Allcargo Group stitches a bright future for the disadvantaged women in rural Maharashtra

Mumbai, Dec 19: Avashya Foundation, CSR arm of Allcargo Group, an Indian born global logistics conglomerate has announced successful completion of its Women Empowerment and Livelihood project for the development of the underprivileged communities in Maharashtra. Under this Women Empowerment and Livelihood project, the Group offers three months basic and advanced tailoring and personality development training to uplift and empower marginalized and underprivileged women at Dhamani and its surrounding villages ie, Panvel taluka in Raigad district and Ishwar Nagar in Digha, Navi Mumbai.

This initiative has been implemented in collaboration with Sankalp Manav Vikas Sanstha, an NGO working towards socio-economic upliftment by promoting textile-based entrepreneurship for underprivileged communities in Maharashtra.

At a felicitation program held at the training & production centre in Dhamani and Ishwar Nagar, Dr. Nilratan Shende, Head – CSR, Allcargo Group handed over certificates to 240 women beneficiaries who availed the training at the respective centres.

Allcargo Group has been implementing textile-based training at the Dhamani and Ishwar Nagar since 2021. The project has so far impacted over 410 women. More than 65 percent of the beneficiaries have joined the production centres to stitch bags and apparels. Income earned by the beneficiaries is further invested in health and education of their children. After completing the three-month training, a beneficiary becomes self-reliant by working at the production centres or at home.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Nilratan Shende, Head – CSR, Allcargo Group said, "Women Empowerment and Livelihood project is in line with Allcargo Group's core philosophy of CSR activities which aim to create a positive social and economic impact on the community. We are extremely delighted to see the encouraging participation from women belonging to the less-privileged sections from the areas around Dhamani and Ishwar Nagar. The intent of the project is not only to offer tailoring training to women from disadvantaged families but also to provide them a holistic livelihood, life-skill and professional training support so that they can become self-reliant to stitch a bright future for themselves and for their families. We are thankful to Sankalp Manav Vikas Sanstha for partnering with us in our mission and helping us in expanding the reach of this uniquely-designed project. The response has further motivated us to impart training to as many women as possible under the project to make a larger impact. We aim to train 400 women under this project by March 2024."

In addition to offering basic and advanced tailoring training, Allcargo Group's Women Empowerment and Livelihood project also organises personality development sessions on effective communication, online and physical market linkages, marketing and digital marketing skills, financial literacy, leadership, personality development, women group, career guidance, etc. The goal is to provide 60-70 percent of trained women self-employment in their locality.

Sankalp Manav Vikas Sanstha initiated on-ground awareness drive to promote this project in villages surrounding Dhamani such as Lahan Dhamni, Mothi Dhamni, Dehrang, Baapdevwadi, Dodhani and Houshachiwadi. The volunteers also visited areas close to Ishwar Nagar such as Anant Nagar, Bhola Nagar, Banjara Pada, Kalwa slum and Buddha Vihar to enroll participants for the three-month training modules.