Miao Diocese concludes vocational training course for girls

The Catholic Church in India’s extreme northeast has just concluded a vocational training programme for dropout girls and women to enable them to earn a living and help their families.  Seva Kendra Arunachal East (SKAE), the social service wing or the local branch of Caritas of the Diocese of Miao in east Arunachal Pradesh state, concluded a six-month tailoring course and awareness programme for dropout girls and women on 20 July.    The course that started on January 19, concluded with a function at its training centre in Namphai-I, Changlang district, during which certificates and sewing machines were distributed to the best trainees.

Speaking to those who completed the training, Bishop Pallipparambil ‎of Miao advised them to use the training to make a living for them and their family.  “The certificate and the tailoring machine you receive today have no meaning if you keep them locked in your suitcases,” said the bishop who is president of SKAE. 

The training programme is meant to provide a livelihood to the girls and women who drop out of school due to multiple factors, with lack of schools and early marriage being the primary reasons. All the 30 girls who received training for the last six months are from Tirap and Longding districts of east Arunachal Pradesh, which have the second lowest literacy rate in the state with 52.19%.

Sr. Rincy SH, the Director of SKAE and her team have a singular aim of helping these dropout girls and women to learn a living.  Apart from the vocational training programme, SKAE is involved in various women empowerment activities in the eight districts of eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh. Formation of Self Help Groups, weaving, carpentry, wood carving, basket making, awareness programmes on women and child care, medical camps in collaboration with government medical staff, paramilitary forces, Caritas India, the diocese’s KBM Hospital and other civil bodies, are some of the activities SKAE conducts throughout the year.  The Director thanked Sr. Pushpa CM, the Chief Programme Coordinator of the training and all other staff who made the training programme a success.