Category Women

If you meet me today, I am not the same as before when I visited Console Mission in December 2020.

I did not know why I was taken there but I was asked about my education first.

It had been a long time since I stopped my school. This October 8, 2021 I will celebrate my 22nd birthday. I told I had to take care of my brother. I may share more about my social situation.

During the 3 months from January – March 2021, I learned tailoring skills. And, by participating in activities and taking books to read, I still did not understand the importance of education. And, still I am ignoring school. If you recognize Kabita, she is my cousin who during the first lockdown left home and went with our relative living in the city and joined a garment factory. But, the Console Mission met her and re-reflected the advantages of education. She refused to continue school but next morning she contacted and planned to continue her education. All that was going on around me but I am not caring about it. Every Sunday I used to go to the Console Mission for training and returned on Tuesday afternoon. During that time I have heard most of the time the Console Mission is focusing on prevention and the importance of education to understand other areas like health, ways of earning and to play a part in a peaceful community. I also heard that “everything is worthless without understanding because understanding develops behaviors and education is the key for understanding and logical thinking”.

The main problem that I have is that I do not communicate well. I just smile. In my village we have green vegetables that are expensive in urban areas but I did not bother to carry some for my cousin living there at Console Mission. My trust in the Console Mission increased when I heard that it helped a 13-year-old Survival girl from our village area to get justice. That little girl did not even know that this NGO did help her. She now lives in our village, Bulakhi Chawor with her relative because it is not safe for her at her village. I know she went to the Console Mission to collect stationeries and educational materials. But she wanted to inform me that she was not feeling safe. Her relatives have their own children, it is not possible to carry on more burden. This girl has her younger sister also. I do not know how this NGO will help them to manage a safe place. I heard from my cousin that there are numerous NGOs who have Shelter Home but the Console Mission has unique ideas for developing such victims and they have different ways to rehabilitate. But, besides ideas, they also need resources, they do not have their own place. At Console Home, there are 4 more girls along with my cousin Kabita. Last month the relative of the owner of the house visited and questioned people living there. Because it was supposed to be for office use only. I think since Console Mission pays the monthly rent on time and took care of the house properly, they have not bothered. But, there are uncertainties otherwise I might have thought of continuing joining school.

Now, it is locked down, since April I along with my other friends had just started learning new things, everything stopped.

If I share more about my family, my father got married to another woman. It was in 2016 when we were suffering from an earthquake. And, later my mother also went with another man. They have their own children. They left us alone. Now, my sister and brother live with my uncle, auntie and cousins. I have been planning to start a tailoring and manage clothes to sell in my village after completing my training.

I have put my photos for you to see.

There are 3 types of interests group in an organisation where I am associated as Programme Executive. In this position I cannot ignore the members ideas to undertake but try to direct them together for the best of all. The fact is that both small or big project requires human resources that must play a role of managing human as well as non-human resources. #Health, #Education and #Human Resources Development are the three areas that the members are interested. I personally developed ideas that project that is initiated (#socialinitiationforchange) must focus on Prevention because it is linked with the sustainablty (#a_progressive_development).

Tailoring is a skill development training programme to empower females started by members especially female since 2019 targeting disadvantaged communities from both urban and rural areas of the capital city of Nepal developed by a team who are particularly knows that there are Nepali women who are not independent because they are illiterate and uneducated. The primary beneficiaries are the single women. The first badge was a success that trainee started earning by directly getting orders or through the contact with the tailoring shop that was created during the training. I have called it Skill & Business Development Programme/Tailoring and Sewing Skill or SBDP/TSS. While I have used TSS for this specific tailoring skill development programme but you might be curious about F&D. I have found it is a short form for Food and Dairy. But, it is not. When I interact with the trainees my job had/has been to find out about their future thought that how they will use their skill after they complete their course. And, to put knowledge about starting business is my primary responsibility.

However, it is a challenge to motivate the participants for business in a systematic way. Because tailoring is separated that only specific caste should do it in Nepal. Among them mostly do not know to manage their earned skill after completing. It could go together with selling cloths because customer may need to fix according to their size or they could be a trainer or they can get job in Fashion & Designing Companies or they could open their own Fashion stores. By giving examples of future possibilities, I have been successful to motivate trainees to continue. If there are 12 in starting after a month 1 or 2 discontinue because they either finds job or for a single woman with children they have responsibilities to handle, which is common reason that we have learned. At the end it is possible that about 15% – 20% discontinue.

All trainees are less motivated to be called Tailor. But, they are motivated to be called Fashion & Cloth Designer. And, it helps them to continue training as well as think more about developing skill in designing. To do this trainer, trainee and the advisory team works together.

During the training:

• Attendance is maintained
• Keeping notes and maintaining a Note Book is mandatory
• If anyone stops coming for 2 classes cannot continue except due reason but need to manage extra time to cover what is taught
• Trainee learn to come over the weaknesses and possible threats relation to their future plan
• If trainee cannot continue, they needs to fill up a form that includes the time she attended, the lesson that she learned and a proof of a valid reason for discontinuing is collected.
• Home visit of the trainee is mandatory that is carried on by Programme Assistant and a Volunteer.
• Trainer is focused on teaching and learning method that test are taken after the trainee learns new lessons