Category: Livelihood Projects

Bangalore’s Lingarajapuram slum, which measures about one square kilometer in area, is inhabited by families of migrant workers who were brought to the city in the 1950s to construct the Vidhan Soudha and were placed beyond the city limits. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and various districts of Karnataka, these slum residents are mainly Dalits, who are often employed in occupations like road sweepers, tanners, cleaners and rag pickers.

This project especially targets these young people in the area, who are either unemployed or indulged in jobs that require limited skill set. Under this initiative, the youth are provided skill training that is designed on the basis of present market requirements. The course module for this training covers subjects like Spoken English, Computer and Management. Students are also given training in Soft Skills and Personality Development to help them become industry-ready.

In an effort to help the underprivileged youth towards dignified living, this project subjects its beneficiaries to industry visits, mock interviews and panel discussions that provides them an insight into the corporate world. Placements are conducted at the end of the session giving every student a fair chance at white-collar jobs.

Smile Foundation has partnered with BIRDS – The Sacred Heart Brothers for the implementation of the STeP project.

According to a 2003 UN Habitat report, one-third of Kolkata lives in slums. One of the localities housing the urban poor of the capital is Nonadanga, a resettlement colony spread over a 2.4 hectare plot in east Kolkata. The area has a population of 13,000 of which youth population is 2000, most of whom work as house helps, rickshaw pullers and daily wage workers due to their limited skills.

Understanding the lack of opportunities for growth and development of the youth in this community, this project provides quality job-oriented training for the young population in Nonadanga slums. This programme trains the urban underprivileged adolescent youth in English Proficiency, Basic Computer Education and Soft Skills to create a pool of young and independent people who cater for skilled manpower in the fast emerging services and retail sectors.

Exposure Visits and Alumni Meets are also organized for the students to facilitate direct interaction with ex-students and employers’ representatives that further helps them in understanding the path ahead. The placement cell of this project has linked with corporates for organizing internships and exposure visits for the students and offering placements for all.

Smile Foundation has partnered with City Level Programme of Action for Street and Working Children (CLPOA) to implement the STeP project.

Almost one-third population of Kolkata constitutes people living below the poverty line for more than two generations. These underprivileged people are settled in a large number of slum colonies across the state capital, Baghajatin being one such locality. A residential area in South Kolkata, Baghajatin is surrounded by shopping malls and encloses five huge slums that inhabits the maximum number of people under the BPL category from South 24 Parganas. Of the total population, 55% are unskilled youth who are engaged in petty jobs like construction and daily labor.

Designed on the premise that these youth are limited to such low-paying jobs due to restricted knowledge and lack of opportunity, this project aims to empower the disadvantaged and enhance their job prospects through skill training. This project provides its beneficiaries a chance to gain expertise in subjects like Computer and English. Besides, the students are subjected to Soft Skills, Basic Management and Personality Development training.

For hands-on experience of the industry and one-on-one interaction with experts, exposure visits and employer engagement programmes are also organized for the students. Moreover, regular tests and mock interviews are conducted to prepare the students for placement session that takes place at the end of the training.

Smile Foundation has partnered with Amader Padakhep for the implementation of STeP project.

Located on the border of Noida and East Delhi, Gharoli village is surrounded by slums, big market places, metro station, schools and hospitals. According to 2001 census, the area has a population of 10,978, of which 56% constitutes the males while the remaining 44% are females. Due to limited skill set and lack of formal education, most of the youth residing in the area are involved in dairy business or unskilled labor, working as rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, hawkers and vendors.

This project is an initiative to empower the youth of Gharoli village through skill-based training, which can further lead to better employment opportunities. Under this livelihood project, the beneficiaries are provided formal education in requisite areas like English, Basic Computer, Soft Skills and Personality Development. They are also trained in Basic Management and Retail Sales for expertise in industry.

At an individual level, counseling sessions are conducted under this project for the restoration of self esteem, personal dignity and confidence in unemployed youth. The beneficiaries are also subjected to exposure visits and employer engagement programmes, along with mock interviews with experts. Such activities help them prepare for the final placement process that takes place at the end of training.

Smile Foundation is working in partnership with Akhil Bhartiya Antyoday Sansthan (ABAS) to implement the STeP Project.

A major percentage of the population in Mandawali belongs to marginalized groups of the society and migrants who have come from across the country in search of alternative livelihoods. These people settle in slum colonies of Indra Camp I & II, Chander Vihar and Allaha Colony that have unhygienic conditions and lack basic facilities like adequate food and water. Their primary source of income includes daily wage labour, petty traders and semi-skilled jobs.

This project aims to improve the lives of youth belonging to the vulnerable or marginalized sections of the society and give them a chance at dignified living. The target beneficiaries are underprivileged unemployed youth with a minimum educational qualification of Class 10 and in the age group 18 to 25 years. Fitted with all the necessary facilities including computer systems, printer and broadband service, the on-site centre offers free computer literacy programme to the candidates.

