Snip, sew and stitch a brand new destiny.

Twenty women of Balram Basti in Sonari, Jamshedpur, started picking up tailoring skills from Tuesday.

Inner Wheel Club of Jamshedpur, an international organisation that aims to serve the local community and runs vocational training and adult literacy centres in the city slums, is giving these women the skill to earn their living.

Many women of Sidhu Kanhu Murmu Basti at Sonari are already undergoing the training in tailoring.

As these 30 women never went to school, they will also learn the basics of Hindi, English and maths at an adult literacy centre to open by November end, again courtesy Inner Wheel Club.

For the vocational centre at Balram Basti, the Inner Wheel Club has hired a professional tailor who teaches the women to stitch salwar kameezes, blouses, petticoats and handkerchiefs.

For its adult literacy classes in Sidhu Kanhu Murmu Basti, it will take the help of a government school teacher.

Some Balram Basti women have already had a brush with education. Inner Wheel Club has already held a four-month adult literacy class in Balram Basti recently. It now plans to start another batch there too.

"We think all women, especially those in slums, should be literate and independent. Most of the slum women we deal with have unemployed husbands and the pressure of running their families lies on their shoulders. Though it took us eight years to open our second vocational training centre here, we are planning to come up with more such facilities in other slums of the steel city soon. This apart we will also start more literacy classes," said Sujata Sachdev, president, Inner Wheel Club of Jamshedpur.

Apart from these, the Inner Wheel Club will also help the women with valid ID and address proofs to open bank accounts.

The women will also be made financially literate and taught the importance of saving money in proper channels.

"We are trying to help these slum women in all possible ways because most of them are exploited by their husbands. We offer them the basic training to lead a decent life," added Sujata.

Women in slums are also happy.

Rita Mukhi, who already underwent an adult literacy class said she could now read and sign her name. "People can't fool us anymore. We can read price tags. With tailoring lessons, we can earn some extra money too," said Mukhi.

Inner Wheel Club has started Happy Schools by adopting three state institutes and donated books, desks, benches and other things.