Help Empower Girls and Women

Dear Friend,

Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to empower women in Goa to make strong choices about their health and their future. Every extra year a girl spends in a school increases her income by 10-20%, since women reinvest 90% of their income in their families, they uplift the whole family and community out of the vicious poverty gap.

It’s not just about putting girls in school but making sure they don’t leave before they should.  El Shaddai acknowledged the grit, perseverance, and contributions of women social workers, who are out there on the front lines bringing change in the lives of people who needs it the most. Aligning with this theme, with the priority on ‘Empowering women to Lead across Sectors, we would like to throw the spotlight on stories of empowered women from across its projects, who are facilitators and decision makers and contributing to societal change.

As part of the project activity, around 26 women were identified for training on tailoring work. From June 2021 – March 2022, this group of women were given training 22 models, and they were provided with all required resources and tool kits. Of the 26 women trained, 6 joined hands to form a business unit. The village head was requested to provide them with space to run their business. That’s how "A New Tailoring Unit" was born. It was not easy for these women. Three of them dropped out. Many of them were discouraged by family members from spending time at the business unit. But undeterred, these women visited nearby shops, and traders and went door to door for orders. El Shaddai Community Centre also helped them procure orders and promote their business as well.

Initially, we struggled to get orders. We earned Rs.2000/- per month only. Now, we are earning Rs.1000/- to 2000/- per day. I am able to support my family and they are encouraging me to keep doing my work, said Areena (name changed). Our initiative has encouraged adolescent girls in our village to undergo similar training, added Alma (name changed). It takes only one opportunity. Our training centres wanted to focus on skill-building and providing livelihood opportunities for women. Our objective is to provide skills-based and vocational training to youth and women and enable them to secure decent employment.

Thank you for your unwavering support!

Links:

• https://www.childrescue.net/