VIHAAN helps Sridevi to have the future she envisioned!

Sridevi* works as an Assistant nurse at a reputable healthcare institution in the state of West Bengal because of the VIHAAN’s Community Empowerment Centre in Asia’s largest red district, Songachi (Shoba Bazaar) in Kolkata, the state’s capital.

The first born of the family, Sridevi was pressured by her parents to drop out of school and get married at an early age. This means one less mouth to feed in the family of four with a meagre income her father earned as a daily wage labourer. 

Sridevi dreamt of completing school, getting a college degree and earning a decent income to support her family. However, it was an everyday struggle for her to make her parents understand the importance of education; conversations turned into arguments, and arguments ended in cries. Nevertheless, she stayed determined and became the first one to receive a college degree in her family. 

Her happiness was short-lived. She lacked some aspects in terms of eligibility for employment; low grades in graduation, lacked good communication skills in English, no specific required expertise and was short of critical reasoning and thinking skills. 

The talks about marriage started again at home. She was strong-willed to get a job, but she had no one to turn to. She was desperate for guidance, mentorship and encouragement – someone to help her realise her vision for her future and her family. 

That was when she learnt about VIHAAN’s Community Empowerment Centre from a friend. VIHAAN’s Community Empowerment Centre offers a tailored curriculum to equip girls like Sridevi with the relevant skills and the confidence to find a meaningful job in the employment market. Beginning with the foundation course (English communication skills, self-confidence, problem-solving, empathy, teamwork, decision-making and entrepreneurship), the curriculum expands into job-specific fields such as nursing, retail management, customer service, housekeeping, beautician, sewing or accounting. 

With much enthusiasm, she completed the foundation course and went on to enrol in the General Duty Assistant (GDA) course. The GDA course is a health and paramedic course that trains students to work as nursing aides in hospitals, nursing homes, and home care settings. The course covers a range of topics, including medical terminology, basic anatomy, patient care, infection control, ethics and safety. 

It was a four-month intensive training for Sridevi. She was persistent and perseverant; her scores were excellent. Within a few days of her completion, she landed a job as an Assistant Nurse with a monthly salary of INR 15,000. 

A sense of pride and accomplishment filled her heart, and also her family.  Now, she supports her family and contributes to her younger sister’s education.

Sridevi’s hard work is a sheer example that there is no limit to what girls can achieve irrespective of what and who stands in their way. Her younger sister, parents and communities are inspired and benefitted; if a girl is skilled and empowered to live a productive life, everyone benefits.

*Name has been changed to protect survivor's identity.