INTRODUCTION

 

Amartya Sen has once said, “Participation is Development” and rightly so. Broad-based economic growth, for instance, can positively influence the status of women. Participatory Growth, Poverty Reduction and expanding opportunities for remunerative employment, often results in an improvement in the support and encouragement that people receives within the market and family. 

Livelihood has direct links with being a part of the growth process. Enabling livelihood programs not only helps one become economically independent but also enables the social demand for education of people. All of this constitutes substantial changes in a person’s familial and social relations.

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AIMS/OBJECTIVES

 

• Imparting skills in women and creating livelihood opportunities for them.

• Enabling people to be a part of labour force participation rate, to be a part of the country’s growth.

• Mainstreaming Gender in Participatory Development for women empowerment.

• Enabling people to be economically independent and self-employed as not to fall in vicious cycles of poverty.

• Transforming financial dependency into social emancipation.

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APPROACH WE FOLLOW

 

• The program is designed keeping in mind the various modules which are promoted by the National Skill Development Council of India. 

 

• Adolescent - Basic computer skills are provided on the completion of which certificates are provided to the participants.

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• Women are taught various skills based on their interests like stitching, embroidery, beauty parlor, traditional art and craft, pickle making and food processing among others. These women are then employed into various companies or they become self-employed.

 

• Men are trained into carpentry, masonry, basic plumbing, electrician and driving.

 

METHODS

 

• Conducting surveys in the community to identify men and women suitable and interested in the skill development course.

 

• Providing skill development centres and other necessary infrastructure required. As part of our Skill promotion and Development, we are closely working with the communities to enhance the existing and traditional skill base, also introducing new skills to make them employable. We are constantly working on various interventions in our centers. 

 

• Providing training and certificates to women from professional instructors. These women are then employed through placements or self-employed.

 

• Promotion of Self Help Group- Nurturing Self-Help Groups of rural poor women is PARAS India India’s key tool in fulfilling its mission and goals. The Self-Help Groups we have formed like “Aao chu lein aasman” and “udaan” have helped women in a number of ways: they provide guidance; they give support and assistance to women, and they identify and promote home-based enterprises among its members. These home-based enterprises, called “honeybee activities”,involves a myriad of ventures. The SHG members take loans from the SHGs and set out to begin an enterprise of their own. 

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 TO SUM UP

 

• With every livelihood opportunity created, men and women are instilled with a sense of dignity and self-respect.

• Women have been able to become as change-makers by being self-dependent and job creators at the same time.

• Parents who were not able to send their children to attend schools earlier due to lack of financial resources, have enabled their children to be a part in the learning process.

• Economic independence of women has led to better management of the expenses of the households.

• Children are less likely to be malnourished and get a proper nutritious meal.