115 women and girls from Musahar communities trained in Tailoring and Mithila Art

SAATH, on December 25, 2023 organized the Closing Ceremony of its 5 year-long intervention at Dhanushadham, Janakpur through the project “Empowering Marginalized Women through Tailoring Skills. The ceremony was witnessed by a total of 105 participants. The participants were a majority of its past project trainees and also included members and representatives from various NGOs, INGOs and Media. The Closing Ceremony was held in Hotel Sitasharan, Janakpur.

The event was moderated by the Education Coordinator of the project in presence of the Executive Director and Director of Development and Administration at SAATH. The event focused on the project participants and shed light on the role the training played in their socio-economic well-being. The Executive Director of SAATH welcomed the participants and briefly shared the journey of SAATH to formally initiate the event. 

Ms. Sonam Karn, Ms. Anita Sah and Ms. Saraswoti Sada, the trainers of the project shared their experiences and highlighted the role the training played in shaping the personalities of the women and girls through these 5 years. In addition to this, Mr. Sandeep Chaudhary, Project Coordinator and Mr. Laxmi Sada, Education Coordinator of the project also shared their working experiences and challenges.

Through the project, a total of 115 women and girls from Musahar and Dom communities from 12 different localities were trained in Tailoring and Mithila Art Skills. 60 machines were distributed at the end of the Basic Level Training (6 month-long) for Tailoring trainees and the 55 trainees in Mithila Art received Art materials to further pursue their skill set. 40 women and girls were facilitated for Advanced Level Training and received On the Job Training opportunity in collaboration with Danfe Works Enterprises Nepal. In addition to the income generating activity, the project also focused on Life Skills, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, Business Management and Financial Literacy and Non-Formal Education classes. 63 past project participants participated in the Closing Ceremony. The Program Manager of the project, Ms Samikchya Sharma highlighted the focus on market linkages and demand driven training model as a priority at the moment.

Awasar Women’s Collective as a support network for the women was highlighted in light of the project sustainability. The role of Danfe Works Enterprises Nepal, the sustainability partner of SAATH was also showcased through the products designed and delivered in collaboration with the artists from the project location. Danfe Works continues to provide employment opportunities to the past project participants of SAATH.

The project participants also shared their training experiences about what they learned throughout the training period. In the end, the women and girls received a Certificate of Completion and token of appreciation from their trainers.

The event was concluded by a deliberation in which the focus was on collaboration and teamwork for sustainable practices in long term projects.

Empowering Marginalized Communities through Tailoring Training is a 5 year long project implemented by SAATH in support of ONGD-FNEL, Luxembourg.