WEST BENGAL: Pulak Roy Chowdhury, a headmaster in West Bengal’s South 24-Parganas’ Hingalganj town, has initiated tailoring training for educated young women, most of whom have failed to secure a job.
Among the 17 women who have enrolled for the training, four are postgraduates and four graduates. The women are being trained to make their product a brand of their own in local markets.
“There are many jobless youth in the area. After completing graduation and post-graduation, these young women are clueless about their future. They belong to poor families and have completed their education after battling hardships. There are homemakers who want to supplement the family income. The idea is to provide them training and make them eligible to produce their own product,” says Roy Chowdhury, the headmaster of government-aided Kanakanagar SD Institution, who shells out more than Rs 40,000 for the training initiative.
The training is a joint venture of the school and Mom Sundarban Society, an NGO working on empowering women in the area.
The women have started making masks and bags of all kinds, ranging from backpacks to shopping bags. The training session starts 10.30 am and ends at 4 pm six days a week.
“Our goal is to make these young women small entrepreneurs who would be able to make and sell their own products. These women are adding their creativity skill to make it as a brand in the market. They should not be the ones who would cut and stitch while middlemen will walk away with profit,” says Roy Chowdhury.
Sumita Kayal (25) is a postgraduate in English language and has enrolled in the training.
“I taught English in the area for two years. But now there is no one who comes for tuition since the schools are closed. I had no source to earn. Once the training is over, I will not only be able to meet my expenses but also help my father,” said Sumita.
The tailoring training started with six machines and an initial investment of Rs 80,000. Roy Chowdhury had pitched in with more than half of the investment.
Monira Khatun (22), a graduate, is among those who attend the training regularly.
“I was an intern in a consultancy firm. I visited private companies for interviews and training. I was in trouble when the consultancy firm suspended its operation. When I heard about the tailoring training initiative, I did not think twice," she said.
Roy Chowdhury is determined to empower the young women.
“Some of them are educated and once they complete the commercial training, they will be able to cater to a bigger market. Once their products start hitting the markets, they will be able to carve a career out of it. We have plans to procure more machines so that we can engage more women in the training programme,” he said.
Joint venture of school & NGO
The tailoring training started with six machines and an initial investment of Rs 80,000. Roy Chowdhury had pitched in with more than half of the investment.
The training is a joint venture of the school and Mom Sundarban Society, an NGO working on empowering women in the area.