VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES
I-India aims at holistic development of the underprivileged population, mainly the street children, unemployed youth, and the local women groups through interventions such as income generation, skill training, creative development, savings, health awareness, education, and self-reliance. The first centre of vocational training under the name of “Ladli” was established for girls in August 2005; a centre for boys opened in February 2006 and eventually a village centre under the name of “Franklyn Scholar Vocational Training Centre” was opened at Jhag Children’s village in August 2013.
At vocational training centres, children, youths and women groups learn skills such as jewellery-designing, tailoring, stitch-work, block-printing, computer (IT) and handicrafts. The vocational training environment is fun, safe and relaxed. Under the financial inclusion and awareness program, the participants regularly get orient to save their incentives into bank accounts that have been opened in their names. Initially, these centres were supported by I-India Project Australia, World Relief Australia, Franklyn Scholar Australia, I-India Friends of Singapore and other individuals. Currently, the project aims to be self-sustained by forming partnerships with travel companies, corporates and schools.
GUDRI ENTERPRENEURSHIP TRAINING OF WOMEN
The project is aiming at tackling the gender inequalities faced by the target group on a social and economic level in their societies. The project is capacitating underprivileged women and adolescent girls (16+), from 6 slum districts, to become self-earning, empowered women with sufficient skills and capacity to manage their own micro-businesses.
It is started in April 2014 at 6 most challenging communities at Jaipur district with 300 women from below poverty line households. These participants are mostly not aware of their fundamental rights and rarely have any legal entitlements, bank accounts or linkage with developmental and poverty reduction scheme of state and central Government of India. Through this project, the women are offered a one-year comprehensive training on entrepreneurship and handicraft, personal financial management, organized saving practices and legal & human rights.
It was a joint project of I-India and I-AID Finland, which has been supported by Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland for the period of three years.