Delhi

Three days at Rajapuri, Uttam Nagar

A three-day capacity-building session was organised to give women and young girls skills and knowledge they could turn into sustainable livelihoods. 35 women and 8 girls took part in hands-on training and sessions on government schemes, digital literacy and social protection.

Day one. Mr Abhishek Agrawal ran a session on government schemes and digital literacy — covering cyber-crime awareness, data protection, and how to claim insurance benefits through the e-Shram card. A social protection camp was announced to help residents update the documents they needed. The day closed with Mrs Rinku Thakur, a master trainer, teaching participants to produce handmade gulal: a livelihood that also reduces waste.

Day two. 29 participants took part in jewellery and candle making. Ms Alpana Jha, a trainer experienced in crafts and enterprise development, covered both the creative and the commercial side of jewellery making — including how to actually market what they make. Ms Shashi Mathur demonstrated candle making step by step and advised on packaging, and on selling both locally and online.

Day three. 33 people attended. Mrs Ritu Saini ran a session on making dhoopbatti (incense sticks) from leftover flowers collected at temples — recycling a waste material into a product, using low-cost raw materials with real market linkages. Alongside it, a social protection camp helped 35 individuals correct and apply for documents including Aadhaar, Voter ID, ABHA and e-Shram cards.

Najafgarh: one day, three skills

A one-day training session was held at Social Vision in Najafgarh, with 42 people taking part in three programmes: digital literacy and cyber security, gulal making, and bio-enzyme products for household use.

The first session covered the essentials of digital literacy and why cyber security matters now — the growing prevalence of cyber crime, practical ways to stay safe online, the basics of social media, and how to avoid scams and fraudulent schemes spread over the internet. Participants left more confident about navigating the digital world safely.

The second, led by Rinku Thakur, introduced new livelihood options. Women learned to craft herbal gulal from natural ingredients — a sustainable practice that opens up extra income, particularly around festivals. She also demonstrated bio-enzyme cleaning solutions, and how these eco-friendly alternatives can replace conventional phenyl and soaps.

The sessions were well received, and hand-holding support and advanced training are being organised in collaboration with Social Vision.

Khanpur: five women, three sewing machines

In Khanpur, Ubantu Foundation has set up a small sewing centre supporting five women from the locality. Three sewing machines — one automatic, two commercial — were installed to give the selected women entrepreneurs a livelihood.

The women had previously trained in sewing and other vocational skills at the incubation centre run by the National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI). At Khanpur they use that training to manufacture eco-friendly bags from recycled cloth supplied by the Social Vision Foundation — and they are selling them successfully to Ecowing Foundation and other Delhi-based social organisations.

In the next phase, Ubantu plans to bring in graduates of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to raise the quality and widen the design range of the cloth-based products, so the women can earn more from them.

By the numbers: the Tower Vision project

Across Rajapuri, Najafgarh and Khanpur, this CSR-funded project trained hundreds of women and girls in vocational skills, digital inclusion and access to government schemes — with real income and savings to show for it.