Classroom to Streets

“Our research showed that there is a huge gap between skilled beneficiaries and their access to the market. We also identified a lack of adequate training and employable skills. I also interned at St Catherine’s Shelter Home in Andheri West,where I worked with rescued victims of human trafficking and that became our pilot project,” Jyotika says. The project with the rescued human trafficking victims,initiated last year at the shelter home,concluded recently.

For Vaishali,it was her stint at an NGO that motivated her to pursue an MBA. Armed with a degree in textile designing,she went backpacking to Himachal Pradesh and worked with an NGO in the area of developmental activities. “My experience in textile designing helped. I formed the women into small groups,helped them open a shop and did a bit of marketing. That’s when I realised that my skills had the potential to change lives. At NMIMS,we decided to identify what kind of skills training we can give to victims of human trafficking; we felt that jewellery making had a huge market and the girls also showed interest in it,” she says.

Accordingly,the group of 30 was trained in artificial jewellery making and now their products are being sold through various channels. “The girls have now formed their own activity group. We could sell their jewellery through exhibitions and to groups that have even exported their products. Besides us,there are several other groups who approach them to buy their products.”

Srujna has helped the group sell jewellery worth at least Rs 1 lakh. Jyotika says it was not easy but the learning was intense,and the hard work had paid off. “We initially started off with our own money. Since it is an enterprise,we knew we had to earn income for ourselves to sustain this initiative and reach out to more. We decided that any project we take up,we will charge a nominal fee from the beneficiaries,which is refundable. Also,anything for free is not valued. Currently,an organisation called Unlimited India — which helps social enterprises like ours — is also providing us with some funding and has helped us connect with other financial sources,” Vaishali says.

The trio aims to provide livelihood to 10,000 underprivileged by 2020. “We have started three more training programmes in partnership with local NGOs; these include one for slum women in Vakola,an English-speaking and personality development project for students in Vasai whose family income is between Rs 1,000-4,000 and jewellery making for an underprivileged group in Andheri,” Ronak says.

They have identified several focus areas for Srujna — developing and providing vocational training to underprivileged sections of the society as per the market needs and providing the crucial market linkage between trained employees and employers. “We will also focus on developing knowledge,including creation of innovating training modules that have good placement potential,continuous research and development in the vocational training market,” Jyotika says.