What about the young people who have been part of the Usthi projects over the past 46 years? What kind of stories do they tell? What careers are they pursuing? The success stories of the students, graduates and young people in the children’s and women’s shelters show how our support has a lasting impact.
The success of the professional skills trainings is evident in the high employment rate of the course participants: Around 90% of all graduates find a job or start their own small business within a year of completing the training.
Rani* and her husband struggled to feed their family and pay for their children’s education. After completing the beautician course, she got a job in a well-known beauty salon. There she gained experience for more than four years. Thanks to the job, she was able to continue sending her children to school and ensure the family’s livelihood. With strengthened self-confidence, she finally opened her own salon.
« Today I not only have my own beauty parlour but also employ three other women. »
The flourishing business allowed her to hire three more young women from the professional skills training and pass on the opportunity she once received.
Young people who grew up in the children’s homes run by Usthi are also standing on their own feet today. During their stay, they attend school and are cared for and supported by their house mothers.
Priya* was one of the first girls to graduate in 2016 and step out of the protection of one of Usthis children’s home into a self-determined life. She recently graduated from college and started her career at one of India’s top IT companies.
« Today I dream of becoming an IAS-Officer in the future. »
She has high ambitions for her future: She aims to work at the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), India’s most important central civil service.
Unfortunately, many dangers still persist for women in large Indian cities such as the metropolis of Hyderabad. In addition, especially women lost their jobs during the pandemic. As a result, the danger of falling victim to human trafficking and exploitation increases.
Sneha* comes from a remote village in the Indian state of Telangana. When she lost her father to AIDS, it hit the family not only emotionally, but also financially. Looking for work, she comes to Hyderabad on her own. Without the protection of her family and without a job, the dangers of the city are particularly threatening. During an event organised as part of the anti-trafficking prevention campaign, Sneha* becomes aware of Usthi’s women’s shelters.
She is taken into one of the houses and successfully completes the professionalls training “Computer and Data Entry”.
« I was the first girl to be formally employed in my family. »
After completing her training, Sneha* got a government job as a data operator. Her income allows her to provide for herself and her mother.
To reduce migration to urban areas, Usthi specifically provides education for vulnerable people in rural areas. At the Ananda School in Hudarait, outside the big city of Kolkata, over 200 students are educated every year. The Penthakata School has been providing space for around 400 schoolchildren since 1992. The school education lays a foundation for a self-determined life for the children. What do the former school children do today?
Some of them are civil servants, for example in the Indian Forest Service, the local police or the government’s finance department. Likewise, many of them pursue medical professions. Graduates of recent years have become nurses, homeopaths and pharmacists.
Among the former students are also chefs, photographers and a cameraman. Many of them have also been inspired by their school education and are teachers themselves, working in state schools, kindergartens or as private tutors. One of the graduates runs her own dance school. A few former students even got together and run another school in Penthakata.
It is only thanks to your support, dear donors, that we can write these success stories together. Thank you very much for your trust and your loyalty.
*Names and pictures have been changed for privacy reasons.
