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Girls Skill Development Program Supported by:- Empower Foundation Program duration:- January 2023 to July 2023 (Seven months) About CHIP:- CHIP (Children in Progress) Mumbai is an NGO providing holistic education to children studying in BMC schools. The parent organization was started by a group of Educationists and Doctors in Kolkata in 1997. The Mumbai chapter has been active since 2004. Our primary goal in 2004, was to promote quality education in government schools, giving the students an opportunity to realize their potential and acquire knowledge, new skills, and an attitude that will help them become successful citizens and lifelong learners. Currently, CHIP conducts SEP programs and runs 23 Balwadis across 23 BMC schools. In 2018 we started working with Very Young Adults, especially with young adult Girls. About Skill Development program:- We are happy to report that we have made significant progress towards achieving these objectives. In our first batch, of SKILL DEVELOPMENT program we have successfully enrolled 38 girls in the program and conducted regular sessions on different topics like Developing Leadership qualities, Gender sensitization and how to overcome Gender biases, Self-Grooming, Retail Management, Soft Skill development, and regular computer classes for MS Office, Photoshop, Corel Draw, and Tally ERP. The sessions were interactive, engaging, and informative, and the girls showed enthusiasm and interest in learning new things. We also provided them with individual and group counseling sessions, Through Shabana Khan from MESCOM Foundation where they could share their personal stories, issues, and aspirations. The counseling sessions helped them to cope with stress, build confidence, and develop positive attitudes. Furthermore, we enrolled the girls in a computer course that covered basic and advanced skills such as Microsoft Office, internet browsing, email communication, graphic design, and web development. The computer courses were practical and hands-on, and the girls were able to apply their learning to various tasks and projects. The girls who came to our computer classes were given tasks to complete, to evaluate their progress. Girls also visited Smart Bazar and Westside store at Infinity Malad, in collaboration with the CSR team at Tata Trent to understand the retail management and its complexities. We have observed remarkable changes in the girls’ behaviour, outlook, and performance as a result of our project. They have become more confident, assertive, and ambitious. They have also improved their communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. They have expressed their satisfaction and gratitude for being part of our program and have shown interest in pursuing further education or employment opportunities in the future. Leadership building Under the guidance of our Trustee and Program Director, Adv. Kunickaa Sadanand, to develop Leadership qualities, the girls were asked to gather women in the community and search for a community space, in the community and interact with them to know about the problems they are facing, their needs, etc. Three girls namely; Sulekha Mahto, Asmita Shinde and Ruchika gathered women in Vikas Nagar Community and conducted few meetings with them, to get to know and understand their needs and help them to access the resources available to them. The Peer Leaders created awareness among them and interacted with them. The Program managers (Shabnam Khan and Vijay Dhoiphude) visited the same community and introduced CHIP and the purpose of the organization. They conducted 4 to 5 meetings with the beneficiaries to know them, and their needs, and the problems they are facing. In the meetings, they interacted one-to-one with the participants. A sense of confidence was built among the beneficiaries, who started sharing on their about their own needs. Hence, after communicating with the Program Managers and the Peer Leaders, we understood the beneficiaries are interested in learning beautician/parlour courses, mehendi courses, and tailoring courses and generating some income. The problem beneficiaries were facing, was that their families do not allow them to work outside. After a few visits to the community, one hall for Mehendi Classes was identified, in the same community, with the support of the local community leaders. Training for Mehndi classes was conducted with the help of Tara Charitable Trust in the Vikas Nagar community. Since the commencement of the program, seven girls have been employed in various places, their job types are as follows: Calling, Data Entry Operator, Sales Girl, Teacher etc. Six girls who had dropped out after passing SSC were re-admitted for further education. During the duration of the course, regular follow-ups were done with their parents. Also, some of the girls have taken admission to colleges, to complete their education after 12th. Five girls have been enrolled in an internship program, and their resume is under consideration, for graphic designing, one girl has got employment with a school as a teacher. The Girls come from marginalized communities, with minimum resources, for them and their parents this Program has come as a boon. It has developed their confidence and skills, and helped them realize their huge potential. We are grateful to our Grant funder Empower Foundation who has shown immense faith in the work of CHIP Mumbai, and has been supporting us with funds for the past years since 2018. We are also grateful to all the resource persons including Shabana Khan, Mukta Dubey, Daiwshala ji, Advocate Nilesh, Derik Sir, and Bright Future, the Protection officer and many others who contributed greatly through their Knowledge and guidance.