Rajni, member of Self-Help Group Garima, formed by Women on Wings’ partner Action Center for Transformation, is spending quality time with her children during the COVID-19 lockdown. But also, Rajni is utilising time to think of new designs and upgrade her skills.
Upgrading skills during lockdown
Rajni is an upcycling artist, her expertise lies on weaving paper baskets. Initially the lockdown was a worry for all people in her community. Nobody knew what to expect. Rajni’s husband is a medical technician and visits the hospital often, so a lot of information came to the community and all started living by the rules. Rajni also takes the lockdown as an opportunity to keep practising on her skills and new designs. Rajni bought a mobile phone with her own earnings last Diwali and now she is learning to make videos on her phone of her upcycled products.
Work empowers
How different is her live now from just a few years ago when she did not work. Initially Rajni was reluctant to come and join Self-Help Group Garima. She was an introvert, shy and soft-spoken woman who was not confident to even speak out her name. Se preferred to remain behind her veil and stay in the four walls of her house. Hearing about the work of Action Center for Transformation (ACT) from other women in her community, Rajni became interested. Slowly she overcame her shyness and expressed herself through her creativity. Today she speaks her mind and wants to grow herself as an artisan at ACT by further upgrading her upcycling skills.
Helping with school work
Rajni is combining her work with the care of her two children who cannot go to school now. So in between the paper weaving, she also takes up the task of helping them with their school work. Rajni enjoys spending much time with her children who are now also getting an opportunity to learn the fun of upcycling from their mother.
