As many of you know, our Club obtained a Rotary District 5960 grant this year to support the establishment of a Sewing School Project in Amaravathi, India, We can report that the project is going very well.The Sewing School has been established in the village of Amaravathi, a rural area in the Guntur District of the new state of Andhra Pradesh. The village of Amaravathi is a poor area, which is not to be confused with a new planned city of Amaravati being created nearby by the Indian government as the capital city of the new state of Andhra Pradesh.
Our partner in this project is Pushpa, a U.S. based 501c3 non-profit organization located in Arden Hills, that operates in India as a not for profit Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Pushpa has been working solely in India for fourteen years.
Pushpa's mission is to help marginalized community members of rural Guntur district villages transition from migrant, subsistent lifestyles, dependent on seasonal labor and temporary shelter, to sustainable livelihoods in healthy communities. Its main goal is to work together with underprivileged (tribal) members of rural Guntur district villages to motivate socio-economic change in small ways, one person, one family, one student, at a time, through projects in which the recipients themselves participate. The organization strives to boost the self-confidence of individuals while at the same time teaching collective responsibility for the community, through teaching vocational skills that develop earning capability.
As many of you were aware, Gummadi Franklin, the driving force behind PUSHPA, was in country when the grant was received and was due to be coming home in a couple of weeks. He and his team were able to find a suitable location for the school and an experienced teacher for the school in anticipation of our receipt of our District Grant. All of the work to equip the school has been completed and the school has been established in Amaravathi and 16 students are now working to complete the teaching protocol that has been established for completion of the sewing training program. The picture below shows some of the kids in Amaravathi that may benefit from this school.