“I am Hashiya Bibi from Murshidabad, West Bengal. I am 20 years old. I moved to Bangalore along with my husband and a one-year-old child in search of a better job to address my basic needs. At present, I stay in Kempapura slum in Hebbal. My husband is the sole breadwinner of my family. He works as a daily labourer and his earning is not enough as we have to support our in-laws in our native place.
I joined a tailoring course organised by Sambhav foundation in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation and completed 3 months tailoring course. My husband encouraged me to join this course and when I completed the course this training gave me a sense of accomplishment as I could see a ray of hope for a better life. I met another slum resident from the same area, Ms. Salmeena Khatum who also migrated with her family from Kallani in West Bengal, 3 years back. She too expressed that her financial situation was not good, as she has 4 members in her family, her husband, one-year-old daughter and her mother-in-law. Her husband was engaged in rag picking and managing basic needs was tough. She also completed the same 3-month tailoring course.
In one of the community meetings in our slum, we mustered courage and spoke to Mr. Debdulal Mondal, the field coordinator from Ashirvad, a Jesuit NGO. We appealed to support us with sewing machines The Jesuits of Ashirvad gave us new sewing machines. We have now started getting local orders for stitching children’s clothes and women’s garments. We now see a ray of hope to improve our quality of life”, said Ms. Hashiya Bibi.
Recently, Ms. Hashiya Bibi attended a programme conducted by Hennes & Mauritz Retail Pvt. Ltd (Popularly known as H&M). She was awarded a certificate for excellence for the programme conducted and her work was reviewed. She hopes in near future she would receive orders or be inducted into the company. Bibi and Khatum said, “Support received through new sewing machines has opened doors for employment.” Both expressed their happiness over their persistence in pursuing the skill they have developed. They proudly stated, “We have become models in our community to demonstrate how hard work can help us to improve our lives. A few community women are approaching us for guidance”.
Ms. Hashiya Bibi and Ms. Salmeena Khatum