RAYAGADA: This student chose a career based on her skill and not on formal education. Padi Mamita, a 15-year-old tribal girl from Kotturu village, passed her Class X exam with D grade. But she did not let her grade deter her from making a mark on her own. She chose to give wings to her love for welding, generally considered a man’s domain, and enrolled herself in Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Rayagada to get training in welding.
Willing to walk the extra mile, Mamita’s hard work and perseverance got her selected in the National Welding League for Women Students 2019, organised recently by AICTE, IIW India and a private technical institution of Bhubaneswar. Mamita topped the list in the league and also got a cash award of `20,000 along with a medal and certificate proving her mettle.
Despite being the daughter of a poor farmer, she said she was hopeful of reaching the pinnacle of success in field of welding. “Tribal girls in the district get married at an early age and remain confined to household chores. I choose to break that glass ceiling,” she said.
When asked what prompted her to choose this field, she recounted her childhood experience when she was captivated by the sparks from a welding workshop on her way to school. “Those sparks kindled my interest in the field,” she said. Mamita came out with flying colours in Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) and Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) from a pool of 160 female participants from across the country.
Principal, ITI Rayagada Atulya Kumar Panda said the Odisha Skill Development Authority played a key role in harnessing the skills of ITI trainees.
A technical team of Odisha Skill Development Authority, led by Subroto Bagchi, will visit the institution to devise a plan for her career progress in the welding industry.