Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh

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Himachal Pradesh - Baddi

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History

Baddi is an industrial town, located in the Solan District of Himachal Pradesh. The city falls around 40 Kms away from Chandigarh. Hundreds of Companies have set up their manufacturing units in Baddi. Literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh has also seen an upward trend and is 82.80 per cent as per 2011 population census. Of that, male literacy stands at 89.53 per cent, while female literacy is at 75.93 per cent. However in Baddi, there are less number of schools imparting education beyond class X and those too at faraway places.

In 2017, Udayan Care, with the support of Luminous Power Technologies, a renowned inverter and hardware manufacturing company, decided to set up Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme in Baddi to reach out to girls in need of support. In the month of December 2017, we inducted 100 girls from Baddi and nearby areas for their mentoring and higher education. In 2018, 77 more girls have been enrolled in the 2nd batch. In 2019, 30 girls were inducted in batch 3rd and recently batch 4 has been inducted with 30 new girls. Currently, USF is 198 supporting Shalinis at the Baddi Chapter. Currently iPartner is also supporting some girls.

Programmes in the Chapter

It was in 2017, a tripartite agreement was signed between iPartner India, Luminous Power Technologies and Udayan Care to select and support 100 girls from government schools studying in class XI through written test, interview and home visits. The challenge was geographical spread of schools in hilly area but the USF officials from Baddi, Panchkula and HO worked really hard to induct these girls. We organised induction ceremony in the premises of Luminous factory and thereafter regular workshop for them. Out of 100 girls so selected, 93 girls could make it to the second year of fellowship. In the year 2018-19, we are planning to induct 77 more girls in Baddi with the financial support provided by Luminous. We are planning to call these girls to Delhi for exposure and intensive training this year.

Stories of hope

Kanika Kapoor- Batch-1

“Let me fly high, if I fall down I know how to raise”- Kanika

Kanika Kapoor belongs to a low income family. Her father is a driver and mother is a housewife. Kanika is a very ambitious and talented girl who wants to become journalist. When she got selected for USF scholarship she was very happy to receive the financial support. However, when she started coming to workshops she realized that this is more than a scholarship. She mentions that their first workshop was about women empowerment made her realise that to be a girl is to be different from others. She says that USF is her second family where she got support and love like a real family.

She has been writing articles for “The Hindustan times” and many of her articles have been published. She also interacted with the CM of Himanchal Pradesh Mr. Jayram Thakur. She is an anchor and takes mock interviews to improve her journalism skills. .

She says, “Sometimes we have the capacity, but we need someone who can help us to improve that capacity. USF did the same thing for me. The financial help I get through USF and Luminous, it helps me a lot to continue my studies. I would like to thank Udayan Care from bottom of my heart”.

Sneha Kumari- Batch 2

“Someone else will change and the country will improve. It is better to change yourself”.- Sneha Kumari

Sneha hails from a lower class family. She is from Bihar but her father moved to Baddi many years ago to be able to provide for the family. Her father works as a security guard in a company and mother is a housewife. She has 2 siblings. Elder brother is doing B,com and younger sister has just given 10th board exam. From class nursery till now she has acquired first position in her class. Along with being excellent in studies she also has a knack for crafts, stitching and sports. She aspires to become a teacher because of her reflections of an underprivileged society. She feels that children belonging to this category are talented and can do wonders if given the right platform and guidance. Sneha wants to open a school for those children so that she can help them achieve their goals. Before joining this fellowship she was shy and hesitated to speak in front of people. However the personality devolvement sessions inculcated these skills within her.

Her mother says, “The poor family is worried that they want to study their children further, but due to lack of money, many times they are unable to fulfill their dreams. But Luminous and Udayan Care showed us a ray of hope and encouraged the children to study further. My elder daughter gets fellowship from it but my younger daughter also attends its workshop and learns something new every time, I thank Udayan Shalini Fellowship”.