Earning while Learning

The Award Programme Foundation is supporting a skill development programme for the development of rural areas under the Gender Diversity Empowerment Project. Areas like Singur, Baladbandh, and Kumroguri are under this project. Through this project young girls learn skills like making handmade jewellery (earrings, bangles, clips and necklaces) by the paper quilling method and other paper craft skills. These products are also sent to various fairs, offices, and stalls for selling. The girls earn some money as after selling these items the profit is distributed equally among the girls. Through this financial help the girls are able to help their family for a better living.

Some Award Participants from Baladbandh village have chosen “Paper Making -- Pen Stand” as their Skill for the programme. They made different types of pen stands using paper. They were allowed to sell these products at Kredent Tower, Kolkata on 24th March, 2017. Senior HR Executive of Tata Business Support Service Smt. Shivani Goswami visited them and appreciated the work and creative ideas of the awardees. She decided to use these handmade pen stands as gifts for some activities of the company.

From January to March 2017 these Participants sold the items at different fairs and earned around ten thousand ruppes. This amount was equally distributed amont the 30 awardees of Baladbandh village. Through this initiative many families have benefited. The project is helping these girls to develop the skills and earn while they learn.

Special Project

A Report by Adrija Chatterjee, Coordinator Special Project

The Award has transformed the lives of millions of youth across the globe. The Gender Diversity & Empowerment Project for Women run by Award Programme Foundation in areas like Hoogli, Singur, Baladbandh, and Kumroguri of West Bengal is a special project which aims to engage young girls in learning skills like handmade jewellery making (earrings, bangles, clips and necklaces) through the paper quilling method, thereby enhancing their economic prospects and empowering them with life skills.

This report delineates how the girls have been working in the four sections of the Award and how the Award equips them with life skills, through which they feel self-dependent and empowered.

Skill Development 

The Skill Development Project started among the Award Participants of Baladbandh Village in February 2015 with the support of the Award Programme Foundation (APF). Fourteen Silver, Bronze and Gold Award Participants of Baladbandh chose jewellery making for their skill section. APF sanctioned the fund of Rs. 20,000/- for this project, in which girls started to make handmade jewellery with this support and sold their products in different areas and fairs of Kolkata. 

Day by day their sale is improving and so is the confidence among the girls. They are able to manage their daily requirements through their earnings. With the passing of the year, the number of girls in this project increased to 18 and as a team they made a profit of Rs. 6000/-. Girls are getting remuneration through this project and it helps them to buy their own necessary goods. Moreover, this year we distributed Rs. 4000/- among the 18 girls and the rest of the amount will be added with the capital.

It was a wonderful opportunity for the girls of Baladbandh to sell their handmade jewellery under the banner of Rasik Bhita Chhatrimangal. CSR of Mjunction (Joint Venture of Tata Steel & Steel Authority of India) Smt. Piya Dutta Nandi arranged a small sale counter at the office premises of Mjunction on 8th and 9th September, 2016. Silver Award Participant Rikta Dutta and Gold Award Participant Bonnya Soren (an Adivasi girl) participated in that programme.

Physical Recreation 

Award Participants from our different units do yoga regularly under the guidance of their yoga instructor Smt. Champa Kundu. Some of them had breathing trouble before but after doing yoga their fitness and health has improved and they also find interest in it. Girls have different medical issues as teenagers and these kind of physical activities help them to face problems. Some Award Participants from Baladbandh unit are going to perform a yoga-based dance in the coming inauguration of the library section of Baladbandh.

Social Service 

Award Participants from different units are doing various types of social work under this section. Sometimes they spend quality time with the old people. Sometimes they clean garbage and keep the locality clean.

Developing the community through the service, Award Participants visit interior villages once a week and convince the adults to learn. This journey started in the year 2015 with five aged women. The number has now swelled to more than thirty. The women of different villages are now able to write their own names and can draw cash from the bank by signing their names. These women now inspire their children to learn and try to give education to them. Award Participants of Kumrogori and Baladbandh teach poor children from different villages.

Adventurous Journey 

Participants for Bronze, Silver and Gold also completed their Adventurous Journey successfully. To qualify for their Bronze level 72 Bronze Award Participants went to Bisindha Hills, Bankura (West Bengal) in January 2015. The next month 48 girls went to Matha Hills – Purulia District (West Bengal) for qualifying for their Silver Level in February 2016. In July 2016, 15 Gold Award Participants participated in the trek to Tumling.  Click here for more pictures

Cultural Heritage Class and Award Ceremony

Sri Sarada Math, Rasik Bhita organised a Cultural Heritage Class on 4th September 2016. Seventy-two Bronze awardees from different units participated in this class. This Cultural Heritage class concluded with an Award ceremony where all the Award participants received their Bronze awards. These Award holders, part of the “Gender Diversity & Empowerment Project" of the IAYP, started their Bronze Award Journey in July 2015 and successfully completed their Award Journey in December 2015. The list of Awardees includes fifty-six participants from Rasik Bhita, nine awardees from Baladbandh Village, three awardees from Kumrogori Village and four awardees from Dum Dum.

These participants opted for different activities in the various sections of the Award. Under the Skills section, they chose activities such as Book reading, Spoken English learning, Jewellery Making, and Stitching. Some of them have now made these skills their Life skills and are now generating revenue by selling handmade goods and handmade jewellery. For their Physical Recreation, they all attended the Yoga Classes. Yoga has become an integral part of their daily routine now.

The awardees of Baladbandh and Kumrogori villages created a positive impact on their society by providing their wonderful Community Services. They went to rural villages to teach adults as well as young children. Most of the women in theses villages can write and sign their names now. It is a credit to these awardees that the numbers of these learners is increasing day by day in these villages.

For the Adventurous Journey, these Awardees went to Bishindha Hills at Bankura and Matha Hills at Purulia. They were taught how to live in a tent, climbing and cooking. They performed various activities like Burma Bridge Crossing, Rappelling, Rope Walking etc. Overall, it was great experiential learning for all of them -- something that they had never done or experienced before. 

All the awardees have now registered and started their work for the Silver Level of the Award with an aim to develop themselves day by day. They are not just improving themselves but helping their surroundings to improve more.

Skill Development through IAYP

A report by Adrija Chatterjee

The Award programme foundation is supporting skill development programme for the development of rural areas under Gender Diversity Empowerment Project. Areas like Singur, Baladbandh, Kumroguri are under this project. Through this project young girls learning Skills like making handmade jewelleries (earrings, bangles, clips and necklaces) by paper quilling method. These products are also going to different fairs, offices, stalls for selling. The girls are earning some money as after selling these items the profit is distributed equally to the girls. Through this financial help the girls are helping their family for a better living. Some girls are going in the remote areas of the village for teaching local children. Recently Rasik Bhita Chatrimangal organised a stall in their office premises at "M-junction". There these handmade products made a good profit. People appreciated the beautiful work of the girls. Through this initiative many families are getting benefited. The project is helping these girls to develop the skills and earning while learning. Click to see the pictures