothing better, that, I could ask for; I now pay my fees myself and also support my siblings by financing their education. My brother can now take tuitions because we can afford it. I’m grateful to both GAIL and TARA for bringing the ‘Literacy to Self-Reliance’ Project in our village". - Aarti, Sahanagra-Bankapurva Village  q

Back to Contents