Besides providing computer training, the project covers spoken English and personality development of the students as well. Exposure visits are organised from time to time to ensure that the students are prepared for the challenges posed during the job and recognize their own fields of interest. Career counselling and placement support are other key features of the project.

Smile Foundation has partnered with Amba Foundation to implement the STeP Project.

This project, under Smile Twin e-Learning Programme, is being implemented in Vinod Nagar, New Delhi to empower the underprivileged girls of the community. Vinod Nagar, located close to the Yamuna River and minutes away from Nizamudin railway station, is populated with thousands of medium and low-income families.

Owing to financial instabilities, most of the children in these families have not completed higher education. Also, there are many girls who have dropped out of school early, due to lack of income in the families and gender issues. This project focuses on empowering the less-privileged girls in the communities through free training that promises to enhance their employability skills, helping them achieve a dignified livelihood.

The training covers computer education and spoken English as its core subjects. Besides these, the students are given soft skill training and also lessons on basic management and marketing skills. Industry exposure, career counselling and placement support are other features of the project.

Smile Foundation has partnered with Rasta for implementation of this STeP project.

Located in the central division of Bengaluru, Swathanthra Nagar is a slum locality consisting of about 600 households. The population of the dwelling is equal halves Hindu as well as Christian, constituting migrants from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh who have been living here for 3-4 generations. Most men work as stone quarry workers and daily wage laborers while women work as house help in the nearby neighborhoods.

The aim of this project is to improve the living conditions of youth in the slums of Swathanthra Nagar through job-oriented skill enhancement training. It is an effort towards bridging the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower in the fast emerging services and retail sectors of modern India. This programme trains the urban underprivileged youth in English Proficiency, Basic Computer Education, Soft Skills and Personality Development.

Exposure Visits and Alumni Meets are also organized for the students to facilitate their direct interaction with ex-students and employers’ representatives to further help them in understanding the path ahead. Under this programme, the students are provided placement assistance as well, for which corporate links are made use of to organize placements, internships and exposure visits for the beneficiaries.

Smile Foundation has partnered with the India Community Development Service Society (ICDSS) to implement the STeP project.

This project, under Smile Twin e-Learning Programme, is being implemented at Nithari Village in Sector 31, Noida. Living below poverty line, the population of Nithari village make their living from meagre occupations like construction workers, domestic helpers and vegetable sellers. The number of unemployed youth in the area is high, resulting in increase in the youth’s involvement in unsolicited activities.

With an aim to educating these youth and providing them training in other beneficial skills, this project has been launched. Through community mobilisation drives, surveys, door-to-door visits and other means, youth with a minimum education qualification of Class 10 are identified and enrolled for the training. Special focus is given to the underprivileged girls of the community.

The six-month course that covers training on computer, spoken English, basic marketing and soft skills enables a respectable, much sought after and prestigious career for the youth. The project also covers placement support for the students, helping them earn a decent salary that fits in with raising a family of their own.

Smile Foundation has partnered with SETU for implementation of this STeP project.

The booming information technology industry has created vast wealth for many in Bengaluru, nearly 2 million people still live in poverty. Slums are increasing by the year in the city due to the migration of the poor from various parts of the country. One such locality housing disadvantaged groups of the society is Shirke, enclosing four huge slums on one side and malls, marketplaces and small companies on the other. Most of its residents depend on insecure and poorly paid occupations, due to financial crisis and limited exposure.

This project envisages imparting vocational skills among the unemployed and deprived youth through formal training in computer application with spoken English. Other focus areas of this project include personality development and life skills (decision making, problem solving and much more).

Students are also engaged in activities like exposure visits, alumni meets and job fairs for a better understanding of the existing demands in the market for various trades. The placement cell develops links with several companies in fast emerging sectors like retail, hospitality and BPO. This six-month training would enable them gain access to the employment opportunities, becoming self-reliant and earning a dignified living.

Smile Foundation has partnered with IPDP, Integrated Project for Development of People, to implement the STeP project.

This project aims towards the upliftment of the socio-economically backward population in the slum clusters of Azadpur, New Delhi by providing them training for formal employment. Its main focus is to empower the underprivileged living in these slums, particularly women and girls, by tapping their potential, inculcating the essential skills in them and creating employment opportunities.

Majority of the population never received formal education and even those who did had to drop-out for reasons like poverty, lack of educational facilities and ignorance. This project, under Smile Twin e-Learning Programme, is designed to motivate these deprived youth and provide them a fair chance at white-collar jobs through formal training in soft skills, basic management and sales, computers and English proficiency.

To ensure overall personality development of the students, counselling sessions, industry visits, live interactions with experts from different professional sectors are conducted from time to time. Placement and post placement assistance further helps them choose their own career and work towards a better, brighter and more dignified future.

Smile Foundation has partnered with Janhit Society for Social Welfare (JSSW) for implementing this STeP project.