Building Pathways to Empowerment and Dignified Livelihoods

Growing up in a small village in Bihar, Rajnish faced incredible challenges. He lost his father at just six years old, leaving his mother to raise four children on her own. Despite the struggles, Rajnish's mother worked tirelessly to give her children a better life.

Determined to make a difference, Rajnish moved to Delhi in 2022 to pursue his dream of getting a government job. But financial constraints threatened to hold him back. Visiting public libraries to study was expensive, and Rajnish couldn't afford the membership fees.

At this juncture, he discovered the GMRVF Pratibha Library in Raj Nagar, Delhi. Pratibha Library-cum-Career Counseling Centers run by GMRVF offers various services including provision of study material, counseling, coaching etc. for the youth aspiring for government jobs. Rajnish was overjoyed. He had access to the latest study materials, employment newspapers, and a peaceful environment to focus on his preparation. The center staff also provided him necessary counseling, guidance and support.

Rajnish's hard work coupled with Pratibha Library team's guidance paid off. He cleared the Staff Selection Examination and earned a government job as an Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in 2023. But he didn't stop there. He continued to work hard and soon secured a role as a Social Security Assistant (SSA) at the Employee's Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) recently.

Today, Rajnish has a secured government job and earns a steady income of Rs. 55,000 per month. He's finally able to support his mother and provide his younger siblings with the quality education they deserve.

Jyoti and her family moved from Bihar to Delhi when she was a young girl. Her father worked as a tailor in a garment factory and saved his daily wages to ensure Jyoti and her three siblings completed their schooling. However, he could not support Jyoti's higher education. So she began looking for a job, but her lack of educational qualifications proved to be a barrier.

At that point of time, her friend told her about the free courses offered by GMRV Centre for Empowerment & Livelihoods, Delhi (CEL-D) run by Delhi International Airport Ltd. as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. Accompanied by her father, she visited the Centre to see for herself if CEL-D was indeed offering vocational courses for free.

Jyoti states that when they entered CEL-D for the first time, they could not believe how spacious and clean the campus was. She was also happy to see many youth like her enrolled in various courses at the Centre. After speaking to GMRVF staff, she immediately signed up to join the 'Basic Computer' course.

Jyoti went through intensive practical oriented training accompanied by sessions on Soft Skills, Spoken English and Personality Development. She successfully passed the final assessment with a good grade.

On successfully completing the course, she was placed with a reputable organization in Delhi at a starting salary of Rs. 22,500 per month. Jyoti says, "CEL-D helped me take my first steps towards achieving my goals. My experience as a student was enriching."

Appala Raju hails from Kondavalasa village in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh. Following the untimely death of his father when he was only 7 years old, his young mother courageously took over the responsibility of raising her children by working as a farmer.

Due to her perseverance, Raju was able to complete his graduation from a local Degree College. However, after graduating, he remained clueless on what to do next.

It was at this time that he heard about the 'Pratibha' Centre at Rajam and enrolled as a member. Pratibha library-cum-career counselling center established by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation helps rural youth get to know about various career options and to prepare for competitive exams by providing them with study material, and organizing coaching, career counselling, mock interviews and group discussions.

The counsellors at Pratibha exposed him to various career options. Inspired, he began travelling around 30 kms every day to attend the coaching classes. He spent 4-5 hours a day reading the books available in the library.

In the beginning, he appeared for many competitive tests conducted by different Govt. agencies but was unable to clear the exams. However, the counsellors encouraged him to not give up.

Ultimately, he got selected as a clerk for Andhra Bank. Raju says he will forever be grateful to GMRVF for guiding him and enabling him to provide for his family.

Ankita Yadav was born and brought up in Kirari Suleman Nagar, Northeast Delhi. Life humbled her when she was nine years old as she lost both her parents. Since then, she and her two siblings came under her aunt's care who is a single mother with two sons. Her aunt ran a small business which fed all the five children.

Life was difficult for them yet they never lost hope. The children continued to study and explore career opportunities.

When Ankita was seriously looking for employment opportunities, she came to know about GMR Varalakshmi Center for Empowerment and Livelihoods (CEL) in Delhi and visited the center to understand the training programs.

She found interest in Food Production and Services course at the center as she always had a keen interest in cooking and loved exploring different cuisines.

She enrolled for the course in October-December 2023 batch and stayed in the hostel facility provided by GMRVF. Apart from learning skills related to cooking and servicing, she also underwent soft skills and spoken English training at the center.

