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| Women take part in the training programme at Bhagalpur. Picture by Amit Kumar |
Bhagalpur, May 18: Thirty women, mostly uneducated and hailing from the backwaters of Naugachia sub-division in the district, are in the process of securing employment.
Nabard is training them in sewing, weaving and embroidery, which would help them get employment and enhance their earning ability.
The women are in the last phase of completing their training at Mahila Silai Bunai Kendra (sewing and weaving centre for women), Naugachia. The training began on February 23 and will conclude on May 23.
The state office of Nabard sanctioned the project under its Skill Development Initiative (SDI) programme early this year. The programme aims to train 30 women of Naujan Lok Karyakram, a Naugachia-based non-governmental organisation working in the area, in sewing, weaving and embroidery.
Secretary of the organisation Vimla Devi has taken up the task to train the women under the scheme. Equipped with experience in sewing, cutting and embroidery, she functions as the master trainer for the women. Her former students also help her in work.
Nabard district manager, other senior officials and manager of the local Allahabad Bank attended an interactive session with the trainees at Naugachia centre to guide them in setting up of micro enterprises and earn their living on May 1. G.N. Singh, the manager of the Allahabad Bank, was very happy with the skill that the women had acquired.
He offered all possible help, including credit requirement, for the women. While interacting with the trainees, he suggested them to work in groups and apprised them of the emerging concept of the group joint liability.
Nabard and Allahabad Bank officials said with the assistance of Naujan Lok Karyakram, which was the scheme-implementing agency, the women who have acquired adequate skills would be able to get work in sewing, cutting and embroidery from the local cloth market in Naugachia and Bhagalpur.
The women were working on sarees, handkerchiefs, bedsheets and pillow covers when the bank officials visited and interacted with them.
“Some of the works in embroidery done by the women were quite attractive,” an official said. After Nabard sanctioned the programme, the members of Naujan Lok Karyakram invited applications through public announcements and advertisement in vernacular dailies.
Most of the women during their interview expressed their desire to increase their household income by acquiring skills.