Community Ownership and Development - Towards Sustainable Livelihoods!

  As an input session on skill enhancement program, CSA organised a Home Nursing session for the domestic workers at Manori with its networking partner Savdhan Samaj Kendra. On 8 th February 2018, a team of 15 nurses from Hinduja Hospital visited the centre at Manori. Ms. Seema, field supervisor at Hinduja nursing interacted with the nine participants present. The nurses from general ward gave a First Aid demo on home nursing, ways to take care of sick patients at home, care for elderly, babies & young children. The Nurses explained simple tips like bandage & body massage techniques, taking medicines as prescribed by doctors, taking care of sick patients while shifting them on bed, checking the expiry before purchasing any medicines, the right method to put ear & eye drops, which can be easily practised  at home or on work place. It is our responsibility to educate and train grassroots ensuring that this knowledge helps in giving them basic health awarene...

CSA changes the life of 40 women with its Financial empowerment program (FEP) which began in November 2016 at Mumbai & Dharavi Island. The objective being to enable the marginalized & underprivileged women to understand the importance of savings. In order to encourage women to make their own decision for their personal & family growth and for the growth of the society at large, CSA in collaboration with its networking partners designed a module for the program. Engaging at the grass root level CSA conducted sessions every month at Poinsur, Bunderpakhadi, Goregaon & Uttan areas. Fifty women participated and understood the method of savings, the various types of bank accounts like Saving and Recurring Deposit(RD) and the procedure to open a simple bank account. Out of the 50 women, 40 completed their 12 months RD of Rs. 500 a month and decided to make an FD as well as restart an RD (of Rs.1000). A lady from Bunderpakhadi said, “After the FEP program I learnt to save m...

On 17 th Jan 2018 CSA organized a training program on Paper bag Making & Basic Sewing for fourteen Community Centre women at Muktisagar Prabhodan Kendra Hall, Uttan. Ms Anthiya Dias, a freelance artist and designer from Vasai was the resource person for the session. The main objective was to teach & provide guidance to women for promoting an alternate livelihood. Fr. Peter D’cunha Director of Snehjyot CCO, Uttan motivated the women through his speech. The first half of the session covered topics such as; the effect of plastic on the environment, to make different types of bags and envelopes from scratch, places to source the material and sell the product. In the second half, women learnt to use scrap fabric for make bags and duvets, to make flowers from fabric clippings, to cut and make basic garments, and places to source different fabrics. Next these women plan on having an exposure visit to the place from where the materials can be purchased. 

On 30 th November 2017 Savdhan Samaj Kendra at Manori organized a skill enhancement session on Gardening for eight domestic working women. The resource person for the session was Mr. Arvind Yadav & Mr. Ramesh Thage who are mentors in the BMC gardening department. The women were taught different ways to nurture a plant and the method for plantation. A brief information about the MCGM’s Garden and Trees department was given and they were also informed about the low-priced flower seeds and medicinal plants that are sold there. They were invited for the demonstration held at the gardening dept to see the work they do, the different types of plants and the procedure to maintain them. They were ready to teach them all of these. They learnt that all plants require a lot of care and hard work. The next plan of action of the women at Manori is to visit the Gardening department at Malad, east, as a group and to be skilled in practical knowledge. 

On 17 th October, 2017 a training session on  candle making skill was held at Our lady of Lourdes, Pali. The resource person Ms.Mahima Selvi led the session. The women who participated were earlier selling candles locally with simple and common shapes and sizes. Even the materials they used were too expensive for them. The training session organized by CSA at CCO level helped them learn six new, different and creative styles of candle making. They learnt how to make mini lamps(diyas) and candles with different molds. The resource person provided her own supply of raw materials required during the session and gave each women a chance to practice on their own. The techniques demonstrated in the session were simple, interesting and easy to grasp. She informed them of locations nearby where they could purchase the same materials at a much affordable price. This initiative will go a long way in making the women financially independent and improving their standard of living. ...

One of the prime concerns in our society is of gender inequality. It is important to educate children on matters as such. On 21 st September 2017 a session on gender equality and the importance of respecting women was held at Uttan Church Campus for 38 Balsansad children. The resource person for the session was Ms. Sanjina from Uttan CC O. A video clip based on the topic was shown to the children to make it easier for them to understand the objective of the topic. Furthermore, a detailed explanation was given emphasizing on discriminations made on the grounds of food, education, work, games(toys), treatments and things between a boy and a girl. At the end, the children had an interactive session where they discussed what they learnt and what they can do. They responded well to the activities and had a healthy participation.