Empowering women in rural India

/-India Australia gets together with Franklyn Scholar to launch a vocational training centre in Rajas than

- SALONIKOBER

Twenry-yea.r-old Jaipur girl Santosh has serious physical impairment as a result of comracting polio as a child. Losing both her pa.rents at a young age, she grew up under the care of her grandmother as part of a nomadic community of ba1ljams (gypsies) in a remote slum area of Jaipur. Growing up with absolutely no sel f-respect, she felt like she was a brn-den on her grandmother.

Determined to change her descin y, Sancosb d eveloped he r skills as a jewellery and handicraft student and gained back her confidence. Today, she works as a trainer at the Franklyn Scholar Training Centre at Jhag Children's Vil lage just o utside of Jaipur and earns a regular income. She is able to full y supp ort her 90-ye ar-old grandmother and does not ler her physical disabilicies hinde r her.

Sancosh owes her new life co Abha Goswami, founding director of tbe NGO I -Iadia, who encouraged her to parcicipate in the Ladli Vocational Training Centre in Jaipur in the year 2000

Franklyn Scholar, an Australian workforce education provider, a.long witb I -India Project, inaugurated the Franklyn Scholar Vocational Training Centre earlie r this year at tbe J hag Children's Village, located 45km south of Jaipur on the Ja ipur-Aj mer national highway.

Opening th.is vocational centre has a long standing endeavour for I - India ln a difficult financial climate, Franklyn Scholar is a company that has nor shied away from its social responsibility of givi ng back to tl1e community lnstead , me organisacion has =braced this task with an open heart and has been helping I -India Australia since 2010. le began when Franklyn Scholar bad starred raising mone y for I -India Australia through 'Franklyn Footpr ints,' a project that was d eveloped with die desire to give back to the community and raise awareness.

Australia, the local chapter of f- lndia , a registered not- forprofit organisation established in 2007. The centre is built on a 5-acre block of land in Jhag, w hich was sold co I -India by the Governmeor o f Rajasthan at a nominal cost. It aims at empowering women and children from tro u bled bad{gr ounds who are livin g be low the poverty line with only d1e bare minimum required to stay alive.

"Th eir homes a.re generally one room mud -brid dwellings witb an outdoor kitchen and few meagre possession s," recalls 1-lndia Australia committee m=ber Renate Barnett, who recently v isited me village herself.

" I always feel so concerned about d1em when the weather conditions a re extreme TI1e mid -40 degree hear that i s commonplace through the summer is unbearable for a day, let alone a wh ole season," s he adds Last August, many villagers lost everything they had in the wo rlcl w hen their homes were washed away in d1e monsoon floods.

"With the construction of tbe Franklyn Scholar Vocational Training Centre, I -India A uma.lia hopes to not only improving the living conditions of the people, but also at developing a feeling of self respect amongst them," says Renate.

A leading p rovider of workforce education across a range of industry sectors and qualifications, Frankl yn Scholar rook on the role of the sponsor and financed d1e entire construction and fir out cost.

"A footprint leaves an enduring mark and tbis i s exactly what the Franklyn Footp rint has been set up co do - allowing each and every person working for Frankl yn Scho lar co leave th eir lasting impression by engaging and participating in their State's fundraisi n g activities and creating awareness of th is incredibly important project," says Victoria Woodfall, Tasmanian based training consultant and coordin ator of Franklyn Fo o tprincs.

Since 2010, Franklyn Scholar has d onated more than $100,000 to help build tbe vocational centre

20% of this ammmt has been ra ised by d1e staff of Franklyn Scholar through various ftmdraising activities suc.h as raffles, morning teas, golf days, Bollywood dinners and movie and trivia ni ghts. "The Jhag Children's Village is in a rather remote corner of Rajasthan, off the tourist track and out of public view, so it is fantastic that the company is prepared to invest such a huge ammmr of its time and capital where it will not receive maximum exposure and recognition," says Renate.

Besides the Frankl yn Scho lar Vocacional Training Centre, the Jhag Children's Village is planning rwo shelter homes fo r orphaned and homeless children, a health centre, sports field, produce gar den, transport vehicle, as well as staff accommodation.

With tl1e construction of chis village, ] -India aims at improving tbe quality of life for people in nine surrounding villages d1.tougb provisio n of med ical services, ed ucatin g children and providing vocational training services The goal is to make tl1e commLmity self-suffic ient and in nirn, pm an end to the high numbers of people migrating to the big cities in search of h igher income but who unfornmarely, due co d1eir lack of educacion, join thousands o f simila r!)' disadvantaged people struggling to survive in atrocious conditions. Anod1er foc u s point is educating women of the c o mmunity in skills that can help d1em become self-sufficient and may even evenmally help mem to set up their own micro -businesses or cooperacives. \'(/it h the resources and connections d1at I-India has to offer, women will be able to sell items they make without having to g ive a large cue of their profit to t he Lu1wamed middleman. Not o nly w ill this benefit their lo cal economy, it will also help build a feeling of sel f respect amongs t the women and along with it, a feeling of self reJiance and independence.

"Improving the status of women in these ve ry traditional regio n s is a Jong and slow process, but throug h empowerment initiatives such as those o ffered at the Franklyn Scholar Vocational Tra ining Centre, it is assured," says Re nate.

Du ring die first phase of o p eratio n s, the centre will offer s mdents a munber of vocational courses including tailoring, jewellery design, CAD, block printing and mam~facturin g of d i fferent kinds of handicrafts, paper prod ucts etc. Si nce its inaugmatio n, d1e centre bas been organi sing reg ular personal contact programmes, home s mdie s of lo cals, and o rjencatio n camp s co spread the word amongst neighbouring viJJages and inform d1em abo ut how they can use the s kills and trruning programme co improve d1eir quwty of life. As a resul t of this effort, the c entre has alread y sr.ar ted teaching die Tailoring Trrucing course, as well as Computer Studies. Additio nall y, die l ocal co mmuni ty is offered employment opportunities for construction and maintenance of die s chool and she lter homes.

The prospect of improvi ng their quwt:y of li fe has created an eagerness co learn skills and wor k togedi er harmoni o usly

In d1e funtre, Franklyn Scholar plans to continue its support for die Jhag Crulclren's V illage by financing their recurring costs for die next two years, at wluch p o int the centre w iU be able to support itsel f. Th ey have already started fundraising to rruse money for a van ilia c will provide transport to teachers co and from the vocational training ce ntre.

"I-India Pro ject Austrwa is i mmensel y proud of die Franklyn Scholar Vocational Training Centre, as it is a s hining e.-xam p le of how corporate Austrwa has a heart and conscience," says Renate.

For more decruJ s o f d1 e work done b y 1- lndia Project Austrwa, visi t d1eir website www.i - indiaprojec t.org . au