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| Source: http://www.iicd.org/stories/ |
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Author : Krishna V.Sane Brief Project Background The idea of training women from disadvantaged background
originated under the UNESCO sponsored Locally Produced Low Cost Equipment
Project directed by the author during 1980-1995 when he was a Professor at
the University of Delhi. His (late) wife and professional colleague, Dr.
Kamalni Sane, found that it was possible to train needy women in the area of
Desktop Publishing (DTP) using the manuscripts they had written for the
LPLCE Project. The growth of this interesting idea, conceived by a woman for
women, was cruelly cut short by Kamalni’s fading health culminating in her
premature demise in April 1993.
An important question confronting many societies is how to
bring the physically
Small batches of selected trainees --- Project SITA has so far registered 448 needy applicants ---- were given intensive hands-on computer training based on real life exercises using Ms Office 2000. Wherever possible, each trainee was attached to a potential employer. At the end of the course, successful trainees were given a Certificate and assistance in getting employment. The entire training program was totally free but every trainee was required to offer part-time services as an assistant to a Trainer, after completing her course. This helped ex-trainees to acquire more confidence while individual attention to fresh trainees did not get diluted with the increase in batch size. The opinion of some of the more motivated SITA trainees is given here to illustrate the impact of the Project on individual lives Kiran Arora: Till a few years ago I was afraid of computers but today thanks to SITA I am a self-reliant DTP professional and can earn an adequate amount to support my family. Archana & Anjali: Project SITA is a ray of hope for girls like us who cannot afford the cost of attending computer courses but have the capability & desire to learn computer skills to earn a livelihood. Yasmeen: Coming from an orthodox Muslim family, SITA made me self-reliant and how I can even think of realizing the dream of establishing a computer-training center for women. Gulshan: After my father met with an accident, our family of seven is without a regular income. The computer training received by me through SITA has, however, given some hope for the future. There is no doubt that the InfoDev initiative SITA has helped to focus on a matter of widespread concern namely How to secure a few lanes on the information highway which the not-so-fortunate can use in such a manner that some of them are even able to overtake some of their more fortunate fast- track colleagues?
One pleasant experience of the Project is that though a typical SITA trainee has limited reading, writing and communication skills coupled with low-confidence levels, most of them have achieved commendable proficiency in basic computer-skills. This confirms the expectation that the enormous potential of the ‘have-nots’ can be harnessed by creating an environment which is not based on charity but is based on the recognition of the needs and the rights of fellow human beings. One disappointing experience of the Project is that a majority of women trained by SITA so far have failed to find jobs. This has also resulted in a high drop out rate. This unanticipated feature shows that appropriate training is necessary, but not sufficient, to bring the disadvantaged into the societal mainstream. The message is thus loud and clear that SITA type efforts can survive and grow if, and only if, an earning wing supports every learning wing where trainees can earn at least a nominal amount as soon as they complete the minimal training. This idea is being tested through field trials during the last, and the on-going, part of Project SITA. Small teams of SITA trainees are given contract work like data entry, making Visiting Cards, Letterheads, and Posters or processing DTP manuscripts etc. This approach has the great merit that a fresh trainee need not wait for a formal placement to start earning but she can be paired in a team with a senior trainee who can help her not only in gaining practical experience but who can also share a part of her earning. The encouraging developments so far have led to the formulation of a proposal to establish an e-cooperative MitraMandal (Sanskrit for ‘friends group’) with a Training Wing Talim (Urdu for ‘total education’) and a Job work Wing Prayas (Hindi for ‘effort’) that will network the trainees and the trainers. The Training Wing will carry on as per the strategy developed under Project SITA. However, this Wing will now introduce the 'learn now-pay later’ scheme so that needy women can avail free training but pay the fees in affordable instalments after joining the Job work Wing. A Donor controlled stipend fund will be instituted to assist those who cannot afford the ‘pay later’ condition. The coop – an organisation for women and by women – will use a judicious mix of contact mode and distance mode for training and for collecting/distributing job work. SITA’s Core Group is now looking for seed money required to establish the co-op. Support is also being sought from various sectors of society to make the cooperative self-evolving and self-reliant. For example, it is hoped that the
The proposed co-op model is an attempt at human networking to exploit the full potential of ICT, which owes its power and success to the efficacy of the networking concept. It is hoped that the co-op will provide a platform where Senior Citizens -- like the author— offer their experience and expertize to tap the energies and creativity of the dynamic and young members of the professional sector (through appropriate incentives) to conduct ICT-based empowerment programmes for the disadvantaged with the help of government and non-government agencies. It is further hoped that if the starting point, namely gender empowerment, becomes sustainable, the vast trained womanpower so generated can assist in areas like the rehabilitation of handicapped, rejuvenation of victims of addiction and violence, care of the aged, education of children of slum and ghetto-dwellers etc etc etc. The known success of women in areas like school teaching and nursing, where human touch is crucial, suggests that the huge untapped reservoir of female workforce --- particularly in developing countries – needs to be unleashed for harmonious social development. If this long cherished dream is even partially realized in the new millennium, the achievement will surely be a most significant component of the ICT Story. Project Information Organisation : Project SITAURL : http:// www.sitaa.org Total budget in US$ : USD 120,000 What is partners role? Contact Information Krishna V.Sanesitah@bol.net.in |
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