Meet Sambhali Trust Staff: Renu Kanwar, Program Officer, Jaisalmer Office

Written by Jagruti Bhakta

Renu Kanwar first joined Sambhali Trust when she applied for a tutoring role just as Sambhali’s projects in Jaisalmer were being set up. When she went for training in Jodhpur and met the women and girls in the programs there, she realized working with Sambhali was much more than a job.

She dove headfirst into efforts to set up Sambhali’s Jaisalmer office, doing everything from assisting with construction logistics to personally assuring individual families that Sambhali could be trusted to care for and support their daughters. She also took to sewing and supplemented her Sambhali teacher training with her own self-education—practicing on scraps of fabric at home so that she could master her skills enough to teach others. Today, Renu is the Program Officer of the Jaisalmer office. She represents Sambhali to government officials, manages staff, and finds time to fix broken sewing machines (which of course she taught herself how to do).

She describes how working at Sambhali has changed her, from not wanting to go anywhere in public because she was so lonely to someone who carries herself with pride to a job she loves. When asked what motivates her, she said she just wants to do whatever it takes to match the passion and diligence of others she met when she joined the organization, so well described in this short video.