Despite having an education, the lack of employment opportunities in the villages is forcing the rural youth to migrate for a better life. Sombari Soy, a young tribal girl from Rurunglohar village in Jharkhand was on the verge of leaving her village when she came in contact with Caritas India’s Gram Nirman program and her life started changing.

Four years back, Sombari formed Seya Marshal Yuva Kishori Samity, a Self-Help Group (SHG) with 15 youth in her village to enhance their potential. She also lends some credit from the SHG to complete her studies. With time, the SHG functionaries not only supported her but others who needed financial support for Income Generating Purpose.

Tribals are more vulnerable and marginalized due to their poor socio-economic conditions in terms of work-participation and access to various eligible government entitlements and flagship programme. Rurunglohar in Kuchai, Jharkhand is one such village under the Gram Nirman program which aims to support the tribal communities for functional institutions towards achieving socio-economic wellbeing through socially and politically dynamic participation in decision making bodies. Supported by Caritas Australia, the program is functional in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and few slum areas of Delhi.

Sombari is an active member of the Samity and her potential to learn has led to a new journey that she didn’t realize. Gram Nirman program provides a platform for marginalized tribal communities to enhance their income through various On-farm as well as Off-farm initiatives. The emphasis is given to address the critical concerns of the most vulnerable section of the community. Sensitization and capacity building helps in recognizing and creating visibility of these networks and groups in decision-making platforms. Gram Nirman highlighted entrepreneurship as a way of redirecting youth energy away from hopelessness and towards innovation.

Gram Nirman recognised the immense potential of Sombari and encouraged her to learn tailoring for skill-building. The suggestion was taken seriously and she learnt the new skill which was a turning point in her life.

The program under the Income Generation Activity (IGA) provided her with the sewing machine to achieve her dreams. The support has inculcated a feeling to contribute towards community development through vocational skill. She started a tailoring training cum production centre in her village to teach this skill to others and also earn money. Gram Nirman program also trained her on Market orientation which helped her in exploring platforms for exhibiting her tailoring business in the adjoined villages.

Now, she has set up her tailoring enterprise cum training centre. She is upscaling the skills of 5 youths in her villages by providing 6 months tailoring course with a min charge of Rs. 500/-. As a community member, she understood the hardship of the villagers and allowed her students to pay the course fee in instalments. Trainees of her centre are pleased with the flexibility as they could not afford the training from outside. Sombari is now able to contribute to meet her family expenses with an earning of Rs. 300-400 per day which is approximately Rs. 7500- 10000/- per month.

She is a role model for other youth in her area. “My goal is to provide training to the youths and especially the widows, so they became an independent and self-reliant freelancer to decide their future,” says Sombari.

Caritas India has supported three more marginalised women with the sewing machine to generate income through their hard work. The focus is to empower the community for preparedness, improved information system, improved partnership relationship, savings groups and conservation agriculture.

Caritas India has supported three more marginalised women with the sewing machine to generate income through their hard work. Similarly, Caritas has supported 62 marginalised tribal to set up different business trends such as vegetable business, small grocery, hotel business, fast food stall and chicken shop. The focus is to empower the community for preparedness, improved information system, improved partnership relationship, savings groups and conservation agriculture.