Empowering girls: Shalu’s story
With the BTGroup, we are empowering girls in India to overcome the formidable challenges they face during the transition from education to employment.
Shalu resides in the small village of Sultanpur in Farrukhnagar, Haryana. Her father works as a truck mechanic, while her brother, who is in 10th grade, assists him at the shop. Her two sisters are married.
Shalu is an ambitious young woman and pursued her master's degree in English from Gurugram University. However, like many girls in her community, convincing her family to allow her to work after completing her studies proved futile. The only relief she had after graduation was in successfully persuading her family to postpone her marriage.
Since she had given up on convincing her parents to permit her to work, her spirits were dampened, and her confidence had waned when we encountered her during our door-to-door visit in the village.
Upon learning about ETASHA's employability skills programme, Shalu eagerly seized the opportunity to enrol herself and learn computers and spoken English. After completing the course, she was presented with job options. However, securing permission from her family to attend an interview proved to be a significant hurdle.
Somehow, she managed to convince them and attended an interview with Hindustan Media in Gurgaon for a telecaller position. To her delight, Shalu succeeded in cracking the interview on her first attempt and joined the company as a fresher, earning a salary of INR 18,000 per month.
After six months on the job, she feels incredibly content. The skills she gained in computer literacy and communication have proven invaluable in her telesales role.
Shalu shared her aspirations saying,
"I aim to progress in this field and hope to work as a manager in the telecom industry. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to acquire skills and achieve complete independence, supporting my own needs. I feel motivated and happy that I can advance in my career."
