The odds were many – poverty, illiteracy, resistance from family members, domestic commitments, ill-health. Yet, 124 women from the villages of Malumichampatti and Eachanari overcame these to complete a six-month certified skill training programme to become entrepreneurs. Their dreams were not small when they received certificates here on Wednesday.
They are the beneficiaries of the first batch of vocational training, offered free of cost at the L&T Vocational Training Centre, an ‘Uddyam’ initiative of the Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust. The training, in cutting, tailoring and dress making; machine embroidery; and beauty culture and healthcare, was offered with Avinashilingam Jan Shikshan Sansthan (AJSS) as its knowledge partner.
When the programme began on February 22, 180 women registered for the three courses. Only 124 of them were able to brave the several odds to continue the training and complete it successfully.
The elated group have already started putting their training to use, albeit in a small way. But they have set their aim on something higher, and this is not merely due to their training in the trades they received.Thirty-seven-year-old Janaki Udayakumar was a timid Plus-Two pass-out with no aim in life before February. The fact that she did not have a child added to her predicament. But on Wednesday as she held the microphone and shared her experience with confidence, it was proof enough that she was a transformed woman. She attributed this confidence to the Life Enrichment Education (LEE) sessions that the training included.
“I have not only learnt a trade, but life skills. The LEE sessions has helped me find a focus in life in the absence of a child, help me lead a healthy lifestyle, reduce my weight, and take up kitchen gardening,” she said, standing there wearing a blouse designed and tailored by her. The Trust had included three sessions a month on health and mind management, nutrition education, yoga and meditation, alternative medicine and naturopathy, nature cure, and emergency care, besides others, to bring an overall transformation .It is with this confidence Janaki and a few other women have decided to open a large unit to offer tailoring and embroidering services. And, they have not stopped with making their future secure. They have spread the word around and motivated other women so much so that when the L&T Vocational Training Centre called for applications for the second batch, it got a whopping 300 forms.
