Story of one of the beneficiaries from Shoshana Sewing Centre,Gamela Bazar area, Vijayawada.

Ø    My name is M.Kavitha. I am 25 yrs old. I am married and have two daughters. My parents died when I was very young. I was begging on roads and my neighbours supported me to some extent. After I got married, I was living with my husband at Gamela Bazar area, Vijayawada where some of the waste pickers reside. After few years of my marriage, my husband also left me. I was left alone with my two kids. I was working as a waste picker and also begging for food sometimes to feed my family. My two small kids come along with me for begging. Since we live in slums in an atrocious situation, society mostly treats us as untouchables. No tailor likes to stitch clothes for us.

 

When Shoshana offered us a free sewing class, I was very happy to utilize the opportunity. I was in the very first group. After completion of the course Shoshana provided us with  sewing machines. So far no outsiders come to our area to give us work but at least we could stitch clothes for our ourselves as well as our children. This way we could save some money on stitching charges. Also every now and then I am stitching clothes for my fellow rag pickers . In future I hope I would be able to take this as a career. I started sending my kids to a Government school. All thanks to the donors who came all the way to our area, helped us in learning a skill which could help us earn a living.