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Disha

 It’s been almost a month since I am actively engaged in Disha project. As a design lead my responsibility is to help women understand their skill and to improve it by adding design and aesthetic values in it. Working with many teams simultaneously is kinda hectic right now and bringing many new challenges. These challenges makes the job hard and exciting at the same time. I hope during this year I end up helping these women as they are helping me to grow as a person everyday................. :)
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 Small Wins... I am so happy that after discussing time issues for so many weeks, the basket team finally came on time...9 out 10 came on time and the one person who did not come on time informed me in advance...Yay!! I know this is a small thing in our usual world but with these women who have probably not stepped out of their houses much, understanding this value of time for each other and us as an organization is a big step forward...it just shows that the thinking has expanded beyond the self and the other has also come into their sphere of empathy (or may be the beginning of empathy). Also, we chose a name for this team - "KUDRAT". And the team chose a unanimous leader for the month - Suneeta. It was quite a joy to see the proud smile on her face and I could sense the strong desire in her to prove to everyone her worth. 
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  Prayers… Last week, a customer had come to pick up her order of 500 bags. I was busy and so was Jyoti and Deepak. Usha helped her with packing the bags and putting it in her car…I don’t know what connection the two formed but this urban and seemingly highly qualified lady opened up to Usha and Pinky. She told them that she was feeling really sad because her brother and his family in the US is going through a rough patch…her Bhabhi is not well and the work is also not that good. And she asked our ladies to pray for her brother’s family. After she left, Usha came to me and requested that we all sit together and pray for her and her family. We were super busy that day and I had so much on my mind…I just asked her to organize it and we will join her for sure…Within 30 minutes or so, all women came together and they all sat together in silence to pray for some family living miles away…it was such a beautiful moment – so pure and selfless! I am not sure if the prayers touched or ...
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" Dilon mein tum apne Kwaab leke chal rahe ho, toh zinda ho tum" Last week – we had graduation ceremony for our just formed embroidery team – (yes – you heard it right – graduation. Our women loved it and enjoyed every bit of it and were proud of their respective portfolios). We expected it to be a simple event with friendly banter, handing out the certificates, small embroidery kits, the stipend followed by chai/samosa party. Mogi came to join us and he thought of holding a circle of sharing before the samosa party and he requested everyone to share their experience. All the women shared their journey of this one month, their motivation to step out of the house and where they see themselves and we shared with them the next steps. What stayed with me was a comment by one of the lady who said that she aspires to get a permanent roof constructed over her small house…currently, the roof is temporary (tin) and then she was overwhelmed with emotions and cried!! I felt a mix of...
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 Livelihood Clusters We formally begin the livelihood clusters project in this month. As part of this project, we will be organizing women into clusters depending on their skills and craft. We will work along with them to fine tune their skill, help them develop a portfolio for their skill, develop a range of products using their skill, develop product portfolio for the cluster, give them small orders to execute and finally, try to establish market connections for their skills as well as products. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for some magical moments. 
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