We love sharing stories of the women who, as part of a skills-training program, sew together Punjammies®. The Sudara Stories series highlights a few of these strong, amazing women. Today, we are honored to introduce Gita.
Gita’s Story of Hope and Freedom
When Gita’s father became ill due to a long history of alcoholism, her mother searched for work. However, the income that she earned as a tailor was not enough to make up for her husband’s lost income. She struggled to take care of her family and have enough money to treat her husband’s illness as well.
Gita knew her mother was doing all that she could, so Gita decided to search for work as well. She didn’t have any employable skills though and was unable to find work that was safe or allowed her to stay close to home. That’s when a friend told her about the skills-training programs at one of Sudara’s partner sewing centers. Gita immediately asked to enroll.
Soon after enrolling, the staff at the center noticed that she was leaving class during the lunch break rather than eating with everyone else and was often coming to class hungry. The staff became concerned when they noticed that she was losing a lot of weight and asked her if anything was wrong. Gita opened up about her situation at home — how they had very little to eat, that she was working to help her mother provide for their family and that her father’s sickness was only getting worse.
The staff and students immediately rallied around her and offered support. The next day, several of them brought a little extra food in their lunch so that she could stay and have lunch with them rather than go hungry. Gita tells us that they brought a little extra in their lunch every day until her graduation, upon which she was offered a full-time job with a good salary in a local salon. She is thankful for the training and support she received at Sudara’s partner sewing center and, most of all, the friendships she made during her time there.
Thank you for investing in and empowering women like Gita to create a new life for herself. You can read more Sudara Stories here. And, find the Punjammies® we named in honor and celebration of Gita here.