After completion of the course, GMRVF arranged interviews and Ankita got selected as Hospitality Executive at Encalm Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. at Delhi Airport.

Recently, Ankita was awarded the "Star Employee of the Month" title by her company for her outstanding performance and she owes this recognition to the skills gained at GMRVF's center.

Ajay Kumar & Aman Kumar, aged 20 & 19 years respectively, hail from Sanghani, a remote hilly village in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh where they live with their parents and a sister. The family of five owns a small apple orchard. The income from this orchard farm is insufficient to meet the needs of the family, so the mother takes up sewing work regularly to provide support. With the meagre income through these sources, the family somehow managed to educate all the three children.

Both Ajay & Aman studied from a nearby senior secondary school and graduated from a college at Chamba which is far from their village. While pursuing graduation, Ajay and Aman started preparing for competitive exams as they want to earn and extend their support to the family's financial situation. When Indian Army announced the Agniveer Scheme, both of them got interested in it but were unaware of the application and selection process.

They came to know about GMRVF run Saraswati Pratibha Library-cum-Career Counselling Center at Chamba. The Pratibha program aims at providing counselling and coaching support to the youth who are aspiring for government jobs. Both the brothers enrolled and benefitted from the coaching classes offered at the Library. The classes at the Center were conducted as per the Agniveer exam syllabus along with regular mock tests. Ajay and Aman cleared all stages of the selection process with the support of Pratibha faculty.

Currently, both the brothers have completed their training and are posted as Agniveers in Leh. Not just their family, but the entire village is proud of these boys to be selected in the Indian army.

Panchireddy Nagamani hails from Kotaripuram village of Rajam Mandal in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh State. Her father is an agricultural worker and her mother is a homemaker. She is a first generation learner in her family.

With many hardships, Nagamani completed her 10+2 course and joined Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) course at Sri GCSR College, Rajam. Though Nagamani joined Graduation course, she was not aware of career opportunities after completion of her studies and didn't know how to proceed further in her life. But, she was very determined to get a decent Government job and support her family. During this time of her life, her friend told her about 'Pratibha' Library-cum-Career Counselling Center run by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation at Rajam. Subsequently, she approached the Library, interacted with the counsellor and took the membership in 2018. The library offers career guidance, counselling and coaching support to Government job aspirants.

Nagamani used to spend about 4-5 hours a day at 'Pratibha' and appeared for all the model tests conducted at the center. The guidance by the Counsellor, coaching by expert faculty and study material available at the center helped her march towards her goal. Simultaneously, she completed her Graduation. With all the support and guidance from 'Pratibha', Nagamani recently qualified for the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examination and got selected to serve in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. Currently, she is undergoing training at Panchkula in Haryana State.

Nagamani sincerely attributes her success to 'Pratibha' and agrees it is a boon for the unemployed qualified rural youth in and around Rajam.

Shilvia is the elder daughter in a family of five, residing in Thoubal district in Manipur. Her father was working as an assistant in a shop and was struggling to meet the needs of the family with his meagre income.

Shilvia always wanted to support her father in taking care of her family by studying well and getting a good job. But due to the recent incidents of violence in Manipur, everything came to a halt for Shilvia and her family. Her father's shop was shut and their only source of income was disrupted.

At this juncture, she came to know about GMRVF's vocational training center at Delhi through Likmabam Devi Foundation, an organization working for providing relief to the victims of the Manipur tragedy. She immediately enrolled for the Front Office Associate course at the center. During the training, she lived in the hostel at the Center and regularly attended the classes. She thoroughly learnt all the modules taught during the course and also received inputs related to Basic English and Basic Computers which increased her confidence levels.

After the training, Foundation arranged interviews for her batch and Shilvia got selected as an Associate Atithya in Encalm Hospitality, T-2, Airport. Now, she is leading a happy life and feels proud that she is able to support the family in their most difficult times.

Radhika hails from a poor agriculture family from a village near Warangal. Understanding her family's financial condition, Radhika stopped studying and started doing odd jobs before her marriage itself to support the family. She had felt the necessity of learning driving in her past when she faced difficulty in joining her father in a hospital due to his ill health, which left her with a stronger desire to learn the skill.

