Twitter
Advertisement

DU students use corporate e-waste to bring self-dependence to rural women

Having studied till Class XII in Delhi, Pratibha had thought her education had gone to waste. But then a group of DU's Shaheed Sukhdev College students came as a ray of hope.

Latest News
article-main
Under project ‘Udaan’, rural women are trained in computer education, teaching, and entrepreneurship. These women then impart education to people of all age groups
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Born in a small village in Haryana, where even stepping out of the house is considered a taboo for women, Pratibha got married at the young age of 21 and went on to give birth to four children. At that time, she had not imagined that one day she will be a self-dependent woman, brimming with confidence. Today, she teaches computer skills to others in her village.

Having studied till Class XII in Delhi, Pratibha had thought her education had gone to waste. But then a group of DU's Shaheed Sukhdev College students came as a ray of hope. Following a three-month training, she now earns Rs 7,000 per month and is the primary breadwinner in her family.

A group of 15 students from the Business Studies Department of the college launched a project titled 'Udaan' in 2015, under which e-waste collected from corporate houses is refurbished to set multi-purpose labs. These labs, set-up in rural areas and villages, are then used to give computer education to people there.

"The project aims at increasing digital literacy in rural areas that have limited access to information technology and have been deprived of its benefits. We utilise e-waste by converting it into refurbished computer systems capable of imparting knowledge and skills," Piyush Khatri, one of the project members, said.

These centres are operated by women entrepreneurs from the same community, who are selected on the basis of several criteria, including teaching experience, operational and management capabilities, and community perception.

"The selected women are trained in basic computer education, teaching, and entrepreneurship," Piyush said, adding that the centres are then left to them to impart computer education to people of all age groups, along with professional courses for undergraduates and adults.

As of now, the group has set up three such centres in Khurrampur village in Ghaziabad, UP, Mavikala village in Baghpat, UP, and Jahangirpur village in Jhajjar, Haryana. Each of these centres have over 60 students, who are charged just Rs 100 a month.

The move has impacted the lives of these women as well as their communities. "I am now self-dependent and can help my husband with the expenses of the house. The move has helped me break the shackles of conservatism, which were very common," Pratibha said.

"I had never thought that a woman like me, a housewife living in a small village of UP, would one day become a teacher and even earn a good sum of money for my family. But life is all about second chances, and mine was Udaan," said Rashmi, another such teacher in Khurrampur.

The preliminary expenses for the project were borne by the project members but now the group is looking for crowd funding to set up such centres in other states as well."We aim to build more such centres in Delhi, UP, and Haryana, and are looking at crowd funding," Piyush added.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement