SEED (Skill Development Project):
The Need:-
Socio Economic Development and Women Empowerment
Women Empowerment is one of the cross cutting policies in all the activities of the Organisations. SAPREM and Mumbai Smiles firmly believe that all women have the potential for growth provided they have access to information, adequate skills and required resources. Various projects and activities were undertaken during the period to promote empowerment of women.
Women in any household are pivotal to the overall growth of a family. They lay the foundation for a household which defines the future of a nation. Their contribution towards smooth functioning of the family or even in case of their employment in informal sector goes unregistered and is hardly acknowledged. Gender inequalities have been a part of Indian society for long and still continue to be deeply rooted in our brains. It can be seen cross cutting different sectors like education, healthcare services and employment. Inclusion of women in different sectors and their access to its services have marginally increased over a decade. Still a lot needs to be done.
Mumbai Smiles has its vision aligned with the Millennium Development Goals and focuses on promotion of Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. Seed Project aims to empower women in the age group of 18-45 years from the marginalized section of society by imparting a set of skills to them through training in short term modular courses.
Rationale:
Our target population is the women from the slum communities in the Andheri East area. Women living in slums are subject to a number of problems like domestic violence, lack of access to education, employment and health services, unequal access to resources, no say in the decision making of the family etc. SEED project through its skill development program aims to alleviate the above problems prevalent in slums which a woman faces on daily basis. This project will equip the women and girls in the age group of 18 to 45 years with skills which will help them gain meaningful employment or start their own enterprise. Financial independence of women will solve a majority of their problems. It will instill confidence in them which in return will lead to a gradual decrease in the incidences of domestic violence, increase in the enrolment of girls in school etc. Further their coming out of home will make them more informed in terms of health, education and employment.
Objective of the project:
- To enhance the capacity of deprived women to develop and improve life through skill development in order to play their desired role in their family and society.
- Developing marketing linkages
- Developing networks with likeminded organizations.
- Developing women as role model for the society.
Approach/Strategy
The aim of SEED Project is to bring a substantial change in the living standards of women and girls by equipping them with skills which will lead to their financial independence. The crux of the strategy for this project lies in the “Need Analysis of the area” and bridging it with the demand of a particular skill in the market.