Mid Day Newpaper Coverage about Paintings of Street Children Project at Saket

They traded trash for the brush

Canvas with a cause
Creativity knows no boundaries. The 'We shall overcome' exhibition shows you why

By: Ishita Sharma Mid Day NewspaperFaith makes all things possible. While this saying holds little meaning for those who are too tied up with their daily grind, it means the world to street children who had taken to ragpicking and begging to break their daily bread. Creative calling apart, an expression of their utmost desires finds mention at the 'We Shall Overcome' exhibition which kickstarts tomorrow in town. A preview.

small wonder: Names like Arif, Khushbu, Ritesh, Heena, Govind, Firoz and Sonu may not ring a bell, but they create music, nevertheless. All these special children were once ragpickers at the Neb Sarai area at Saket, and have now picked up the brush. The works include individual paintings and joint collages by the li'l ones, who have are being supported by senior artists in their endeavour. Various mediums used for painting include charcoal, canvas and oil amongst others. 

the big picture : The participants include children from NGOs like Literacy India, Muskan and others on a single platform. It is a culmination of the collaborative efforts of the organisations, in order to bring them at par with society. 
"Our biggest challenge was to convince these children to study, paint and do whatever made them happy, instead of working, which provided them monetary gain. Thankfully, we have managed to not only bring the children to the forefront, but also build their creativity," smiles Satya Prakash, project head, Literacy India. 

For a cause : All the proceeds of the exhibition will go towards the upliftment of these kids. A combined effort in the form of a calendar, too, finds a place at the exhibition. So what if half the year's already gone... your sensitive side sure hasn't, we hope!

Compliments from Texas

Our women and all of us at Indha get really encouraged when consumers get back to us with their feedback on our products. Sara Craven from Texas, who happened to purchase our products at a Literacy India Indha exhibition in the US had the following encouraging words for us...
"I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy my Literacy India decorative items. The silk pillows are gorgeous and I get many compliments on the table runner. Not only are the items extremely nice quality, but the fact that it goes to such a wonderful cause really makes me feel good.
Sara Craven
Construction Project Manager
JCPenney Construction Services
Plano, TX 75024"
She also clicked a picture from her mobile phone of the silk cushion cover she bought which is now resting on her chair. The picture isn't great quality but the feeling sure is...

Our future's in capable hands

Recently Literacy India found two very unexpected volunteers in the form of 11 year olds. Two enthusiastic class V students of "The Shri Ram School" Gurgaon, Arsh and Amanat Mehta joined the cause when they decided to hold exhibitions of Indha products at their school to raise funds for Literacy India.


It all started when the kids visited The Epicentre (a cultural space at Gurgaon) for a handicrafts & food festival. According to their mother "the boys sauntered off for a walk and half an hour later I had Arsh guiding me to a 'must-see' stall….he had taken a card and brochure from a stall called Literacy India which he said he absolutely had to show to his teacher Madhu Ma’am. Next thing I hear them make plans about it over the phone. Arsh had called up and organized samples worth Rs 2300 from Indha, after approvals from their teacher to tie up with the organisation as a part of their internal Paryavaran programme. Literacy India promptly sent them samples entirely on consignment, and thus was started their association with the cause."

We often say that the future of this country is in the hands of its children and especially seeing children like Arsh and Amanat, we can now be rest assured that the future is in very capable hands.

A Humbling Experience

It was a hot March morning with the noon time sun overhead when my car approached Bhajgera village, navigating through narrow village roads with the expanse of lovely green fields on one side. As we went further my eye caught the sight of a neatly constructed red brickwork building with the Indian tricolor hoisted on its roof. I could see a bunch of uniformed school children trickling out of this building, and that’s how I recognized the Literacy India center of Palam Vihar (Bhajgera). This was my second visit to the premises.

On my last visit, Capt. Indraani Singh, the founder of Literacy India, had very enthusiastically taken me around its facilities and explained to me about the various activities of Literacy India, including their Livelihood initiative for women called Indha (which I am now associated with). She also introduced me to the other people working with the organization and we spontaneously started brainstorming on what more we could do around here. I found a certain honesty in what I saw here and the intent of its people, and quickly decided that I would want to be involved with this organization, and that’s how this blog was started.
The purpose of my second visit was to talk to the women at the Tailoring and Paper units of Indha, understand their hopes and aspirations and how Indha had impacted their lives. And then present what I saw on this blog.

The women involved with this center are first trained in the skills of tailoring/ making of paper-products by Literacy India and are then either absorbed at the Center or become capable of finding jobs outside. As most of the women belong to extremely poor sections of society, they come here with the intent of becoming self reliant and capable of financially supporting their families.

The Indha tailoring unit at the Bhajgera center, produces purses and handbags of different shapes and sizes, which are then retailed across India and the world at select stores (eg. Bombay Stores) and at exhibitions. Ikea-style, the purses are named after the women who design them.
I spoke at length to Rita Rani, who has been associated with Indha for the last 3 years. She not only tailors the purses but also trains the newcomers. She proudly informed me that her earnings of Rs 6000 per month are more than what her husband brings home, something she had never imagined would happen before she joined Indha. And something that is hard to imagine in the Indian society where the male members have traditionally been the chief wage earners. Rita is now also supporting the education of her sons who are studying to become engineers!

I also visited the Indha paper unit, involved in producing all kinds of paper products from paper-bags to diaries to file folders. This is a newer initiative, and hence needs more marketing support than the tailoring unit. I sat with the women there and tried my hand at what they were doing but quickly realized that I am much better writing this blog than making paper bags.
I interviewed a lady who had been associated with Indha for the last one year, belonged to the nearby village and was widowed 2 years ago. Not only did livelihood avenues dry up for her after her husband’s death, but she felt that her relatives and society had stopped respecting her. That’s when she joined Indha, seeing other women in her village benefit from it. She now substitutes her meagre income at the farm with her earnings from Indha, is training her daughter to become a teacher at Literacy India and finds a voice for her feelings interacting with other women also in a similar situation. In her own words, her small village has started on the path of progress ever since Literacy India came there.