After getting married she continued as a housewife for some time but seeing her husband's hardships to manage the family with single source of income, she often thought of taking up a job and supporting her husband. She expressed her interest towards driving and her husband also supported her. While she was looking for an opportunity to learn it, she came to know about GMR Varalakshmi Center for Empowerment and Livelihoods at Shamshabad and learnt about the excavator operator course being offered at the center.

Radhika was initially hesitant to join this training but GMRVF counseled and motivated her to take admission in the course. Her husband also encouraged her for the same. Radhika enrolled in the course and learnt the operation of this heavy machine diligently from the expert trainer. After joining the training, she showed extreme determination and grit to continue the same. Radhika also received inputs related to safety measures, soft skills etc. during the training.

After successful completion of the course, GMRVF facilitated a job opportunity within GMR Group for her. Now, Radhika is a proud employee and a proud mother too, sharing her own story of strength with her children and inspiring them to always follow their heart and stay determined in the pursuit of their dreams.

Reddy Satya Rao hails from Marupalli village in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. His parents worked hard as agricultural labourers and saved their income to ensure he completed his schooling. Unfortunately he was unable to further his education after Std. X due to the family's financial situation. Satya then began looking for a job but his lack of educational qualifications proved a barrier.

At that point of time, his friends told him about courses offered free of cost by Nagavali Institute of Rural Entrepreneurship Development (NIRED) established by GMRVF at Rajam, in collaboration with Andhra Bank. He approached NIRED and enrolled for the 'Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC)' course.

At NIRED, Satya underwent intensive practical oriented training along with motivational classes. He was also introduced to the benefits of meditation and practising yoga. He attributes the yoga sessions for helping him release stress and breathing mindfully.

Soon after completing the course, Satya established a small RAC service centre in Vishakapatnam with the financial help of his close friends. The first few months were hard, as he was building his customer base. In due course however, he was able to gain a good foothold in the business by delivering quality service.

He now earns Rs. 30,000 per month and is able to finance the education of his 2 younger brothers. Satya says, "NIRED has completely changed my life. Apart from helping me find a career path, it has helped me incorporate yoga and meditation into my daily living."

Madhav Sahu hails from Manpur village near GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd in Odisha. He is the sole breadwinner of a large family which includes 3 children and his elderly mother. Having worked as an industrial labourer for many years, he dreamt of someday starting his own business in order to provide his family with a better quality of life.

Last year, Madhav attended a community meeting organised by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation where he learnt he could set up or expand an existing business with an initial grant from GMR Varalakshmi Foundation under the Livelihood Restoration Programme, a special program for those who gave land for GKEL. Under the LRP program, project affected families are being supported for livelihoods enhancement through farm, livestock and micro-enterprise activities.

Madhav then approached GMRVF with a proposal to establish a semi-automatic flour mill unit within the confines of his house. With the grant provided, he purchased a good quality flour mill.

The mini flour mill proved to be an instant hit with the community members. Earlier, the villagers would carry the grains in sacks and walk to a mill in a neighbouring village for the purpose of getting their grain ground. Today, all the residents of Manpur as well as some nearby villages, make use of the Madhav's mill.

As his business flourished, Madhav's oldest son also joined him after completing his higher education.

Madhav joyfully states: "I am thankful to GMRVF for bringing good fortune to my family."

Ankita Yadav was born and brought up in Kirari Suleman Nagar, Northeast Delhi. Life humbled her when she was nine years old as she lost both her parents. Since then, she and her two siblings came under her aunt's care who is a single mother with two sons. Her aunt ran a small business which fed all the five children.

Life was difficult for them yet they never lost hope. The children continued to study and explore career opportunities.

When Ankita was seriously looking for employment opportunities, she came to know about GMR Varalakshmi Center for Empowerment and Livelihoods (CEL) in Delhi and visited the center to understand the training programs.

Jerry Madhava hails from Narasimhapuram Village in Vizianagaram District of Andhra Pradesh. His parents worked hard as agricultural labourers and saved their daily wages to ensure he completed his schooling. He then joined a diploma course in 'Electrical Engineering'. Unfortunately he was unable to complete the course due to the family's financial situation. Madhava then began looking for a job but his lack of educational qualifications proved a barrier.

At that point of time, his friends told him about GMRVF's Centre for Empowerment and Livelihoods (GMRV CEL) established in Vizianagaram town. He approached GMRV CEL and enrolled for the 'Assistant Electrician' course. The main thrust of GMRV CEL is channelizing the potential of youth and women towards skilled work and entrepreneurship.

