Livelihood

Project Swatantra- Freedom

Is an attempt to make rural Persons with Disabilities and their caretakers, acid attack victims, transgenders, underprivileged and single women self-sufficient and economically independent by giving them relevant employable skills, in partnership with local resource training centers.

The main aim of this program is to provide them with employable skills and enhance the quality of their lives, through life skills programs, workshops on disability laws, and by enhancing their marketing and financial knowledge. It is disability & region- specific skill-based training which will lead to livelihood opportunities for People with Disabilities and their Caretakers.

Did You Know

As per the 2011 Census, 68.8% of country’s population and 72.4% of workforce resided in rural areas.

Only 14.6% of the rural workforce receives vocational training, which aim to develop competencies of skilled or semi-skilled workers in various trades

Number of unemployed Persons with Disabilities will cross 10 MILLION by 2022 if skill training is not improved

Swatantra follows 2 models

Direct Training

Operational and capacity building training support to resource training partners who are working with People with Disability and other marginalized minority groups. This model also includes business & financial management skill training for resource center management who are aligned to product based training and are trying to promote their centers as production units. Direct Training provides disability & region- specific skill-based training which will lead to livelihood opportunities.

Train the Trainer

This model builds capacities of the trainers through training workshops for any organisation working in the space of disability. The main aim is to upskill the trainers in current market requirements.

Direct Training: Honey Bee Farming

Employment is one of the most important goals for an individual with spinal cord injury (SCI), especially in cases, in which an individual is the only earning member of the family. It not only helps to achieve economic self-sufficiency but is also associated with personal growth, disability adjustment, social integration, and life satisfaction. Most of the studies for SCI on vocational resettlement reported a relatively lower rate of employment, usually below 40%. The study says only 12% of individuals returned to the same job after an injury.

In India, ∼1.5 million people live with SCI. Every year, 10 000 new cases add to this group of individuals, and the majority of them (82%) are males in the age group of 16–30 years.9 Gaining employment, economic self-sufficiency, and community reintegration after SCI is important to all the victims irrespective of geographical variations. The employment opportunities for persons with disability in organized sectors in India, particularly in rural areas are non-existent. Unorganised sectors may prove to be the most appropriate avenue of employment for individuals with a disability. GiftAbled is running Honey Bee farming training for rural SCI’s and PwD’s families as an alternative source of income.

Direct Training : Mushroom, Horticultural and Vermicompost Training.

A new beginning towards empowering people of tribal population in the self-employment sector where People with Disabilities and their Caretakers, find themselves in position to provide a helping hand to their families. Equipping them in Mushroom, horticulture and Vermicomposting skills which will benefit them to generate income to feed their families and in order to have sustainable living.

The tribal residents of Toyaput and Koraput district in Odisha, Pavagada district in Karnataka & economically deprived families of Balrampur District in Uttar Pradesh lack benefits of basic necessity like education, health, and Government schemes which has been a hindrance for the tribal & economically deprived society even today.

REAL IMPACT, MEASURABLE RESULTS

Mushroom, Horticultural and Vermicompost Trained

No.of Beneficiaries trained

No.of Trainers Trained

Total Number of Trainings

Success Stories

Where local people are able to solve local problems.

Hemanth, an individual with hearing impairment, was married to Sanjeetha 7 years ago. They have a lovely son and a daughter. He was working as a daily labour and earned very little income to run his family. Now he is undergoing the training of Mushroom cultivation training. He has a very poor family and lives in a sheet house, no agricultural land. One child is attending the local government school. Local government does not provide any support in terms of basic facilities.

Hemanth

Alish Mandinka was all fine till she was studying 12th standard. She was playing and going to college like any other girl. Suddenly she developed pain in her hand and legs with sever fever and diarrhoea. That changed her life, she gradually developed orthopaedic disability. Her sister takes care of her and they live with their parents. Both say they love the training where they are learning a new skill and they look forward to growing mushrooms in home soon after the training.

Alish Mandinka

She is a widow, lives with her son and mother. Son was only the bread winner, post COVID he has come back to hometown with no job. When she was 1 month pregnant with her second girl baby. Husband died of an infection. In laws house they threw her out and had to come back to live with her mother. Now she works as a daily labour to run her household which is insufficient. She believes the Mushroom training can help her earn her living and make it better for her and family.

This is just a beginning and I have a long way to go, I dream to have my own boutique one day" says Punitha. Punitha is a Deaf from a small town. She is a mother of 2 little ones studying in primary school, and a daily wager & Sole breadwinner, earning Rs 150-200 per day. Punitha came to our Dream center in Thiruvallur with a lot of interest to learn. 3 months of hard work & training, & today here she is, calling herself an entrepreneur. Punitha has started taking orders from her neighborhoods & earned her first income of Rs 3000 in Jan 2021.She has also registered at TN Society & expecting many more stitching orders.

Punitha

I am Durga Devi, from Keelanalur. I hail from a family of five, and our monthly income is around 7000 INR. I'm unable to spend much on my children's education. I came across the vocational training that was conducted for persons with disabilities. Post this training, I'm positive that I can take up employment and I will be able to spend the money on my children's education. I am locomotor disabilities and am very much interested in tailoring skills. So, I have joined a dream centre for tailoring skills, stitching and cutting. In the last 2 months back I have purchased my own tailoring machine. Recently I started my own business and now I earn 3000 rupees per month.

Durga Devi

Malathi with hearing impairment has not attended schooling. Her parents were very poor and earned daily wages up to 350 rupees. She was very much interested in vocational skill training, our partner ngo peace centre supported and joined her to the tailoring center, She has joined tailoring skill training in the tailoring centre near P.R. Puram location, she is attending the training continuously from last 3 months and has learnt tailoring skills and methods. She is interested in starting her own tailoring business, she has already applied for a tailoring machine under the scheme of TamilNadu social welfare department.

Malathi

Direct Training : Sewing Skill Training

People with minimal educational qualifications have very few chances of securing a job in the formal sector. People with Disabilities and their Caretakers, find themselves inept at supporting their family due to the absence of any professional skill. Skilling them in everyday needs of people like stitching various fabric related products will provide self-employment at their homes, which can earn them a daily income.

Sewing Training is focused in Nagapattinam and Thiruvallur region of Tamil Nadu. Tsunami waves that struck the Coastal Areas in Tamil Nadu in December, 2004 have caused immense damage to human lives and properties and Nagapattinam remains one of the most affected areas till date.

Train The Trainer

Swatantra Train the Trainer (TTT) dispels the common misconception that training is once off. It ensures NGO trainers’ skill sets are continuously honed through continuous support and understanding of current market trends and needs for skilling people with disabilities. TTT is designed to expose the trainers to various product developments and marketing ideas for every month. Swatantra evolved during Covid and the Train the Trainer program was conducted digitally.

The training we have conducted so far basics of macrame, easy book binding , basics of crochet, making your natural cleaners, upcycling tetra pack, basic embroidery .