19-year-old ensures better future for slum women in Mumbai….Somita Pal
For 19-year-old Aarti Naik, making a woman self-confident and helping her to secure a job are a priority. Unlike the others girls of her age who are busy partying and deciding their careers, Naik has not only formed an organisation to run vocational training for uneducated women but also teaches English to women and children from the slums. Naik has been working for the welfare of women from the age of 16.
Naik, a resident of Mulund, runs an organisation to help uneducated women from slum areas get vocational training that helps them get better job opportunities and enables them to earn better and save for their secure futures. She, herself, is a school drop-out and had experienced the trouble of not earning enough through save for college and also to support her family. She wanted to make women living slums independent. I was forced to leave studies because my parents didnt have money. I have seen neighbouring women, who work as domestic help. I therefore decided to start an organisation to give them a decent livelihood, said Naik. It is been a year since Naik started Sakhi, an organisation dedicated to livelihood skills building. More than 40 women from the slums have been getting training on hospitality and child care, security and so on.
After conducting a survey in her community, Aarti realised that it was the families of most young girls who were responsible for one of the most major problems the girls faced. A lot of parents forced their daughters to drop out of school to help with household work.
Aarti reached out to such girls, by informing them about opportunities available to them and the importance of education in their lives. Through Sakhi, Aarti, a junior college student, conducts a weekly class aimed at boosting confidence levels of drop-outs.
Already 18 girls have enrolled in her class. In order to encourage more young girls to be a part of Sakhi, she organises picnics and competitions. Her aim is access to education for all girls.
Naik has also been conducting self-confidence and capacity building workshops for women. My aim is to develop an ideal model and provide employment to 300+ girls and women over the next three years. It took me a year to get support from NGOs for my cause. A year after I launched the organisation, two women have been absorbed in the hospitals for aaya work. They know everything related to handling patients and know basic English too. It makes me feel proud that my efforts are bearing fruits, said Naik.