Achievement Report November 2014

Womens vocational training groups

India ranked equal to Congo on the United Nations Development
Programmes gender inequality index for 2012. Female participation in the
labor force was 29 percent in 2011, 2 percentage points below Sudan and
less than half of Chinas 68 percent, according to World Bank data. Only
65 percent of women can read or write, compared with 82 percent of men,
according to Indias census data for the same year. For this reason, and
the added fact that India is considered the fourth most unsafe country in the
world for women living there, GVI India has begun to initiate a well rounded
womens empowerment group.
Initially, we are taking baby steps; we believe we must have all the
accurate data, statistics, professionals and personnel in place before we
take the plunge into womens empowerment in India. Our first steps since
September 2014 have been research into womens empowerment issues in
Kerala and India as a whole, research into sustainable income
generating streams and alternative livelihoods, networking and we
have established 2 small womens empowerment groups in a slum in Fort
Cochin.
The first of these groups was the result of mapping and surveying the entire
slum (over 200 households). Volunteers and GVI staff first mapped the
slum and all of the households, water pipes, electricity points and
significant landmarks onto a map. The surveying then involved visiting
each household and interviewing the residents. The interviews were
adapted from the UN slum surveying questionnaires and the Indian
Department of Buildings surveys. We then developed our own priority
points system which identified those houses most in need.
While doing the interviews we asked questions on sustainable income
generation and interests of the families which allowed us to go away and
design several groups, network with trainers and put into place some

partnerships that would then allow us to create income generating

streams through vocational training groups.

Our first income generating group to be set up was led by a local women
and GVI. Sophie, from Ernakulam, has been teaching crochet to orphans
in Kerala for 3 years and loves it! On her first visit to the slum her passion
and enthusiasm for crochet (she showed us beanies, booties and broaches
that she makes) led to the original 7 women who had showed interest grow
to 12. In the first class even more women ( and one man) squeezed into
the small shack, sat on the floor and waited patiently for Sophie to begin
teaching. The class was a huge success and since then has been running
every Sunday, 3-5pm, with a very good turnout. Two of the girls are even
good enough to begin selling their products! We have linked in with art
galleries and a few shops in Kochi, as well as our website that is being
developed, for them to be able to do this.

Our other success comes from a partnership we made with Asha and her
training centre; another lovely lady who agreed to do discounted lessons in
embroidery, clothes making and machine stitching. Initially 5 women

from the slum were very enthusiastic about joining; only for us to find out
when we went to pick them up on their first day at the centre that their
husbands and brothers or fathers hadnt allowed them to go. This was very
disheartening, but slowly, after a few meetings and chats with the families
and girls 2 were allowed to register. 2 became 3, and then 5, and we now
have 5 ladies registered and attending classes every week. The classes
are in a wonderful learning environment that they wouldnt have had access
to be it not for GVI; plenty of resources, sewing machines and support in
theory and practical classes. They take homework home and show GVI
staff their work and patterns on our Sunday and Friday visits to the slum.
The course is enough to give them a job in textiles or retail once they
complete.