Madhava underwent 60 days of intensive practical-oriented training accompanied by sessions on Soft Skills, Spoken English and Personality Development. He successfully passed the post-training assessment conducted by National Skill Development Corporation.

On completing the course, he got placed at a good company in Vizianagaram through campus interview. The job has helped him shoulder his parent's financial and household responsibilities.

Madhava is grateful to GMRVF for giving him the necessary skill set required to turn his life around. He has plans of completing his ITI course in order to add to his credentials.

Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra from Kaliataila village near GMR Group's Kamalanga Energy Ltd. in Odisha, was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug early in life. Growing up in a farmer's family, he aspired to become an entrepreneur someday. However, due to his family's financial situation, he was unable to enrol for higher studies.

He began working as a helper in a motor garage. The work piqued his interest, and he soon found himself pursuing a one year certificate course in 'Motor Mechanics'. After completing the course successfully, he began working as a full-time mechanic, but was dissatisfied with the measly salary and the odd working hours.

Last year, Pradeep attended a community meeting organised by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation where he learnt he could set up or expand an existing business with an initial grant from GMRVF under the Livelihood Restoration Programme, which is a special program for those who gave land for GKEL. He then approached GMRVF staff with a proposal to start a Motorcycle and Automobile Repair and Service station.

With an initial grant from GMRVF, Pradeep purchased basic tools and a 3 HP hydraulic pump, and established a service centre named 'Baba Kamaleswar' in honour of his village deity. The GMRVF team oriented him on running his business efficiently, ways of enhancing his profit etc., and he took their advice seriously.

As his business flourished, Pradeep was able to purchase a Diesel Generator set worth Rs. 50,000/. He has also provided employment to another youth.

Pradeep joyfully states: "I am thankful to GMRVF for supporting me and enabling me to realise my dreams".

Vikash Singh was born and raised in the town of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. He was a vivacious child who was the youngest in a family of 7. But at the age of 6, Vikash met with an unfortunate accident which left him with a 40% permanent disability in his left leg.

His father who worked hard as a farmer and was the sole earning member of the family, did not let Vikash's disability come in the way of his education. He encouraged and financially supported Vikash to not only complete his schooling but also his B.Com.

At about this time, Delhi International Airport Ltd- CSR (DIAL-CSR) entered into partnership with Sarthak Educational Trust to provide vocational training and placement support to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). Through this partnership, 80 PwDs youth were trained and 62 placed with different corporate houses last year.

Vikash was one of them. He enrolled for the 'Customer Service Associate' course. Here he underwent 90 days of intensive practical oriented training accompanied by sessions on Basic Computers Skills, Soft Skills, Spoken English and Personality Development. He successfully passed the final assessment with a good grade.

On completing the course, Vikash was placed with a reputable organization as a 'Customer Sales Associate'. Due to his interest in studying further, Vikash now plans on saving money to pursue his post-graduation in M.Com through distance learning.

Abhishek Maurya, a 19-year-old, resides with his family in Raj Nagar, Delhi in the periphery of Indira Gandhi International Airport. Since he was in Std. IX, he had an interest in cooking and dreamt of someday becoming a Chef. His father had a small fabrication shop.

He lost his father a few years ago and thereafter the family was going through a financial crisis. The burden of supporting the family fell on Abhishek's shoulders. He was in a turmoil as to where to work as he had no skill or experience, and hence he started selling newspapers. During this phase, he came across a pamphlet about the skill training programs being offered by GMRV Center for Empowerment and Livelihoods (GMRVCEL) run by DIAL-CSR.

His excitement rose when he saw that there was a free course on 'Food Production'. He came to the Center to enquire about the course and undertook the Food Production course for six months (3-month classroom training & 3 months On-the-Job Training). Post–training, Abhishek got selected for Trainee Chef position in a reputed food and beverages retail company which has a chain of restaurants across the country. He has been working in one of their restaurants for six months now. Just last month, he won the 2nd prize for 'Best Chef' in his company's Great Chef Cook-Off Championship.

He is very satisfied with the exposure and experience he is gaining every day at work. He says "GMRVCEL has given me the discipline to live my life. I have no words to express how my life has changed because of the learning I received from the Institute. Now my family can depend on me financially."

