An independent future through skills training
There was always something different about Janani’s clothes. Her friends and neighbours thought she bought them at the shop, but Janani sewed her own clothes.
“From the time I was small, I liked to sew,” says Janani, 22. “I learnt to sew by unpicking my own clothes and sewing them back together.”
Janani’s father, a fisherman, worked hard to provide for her and her three siblings, but with so many expenses, there certainly wasn’t enough money for new clothes.
“I just sewed for myself with whatever material I had,” she explains. “I had no plans to make this a business.”
As a former sponsored child under the World Vision sponsorship scheme, Janani was still in touch with the mobiliser in her area. When Janani was informed about a business marketing workshop conducted under the Rural Economy Business and Individual Development (REBUILD) Project, she attended, and realized that she could do something more with her talent.
REBUILD is a business motivation training programme to help start and expand businesses. Over the next six months, she continued to attend workshops and even got the opportunity to visit a small home based sewing business in Kurunegala.
“I learnt about how to set up my business and market my products,” explains Janani. “Before, I just stuck to the methods I had learnt on my own, but after the workshops, I was motivated to look for new ways to produce different designs for clothes.”
Janani began to learn about cutting blocks by watching demonstrations on TV and from tutorials in newspapers. She started off by taking a few orders from her neighbours. Her first big order came when the WV mobiliser introduced her to the nearby preschool – she had to tailor school uniforms for 18 girls and boys.
“It was such a challenge with my old sewing machine, but I even stayed up nights and completed the order on time,” says Janani, beaming proudly. “I did it all by myself and I really felt I achieved something great.”
Now, Janani accepts orders for dresses, shalwars, children’s clothes, school uniforms and even tailors bed linen and baby gift sets.
“I have eased part of my father’s burden by taking care of my younger sister’s expenses and my own,” she says. Janani now wants to establish a ‘one stop shop’ for bridal dressing, tailoring and wedding cake structures – skills she learnt when she attended another course conducted by World Vision.
Janani is also currently teaching dressmaking to two young girls and hopes to employ them once she has saved enough to buy two more sewing machines. She even helps others in her community by motivating them to start their own businesses and providing tips on marketing their products.
“It is because of World Vision that I have come so far. I want to do so much more and all the knowledge I gained will certainly help me to be a success.”
Having completed 15 years, World Vision recently marked the successful closure of its Area Development Programme in Pottuvil, in the East of Sri Lanka. Through sustainable programmes in the areas of health, education, economic development, water and sanitation and access to services, World Vision leaves behind empowered children and their communities with hope for the future.