Bernina donated 15 new sewing machines to the professional skills training centre in Hyderabad. In an online training, teachers of the courses and employees of the garment factory learned how to use the new machines.

In April, Bernina contacted Usthi. With the aim of supporting the textile processing courses, the professional skills training centre in India was to be equipped with new overlock machines. A few weeks ago, the machines arrived in Hyderabad.

To ensure that the sewing machines can be used successfully in the future, Bernina planned an introduction to its use with Usthi and our local partner organisation. As the pandemic makes travelling still difficult, the training in September took place online. During this training, Bernina trained key people on site in the use of the “b05 Academy”; a sewing machine that is particularly well suited for learning the sewing craft.

Two teachers of the textile processing courses, as well as the operator of the garment factory and the director of the professional skills training participated in the online course. In addition, the technician who takes care of the technical equipment of the centre – and thus also the functioning of the sewing machines – was present too.

The course was a very good preparation for the use of the sewing machines. Last week, the staff continued to practice using the machine and plans to incorporate the new model into lessons in the coming weeks.

Usthi is pleased that the machines are now ready for use. We hope that the new equipment will help the trainees to further improve their skills and thereby gain a foothold in the job market after completing their training. We thank Bernina for their support and look forward to further joint projects.

Schools in both India and Nepal are slowly resuming operations. After months of homeschooling, school children at several sites in India have been able to attend classes again since the beginning of September. The schools at Usthi’s project site in Nepal will also open next week.

After India and Nepal were hit hard by a second wave of corona in April, the number of cases has been steadily declining since mid-July. This development now allows activities to restart at the Usthi school and education project sites.

In the state of Telangana in India, classroom teaching has been allowed again in all schools since the 1st of September. The Back-to-School project, which enables children to return to school, has been resumed. Likewise, the tutoring centres in Hyderabad have reopened and offer support to school children to restart classes.

The situation in Nepal is also improving steadily. Thanks to falling case numbers, the government plans to open the schools already next week. At the project site in Dhading, classes can start again. Usthi’s local partner used the time during which the schools were closed to refurbish the classrooms. The renovation work in the schools is going well and is in its final stages. Ceilings and walls are being freshly painted and letters and numbers are being painted for the lessons. The equipment for the classes and the materials for the students are then being prepared to be ready for the opening of the school on Monday.