In Mangalore, GMRVF has been actively working with Self Help Groups for long. There are 42 SHGs active for the last several years. Nisha was a member of one of the SHGs. At that time, Nisha's economic condition was rather precarious. She solicited GMRVF's guidance for starting some new innovative microenterprise which would enhance her income. GMRVF put her in touch with a few entrepreneurs and possible businesses. She was comfortable with mushroom cultivation. GMRVF helped her develop a business model and conduct feasibility study. An SHG loaned her Rs 2000/- for starting the business.

The technical advice from another mushroom cultivator boosted her confidence. Nisha invested Rs 200/- for purchasing mushroom seeds and chemicals. The rest of the money she invested in restructuring a room for growing mushrooms. Initially, she got a profit of Rs 400/- from one Kg of mushroom seed. Nisha perfected the technique of mushroom cultivation and started selling mushrooms in the local market. Noticing her success, other women wanted to join Nisha.

Now Nisha is a confident mushroom grower and intends to expand her business. GMRVF is planning to help her by facilitating a loan from the Andhra Bank.

"GMR Varalakshmi Foundation has changed my life forever. From being dependent on my sister, I can now lead an independent life. I feel empowered and am confident of living my life."

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Burada Varalakshmi hails from Narasimhapuram in Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh. Her father who works as an agricultural laborer, saved his meagre wages to ensure his three children completed their education. Due to his perseverance, Varalakshmi was able to graduate from SGCSR College, Rajam.

Upon graduating, she was unaware of career opportunities. It was at this time that she heard about the 'Prathibha' center and enrolled as a member. Prathibha library cum career counselling center established by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, Rajam helps rural youth preparing for competitive exams by providing them with study material and conducting career counselling, mock interviews, group discussions and coaching classes.

Through the career counselling, Varalakshmi learnt of the many opportunities available for women in the Police Department. Inspired and motivated, she would cycle to and fro from her village every day to attend the coaching classes and would spend nearly 5 hours a day in the center, reading the books in the library.

Upon her clearing the written exam, staff at Prathibha center prepared her for the physical test by making use of the track facilities at SGCSR College. Due to her determination and hard work, Varalakshmi successfully cleared the physical tests as well and is currently undergoing training at the Police Training College in Vizianagaram. She attributes her success to the center and says that 'Pratibha' is a boon for unemployed qualified rural youth in and around Rajam.

Ruthamma is a resilient woman from Mamidipally village near the Hyderabad Airport. Her husband works as a gardener and earns Rs. 5,000 per month. The income however, was insufficient to support the basic needs of their 3 school going children.

An eager Ruthamma who desired to support her family financially, enrolled herself in the community tailoring centre established by GMR Varalakshmi Foundation in Shamshabad. The centre has, since 2006, trained 450 underprivileged women. Ruthamma was an exemplary student and quickly learnt the skills to make jute and other handmade products.

It was at this time that GMRVF established EMPOWER (Enabling Marketing of Products of Women Entrepreneurs). EMPOWER is an initiative that supports women from underprivileged communities to make an income based on making craft-based products, by providing them required training, marketing and other inputs. EMPOWER helps the women sell their products through various channels such as shops at the Airport, exhibitions, bulk orders for conferences and seminars, online marketing etc.

Ruthamma joined the EMPOWER team. Today she earns an average of Rs. 10,000 per month through EMPOWER and is a competent tailor who supports in the designing of jute products. She is grateful to GMRVF for helping turn her life around.

10 year old Sana was born and raised in Delhi in a large family of 6 siblings. Her father owns a small general provision store while her mother is a home maker. When she was a few years old, she had high fever. After that, doctors said she would not be able to speak or hear. Since there was no school nearby catering to children with special needs, Sana stayed at home and helped her mother with household chores while her siblings attended school.

In 2014, her mother learnt of the SAMARTH Resource Centre established near their house at Savda Ghevra, by the CSR Wing of DIAL, and enrolled Sana in the special education program. SAMARTH has been established to provide services like special education, basic physiotherapeutic care, counselling etc. for the differently abled.

Sana has now started speaking a few syllables thanks to the intense speech therapy given at the centre. Hearing aids have also been provided to her. The SAMARTH team also supported her in availing government benefits such as disability certificate, disability pension and bus pass.

Having increased her confidence, Sana joined karate coaching and recently won the 2nd prize in a tournament held in Nepal. Her parents are extremely proud of her and say Sana is a blessed child.