Vocational training is fundamental to empowering the communities we assist in India. The initiative began in 2014 with a few workshops and quickly grew into a full-fledged program, that continues to operate successfully in Bihar and Jharkhand.
Training delayed by the pandemic
In order to extend our humanitarian services to more people in the state of Jharkand we built a new clinic and operations center in Hata, , which opened last year. In addition to improved health services, vocational training is also provided in this building
Vocational training was scheduled to start in March 2020, shortly after the inauguration of our operations center.
However, due to the Covid pandemic we were not able to initiate this program until March 2021 Our vocational training program began with 9 sewing students and 10 computer students, and after 3 weeks the number of students enrolled in sewing courses had increased to 23. The students began by learning about fabrics and embroidery patterns and attended class thrice weekly, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Sunita testifies
Sunita Pal, 22, is one of our sewing students. She shares her experience with us :
“I was fascinated by embroidery and dreamed of learning the creative art, but my father would not allow me to take a course. Fortunately, today my husband and in-laws are very supportive. When I heard about Karuna’s sewing courses, my husband urged me to sign up for the course. The workshops started this month and I have made friends. Our instructors are extremely patient with us and make sure we learn without any hesitation or fear.”
After this training, I want to make a living by opening a tailoring business. I am looking forward to being able to support my family financially with the skills I have acquired in tailoring and embroidery !
Supporting Karuna-Shechen also means supporting dozens of women like Sunita to pursue their dreams and express their full potential !
