The Leaders Accelerating Development (LEAD) Program of Deshpande Foundation, Hubballi, Karnataka fosters innovative and entrepreneurial thinking within college students by exposing them to social issues and by encouraging them to volunteer their time and effort into the community. LEAD ignites their latent talent to come up with creative solutions. LEAD is an incubator where innovation meets implementation, knowledge meets experience, social issues meet solutions and efforts meet impact.
Independent women are strong as diamond and bright as Sun
Women are more beautiful when they are independent and strong. Every woman or a girl should be independent enough to take care of herself financially and mentally too. This makes her strong to face the problems without anyone’s help. Independent and strong woman have the ability to change the world.
LEADer Nikita Kadam from Chikodi has joined LEAD to learn something new and to help the society. She took a step ahead to encourage entrepreneurship. Every woman has some inbuilt creative art in her. Nikita thought to use that creative art of every woman to make something beautiful.
“I successfully completed 2 years of my journey in LEAD ,” she quoted.
Leader Nikita started this project in a small colony of Chikodi. A friend of her told her about the ladies who were keenly interested in learning and making daily used fancy Show pieces. Before initiating the project she conducted a meeting of group of ladies nearby the colony. Nikita explained them the objective of the project and told them how the outcomes are useful to all women. Nikita decided to teach them in community hall of that locality. She began with teaching show pieces from nylon(macrame designs).
“It was very difficult for the women to find out time from the daily chores and join this project,”she told.
Her project went on viral in the colony. Later many women joined her.It was very difficult for Nikita to control the women gossiping. This was the only difficulty she had to pay while implanting the project.
Later on, they found it interesting and easy to understand. More and more women join the project and started learning from her.
Her project is still going on with different group of women. Many of the women made some creative items to decorate their own houses and some sold outside in the market. Like this, Nikita helped them to support themselves financially. Nikita says, She is happy by reaching out to these women. All the women in the colony appreciated her work. Success is not only making money, it is also about people appreciating for the work you have done.
In conversation with Nikita Kadam:
Ques: What was this project all about?
This project started with the idea of reaching to those women who wants to learn and help themselves financially. My friend told me about women of Chikodi who were not financially sound and wanted to learn new creative things. So, I helped them with that.
Ques: What inspired you to start with such a project?
I believe in sharing knowledge. I had a hand over working with nylon wires and making crafty things. I used macrame designs to build daily use show pieces. I want this knowledge to reach maximum people. So, the basic inspiration was to uplift women mentally and financially by teaching them making handmade decorative items.
Ques: How long did it take to complete this whole work ?
In around 15-20 days, they all were well efficient in going deeds with perfection.
Ques : How failure motivated you to reach your goal?
When I had a meeting with the women of that society, there was no such good response. When I started teaching on the very first day, there were merely any women who came forward to learn. When they find it interesting and came to know they can earn well selling these products, the project was on its pace. The biggest challenge was to motivate more and more women to come forward and learn.
Ques: What all products and fancy items you taught them in this project?
I told them how to make fancy decorative household things. They were taught making Baskets, Key-Hanger and different kinds of show pieces.
Ques : Please tell us about the financial back up for your project.
It was a cost free project. I used Nylon strings and macrame wires to make items. The funded products were made available by the LEAD.
Also read “Have You Ever Imagined Bullock Carts With A Braking System? This Guy, Bhimshi, Developed One.“
Ques: What was the greatest achievement in this project?
I was very happy by reaching out to these women. All the women in the colony appreciated my work. The greatest achievement was, these women worked hard and made some creative items to decorate their own houses and some of them even sold outside in the market, helping themselves financially. I was amazed to see their efforts and was very happy for them.
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