Empowerment Centers
Each year Sambhali Trust Empowerment Centers provide around 300 marginalized women and adolescent girls with vocational training in sewing and embroidery along with classes in Hindi, English, math, and self-defense. They participate in workshops on a wide range of topics including health, environment, gender-based violence, women’s rights, and how to set up a small business. Most participants have little to no formal education. By providing free education and a safe space to learn, women can openly discuss their feelings with others in the same situation – and develop a sisterhood of support. All of the women are also invited to participate in self-help (micro-finance) groups where funds are used for both emergency needs and economic development. At the end of the one-year program, each graduate receives a sewing machine so she can continue on the road to economic self-sufficiency.
There are four Empowerment Centers in the city of Jodhpur, three in the city of Jaisalmer, and one in the rural village of Setrawa. Each is associated with a Primary Education Center.