Helping Hands

  Established: 2010

The Helping Hands project was started to conduct vocational training programmes for women from economically backward families to make them self-reliant and financially independent.  The Project is working towards starting diverse skill development courses that will make these women employable or turn them into small scale entrepreneurs. All the programmes are highly subsidised and the trainees pay very nominal fees to attend the courses.

• Tailoring Training Programme

The course was started so that women can be self-employed from their homes. There are 2 levels under this programme, each of which is for 4 months.

• Basic Tailoring
• Fashion Designing cum Hand Embroidery

We have a qualified trainer with many years of practical experience to impart training. Over 150 women have so far successfully completed the tailoring training programme. Most of them are self-employed now. Some of the needy and deserving candidates who have excelled during the training programme are given sewing machines to start their entrepreneurial journey.

• Home Assistants programme

The Course trains underprivileged women to be multifaceted and reliable home assistants over a 6 month training period. The women are trained in cooking, housekeeping, home nursing, spoken English, personality development, basic accounting and basic computers. Women from the age group of 18-45, who have passed Class 8 are eligible to join the programme. Over 115 women have been successfully trained under the Home Assistants Programme. Many of them have turned entrepreneurs by becoming home based caterers.

Apart from conducting skills development programmes for women, Helping Hands also prepares a nutritious health mix porridge as an income generating activity. This is supplied to the GOS Leukaemia Project for the leukaemia-afflicted children at the Children’s Hospital and to the residents of the GOS Seva Samajam Girls Home. The project has obtained a food safety licence and retails the Health Mix at popular cafes like Writer’s Café and Winner’s Bakery in the city.

Tamilselvi and her husband used to find it difficult to meet their basic financial needs. She was keen on learning tailoring however the fees charged by tailoring schools made it beyond her reach.

She heard of GOS Helping Hands Tailoring programme through a friend. She was happy that the fees for the 4-month Basic Tailoring Course was affordable and joined the programme immediately. She went on to do the Advance Course in Fashion Designing cum Hand Embroidery. Tamilselvi says, “I feel happy that I have learnt to stitch blouses, churidars, frocks, designer blouses, etc. Now I get tailoring orders from my neighbours and friends.   My family is very happy that I can work from home and help support their needs with my income. My children are the happiest as now I stitch their clothes.  Words fail me to express my thanks and gratitude to the Guild for the wonderful opportunity given to me”. 

P.Ramya, a Class 12 pass out did not know how and where to earn money. Her husband is a coolie and has erratic daily income and Ramya wanted to provide her daughter with a good education.

Ramya completed the Basic Course Tailoring Course as well as the 4-month Fashion Designing cum Hand Embroidery Course successfully. She says, “I am very happy with how my life changed after I did the Tailoring Programme. Apart from receiving tailoring orders regularly I have also been appointed as an assistant to the Tailoring Teacher at the GOS Helping Hands Tailoring Centre. The income from both these have made me financially independent and my family situation is much better. I am very thankful to the Guild of Service for teaching me tailoring as well as offering me a job to support my family’s needs”.

Sudha and her husband used to struggle to meet the family expenses and their children’s educational needs. She joined the GOS Helping Hands Tailoring Training Centre to earn some income to support her family. 

Sudha says, “I am happy to report that now I have set up my own tailoring shop at Choolaimedu and I am able to earn a regular income of around 10,000/- per month. I am also happy that I have employed a poor girl like me as a helper to assist me in my tailoring work.  I express my heartfelt thanks to the Guild of Service (Central) and its Management for helping me become a successful entrepreneur”.