Empowerment Centres
Empowerment Centres are the core projects of Sambhali Trust. We established these centres to provide underprivileged women from deprived areas of Jodhpur an opportunity to have a good primary education and vocational skill training in sewing and embroidery.
Rajasthan is a patriarchal society with women and girls treated as second-class citizens, often deemed unworthy of an education due to poverty, family, and cultural reasons. Teenage girls who may not have been to school or needed to drop out because of their family circumstances and responsibilities find that they can meet with other girls in the same situation. They can freely discuss their feelings (which they may not be allowed to do at home) and support each other as a group.
At our ten empowerment centres, we provide:
Tuition in English, Maths, and Hindi and make sure all students are literate.
Vocational training in sewing and embroidery to learn how to make various Indian garments, accessories, and soft toys.
Provision of a core-set of 10 educational workshops from Women’s Health and Hygiene to Indian Politics and Geography along with Women’s Rights and many more that volunteers have an interest or expertise in (eg: photography, drama, specific medical knowledge)
Encourage self-esteem and improving confidence and self-expression and provide self-defense training.
Skills to enable them to earn an income through sewing in their local community and give them access to a larger market through Sambhali Boutique.
The women and girls attend for a 12-month course, after which time the aim is to provide each graduate with a sewing machine to enable them to continue sewing at home and potentially provide an income for themselves.