As for me, it was a humbling experience interacting with the women at the center (some of whom had tears welling up in their eyes while narrating their stories) and seeing how change is happening at the grassroots with initiatives like Indha.

- Pallavi Chopra
Literacy India 'Indha' Volunteer

Real Life Stories Part 2

Continuing with our previous post on "Real Life Stories", here are inspiring stories of Reenu, Neerlata and Pushpa on how Indha became a platform for empowerment for these three women. Read on...

Reenu: At, the age of three, Reenu experienced the loss of her father, after which, she and her brother were left in the sole care of their mother. Her mother worked hard, selling milk, to support the family. With her meagre monthly income of Rs 1000-Rs 2000, she tried to make ends meet and educate her children. In order to support the family, Reenu joined the Kaligiri Training Programme right after completing her tenth standard, a year back. She always showed an interest in stitching since childhood and loves the feeling she gets each time she makes something. She has stitched more than a 100 bags and her favorite is the “Sapna Bag”. Today, she earns Rs 1500 a month for the work she does at Indha.
Life seems a lot better for her today. Her mother is not alone shouldering the household responsibilities, Neeru is right by her side!


Neerlata always had one desire in life, to be able to financially support her parents and three sisters. Her father is a government official and earns Rs 5500 a month. But that was not enough for the sustenance of such a large family. Thats when Neerlata joined the Kaligiri Training Programme six months ago. At first, stitching seemed to her a difficult and complicated procedure. Understanding different stitches puzzled and confused her. But after practicing everyday, her stitching has not only become faster but also swifter. She loves stitching salwaar suits for her sisters and mother. And the extra income she earns supports the education of her three sisters.
The way Neerlata concentrates while tailoring is amazing. A tailoring machine, thread and a beautiful piece of cloth and she is all set. 

Pushpa: 20 year old Pushpa was sitting idle and clueless at home after completing her tenth standard. Her father had retired and the family was facing a lot of problems managing their finances. Pushpa's elder sibling's education had to be discontinued as the family simply could not afford it. This was an ultimatum of sorts and Pushpa decided to take charge. She then decided to pursue a vocational training programme to acquire a skill that would help her become financially empowered. 

About a year back she joined our Kaligari Training Programme, where for the first six months she devoted herself to learning different techniques in stitching and tailoring. She enjoyed tailoring immensely and stitched even after going back home. She has stitched over 100 purses and many other items.

Today, she earns Rs 1500 a month at Indha and supports her family's finances. This has given her a new lease of confidence in her abilities and in the knowledge that she is an important pillar of the family.  

Indha at York University Campus

Remy Hans, a 3rd year International Studies student at York University, Canada and a volunteer at Literacy India last summer recently organised exhibitions for Indha at the two campuses of the University- Keele Campus and Glendon Campus.

The exhibition received a tremendous response from the students. Here's what Remy had to say about it...

"Voila!!!! It was a success. Everyone loved the bags especially the Sarla, Anita and Sunil (Wooden Ring bags). It was amazing to have got a great response. I've noticed that students here are very sensitive towards such issues. They bought tons of stuff because it was for a good cause! People do care!!! I felt proud to be associated with such an organisation who strongly advocates women empowerment. My day was made as the response was amazing considering we haven't had such exhibitions/fund-raising events over the past year at Glendon. Most of the students and professors are extremely excited as they would be buying lots more next week."

You can also read more about this exhibition here

Real Life Stories Part 1

Indha means different things to different women. For some, its finding a new leash of confidence, for some its financial power, for some its self-identity and to some it means becoming a pillar of strength to their family. But to most its the hope for a better future. Here are real stories of real women who found hope through Indha.

Santosh a widow at the age of 23 and a mother of two is working hard to overcome the challenges of her life. Educated till class 10, she is keen to learn things quickly because that means she can earn her livelihood with dignity. She is very hard working and has been associated with Indha for the last 6 months. During her six months training she has learnt how to make paper products. She is also gaining experience running the Indha store at Bajghera. She is a true example for all the widows out there who lose hope after losing their husbands, the chief wage earners of the family.


Nisha is only 20 years, the only earning member of her family. After an accident 1 year ago, her father was no longer able to work for the family. As a result, the responsibility of all 5 members of her family fell upon her. After 2 years of hard work, Nisha is now an instructor in the tailoring centre of Literacy India at Daultabad and spends the rest of her time making fashionable bags for Indha. She is easily one of the best craft women Indha has. At such a young, she has achieved what very few can, thanks to her resilient spirit and self confidence.


Manju Devi, a 45 years old house wife migrated from Bihar along with her husband and 6 children to live in a slum of Saidulajab village area. Her husband began work at a local ‘Dhaba’ earning around Rs.2200/- per month. The family has been facing severe financial problems ever since they moved and find it difficult to make both ends meet. Literacy India enrolled Manju Devi in the tailoring classes under the Janani project. She is quite regular and has picked up the basic skills. It is expected that she would be fairly proficient within a couple of months and would be able to put her skills to use by stitching clothes, thereby contributing to her meagre family income. There are enough opportunities in the nearby locality where she lives and Manju has expressed her confidence in getting stitching orders. This exposure has given her the confidence to face the hard ships the family is facing. Manju hopes and believes that she has improved her chances of a better future after her course at ‘Janani’.