Project 6. Women Empowerment

Women Empowerment

EMPOWERING WOMEN SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY

The Art of Living programs provide a solid spiritual foundation that nurtures the inner strength, creativity and self-esteem of women from all walks of life.

With this foundation, women are able to go out into the world, prepared to handle any challenge with skills, confidence and grace.

They come to the forefront, where they become agents of peace and positive social change for themselves, their families, other women, and their society.

Women Empowerment: Economic Independence

Overview

The Challenge

Women are faced with several challenges in their path to economic independence, from acquiring the required skills and sourcing materials to finding a market for the product. They have to deal with the absence of financial backing needed to initiate a project and learn the skills required to sustain it. Low levels of self-esteem, confidence, and community spirit are also challenging factors.

Teaching Communities to be Self Sufficient

The Beginning

The project was started in July 2009, with a target group of unemployed and disadvantaged women with families.

Teaching Communities to be Self Sufficient

The Home Gardening Project teaches community members to make organic home food gardens with resources they have access to (i.e. no or low cost) through a participative hands‐on three month introductory course. Breath Water Sound follow‐up is practiced at the start of each weekly lesson. Mandiseli Maseti facilitates work at the ground level in Makhaza, and youth leaders over the period of one year will be trained to run the courses themself.

Sustainability

Follow‐up support for gardeners will be made available with the aim of keeping them actively engaged for one year to provide guidance and encouragement through all seasons.

Peanut Butter Project

800 women in Murewa, Zimbabwe underwent The Art of Living Breath-Water-Sound workshop. Around 60-80 women were trained in using a peanut butter machine, donated by The Art of Living. Earlier, the women would use a stone to make the peanut butter, so the machine has helped the project to grow.

The Process

The peanuts are grown, shelled, bottled and packaged in Murewa. Every morning, the women practice exercises taught in the Breath-Water-Sound Training Program and together start making the peanut butter. The women also package and market their peanut butter.

Empowered through the Project

This has helped many women gain confidence and achieve economic independence. For the first time, women have been able to afford their children’s school fees without any stress. Seeing how successful they have been, their husbands have started supporting them by giving them land to grow peanuts.

Women Empowerment Iraq

The Art of Living Women’s Empowerment Program in Iraq addresses women’s emotional and psychological needs, and gives them the skills they need to achieve economic stability for themselves and their families.

Trauma Relief Workshops to release stress

The women undergo trauma relief workshops to release the buildup of stress, fear of attack, and lack of security. The workshops also help to release the trauma caused by loss of friends and family members, and the stress of being the family’s sole breadwinner and caregiver.

Vocational Training to build confidence and economic independence

Once the women have established a sense of stability and inner peace for themselves, they undergo vocational training programs that give them the skills, confidence and enthusiasm to change their lives and care for their families. These skills help them to achieve an economic status where self-sustainability and community leadership are possible.

Vocational Training Programs are offered in:

• Tailoring

• Computers

Sri Sri Rural Development Project

The Sri Sri Rural Development Project (SSRDP) was established in 2001. Since its inception, it has initiated numerous projects in India to empower rural women.

The project offers a comprehensive four-month training program and consequently offers employment to the women.

It places special emphasis on self-development and education.

The women of SSRDP have undertaken several innovative projects such as manufacturing of incense sticks, tailoring, embroidery, and manufacturing jute products. These products are then sold in India and abroad and the funds are used to support the program.

VISTA India

The Beginning

The VISTA project was started in 1985 near Bangalore to empower illiterate women, abused women and women in poor health.

The Training

It provides vocational training in sewing and embroidery, while women are also taught literacy and informed about basic knowledge of health and hygiene.

“Earn while you Learn”

After the training, many take up employment with the local garment industry while others work from their homes to augment family income. Even while in training, some women take up tailoring orders. This project aims at helping women to “Earn while you Learn”.

Over 2000 women from thirty different villages have been trained through this program. Recently, three training units have been started in Sirsi, Karnataka, and a housing facility for ninety girls is being supported.

Women Empowerment: Girl Child Education

Overview

Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth

“Basic human values need to be encouraged in the classroom. A child is born with these values and a teacher needs to uncover them.” – Sri Sri

Over the last three decades, The Art of Living has been revolutionizing education in India. Importance has been given to promoting girl child education, reaching out to underprivileged sections of society, and integrating human values into the educational system.

It is only through education that social transformation and economic freedom can be sought. Today, women are leaders who epitomize the human values of caring, sharing and re-building societies free of stress and violence.

Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth (VVMVP) is an educational, charitable trust committed to providing holistic education to children in rural areas. VVMVP started its first free rural school in the outskirts of Bangalore in 1981 with 30 children. Over the years the numbers have grown to 2000 students from 51 surrounding villages.

Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth

“Basic human values need to be encouraged in the classroom. A child is born with these values and a teacher needs to uncover them.” – Sri Sri

Over the last three decades, The Art of Living is revolutionizing education in India. Importance has been given to promoting girl child education, reaching out to underprivileged sections of society, and integrating human values into the educational system.

It is only through education that social transformation and economic freedom can be sought. Today women are leaders who eptiomize the human values of caring, sharing and re-building societies free of stress and violence.

Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth is an Educational, Charitable Trust committed to providing Holistic Education to children in rural areas. VVMVP started its first free rural school

VVMVP provides free education, transport, uniforms, books, stationary, and mid-day meals to all students.

The story of this ‘One School’, has been the inspiration for setting up 92 such schools all over the country - not only in the rural areas but also the interior tribal areas. 10,000 children from economically challenged backgrounds benefit annually.

"For the first time I feel that women are not beneath men – that we are equals and can do things equally well and even better.” - Shilpa, A VVMVP student since Standard II

"My daughter, Dukhi, is the first person in our entire family to be getting an education. The others do not even know how to read or write. So, we are very grateful for this." - Jaba Soren, Jharkhand (Her daughter studies in a tribal school run by The Art of Living)

"My elder sister is a shepherd. I would have also done the same thing. However, The Art of Living volunteers approached my father and persuaded him to send me to the tribal school at Chakdah."- Bali Kiksu, West Bengal

Women Empowerment: HIV-AIDS

Spreading Awareness in Kerala

Spreading Awareness in Kerala

The Art of Living has undertaken a campaign to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS and to reduce stigma by putting up posters and door-to-door campaigning. This has reached over 15,000 people in Kerala.

"Stigma around the disease can only be overcome if religious leaders openly speak about the disease. We need to educate the masses about the disease. This task cannot be accomplished solely by the government and NGOs. If all of us can take on this project to educate the youth, to educate youngsters about healthy living, positive thinking and a stigma-free, inhibition-free attitude towards people, we would have taken a big step."

Sri Sri at the Faith in Action Conference on HIV/AIDS, Art of Living International Center, Bangalore, June 2008.

Touching Lives Positively

Touching Lives Positively

Eleanor Alfred (42) of Harare, Zimbabwe lovingly known as Mai Tafara (mother of Tafara, her home suburb) shares her life’s story:

"I was diagnosed with HIV along with my husband. He passed away some years ago and after this, I too fell ill. Things were difficult for me, but I got better.

I decided to look after people infected with HIV. I started looking after 20 HIV-affected children aged between 1 - 16 years in Tafara, Mabvuku and Caledonia farm in Harare in 2006 where I met a couple. They helped with the things I needed for my charity work and introduced me to The Art of Living.

I have also been getting help to pay the children’s school fees and other needs from The Art of Living well-wishers. From 20 children, I have now started looking after 100 children.

We are in the process of setting up a Trust called the Mai Tafara Trust for the children. I have become stronger - physically, mentally and emotionally.

It is true that one person can make a difference. I now know that there is nothing I cannot do."

Awareness for Rural Adolescents

HIV/AIDS Awareness for Rural Adolescents

HIV/AIDS Awareness for Rural Adolescents, (HARA) was started in December 2008 with the aim of spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS in areas where people were afraid to talk about the disease. HARA has empowered young women to become teachers for their society.

In the first phase of the project, female youth leaders are made aware of the disease and trained to easily impart this information.

One such workshop was conducted for 12 youth leaders from five states of India at the Art of Living International Center in Bangalore, December 20-21, 2008. As a result of the training, in less than 30 days, three female youth leaders (all in their early 20s) reached out and conducted seminars with 945 rural women in the Cuddappah district of Andhra Pradesh.

Women Empowerment:Inmates

Overview

Prison Smart Program

"If people get sick, we bring them to the hospital and give them the right medicines so that they get better. If people’s behavior is sick, we bring them to the prison, but we forget the medicines." – Sri Sri

The Mission

The mission of the Prison SMART Program is to make a life-transforming difference in all people working in, or incarcerated within, the criminal justice system. Prison SMART teaches skills that reduce stress, heal trauma, and provides practical knowledge of how to handle negative emotions in order to live to one's highest potential and contribute to society in a positive way.

Basic Premise

The basic premise of the program is that no individual is really ‘bad’ but takes to crime because of stressors in their environment and surroundings. Stress is a common factor that affects everyone and the inability to effectively deal with these stressors is the root cause of all problems.

Casablanca Correctional Center

The Beginning

A female teacher from The Art of Living conducted a course at the Casablanca Correctional Center on January 15, 2007. Around thirty five juvenile delinquents and five correctional officers participated.

The Impact

The participants had several healing experiences, which led the Prison Management and The Ministry of Justice to build new facilities for one hundred boys in the correctional center who were living in the space meant for thirty people with only two toilets.

More Programs

The Director of Youth Prisons then organized a program for forty female juveniles in the Casablanca Correctional Center. From January to April 2007, two hundred youth delinquents and twenty educators underwent this life-transforming program.

Testimonials

“Usually, nobody visits us in the prison; nobody asks how we are doing! This is why we will never forget the atmosphere of love and care during the workshop.” - A Juvenile Delinquent

“I was impressed by the transformation among the course participants and especially by the strong connection and feeling of belongingness between the young prisoners and the correctional officers.” - Mrs. Assiae Loudie, Director of Youth Prisons

Belgium: Centrale Gevangenis Leuven

Prison Program Trainer shares story of inmate