Sewing Hope Into Her Family’s Future

Struggling with poverty in India, Priyanka never imagined owning her own business. But through a Gift of Hope, she gained the skills to sew from home and is now earning income and creating a brighter future for her family.

In an upper room in Bangalore, India, women gather in a circle on a handwoven mat. A little girl in a striped dress sits on her mother’s lap, shaking a rattle as she plays.

Sewing machines and vibrant garments line the corners of the room. On the urban street below, motorbikes hum by.

The day is warm, but a refreshing breeze drifts through the open windows. This is a place to learn and share — a sanctuary for women in the community.

One of those women is Priyanka.

A Story of Life Change

Wearing a sheer floral sari and a long, dark braid, Priyanka says she’d like to share her story. She gestures with her henna‑covered hands as she speaks and the bangles on her wrists jingle softly.

Eight years ago, Priyanka and her family migrated from a small village in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. Today, she lives with her family of five in a small one‑bedroom home in northern Bangalore.

Like millions of internal migrants in India, Priyanka and her family moved to Bangalore in search of work. But language barriers and limited education made stable income hard to find.

Before hearing about Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), Holt’s longtime partner in India, Priyanka says life was very difficult.

“Before coming here, I never left the house. When I was going through a hard time, I had no one to share with. I was at home all day,” Priyanka says, her eyes fixed in the distance.

Her husband works as a tile mason, but one income wasn’t enough for a household with two children and her mother-in-law. And when her husband got injured on the job, her family was left with no income at all.

“It was very hard to provide even the basic needs,” Priyanka says. “We wanted to purchase nutritious food for the family, but we could only afford very basic food. If we took a loan, we would have to pay high interest.”

When struggling with finances, many families living in poverty are faced with no choice but to take their children out of school. The cost of books, uniforms and other school supplies can overwhelm families who are scraping by month by month.

“It was difficult to keep paying the school fees,” Priyanka says. “If we couldn’t pay the school, they wouldn’t allow our children to study. We didn’t know what to do.”

Left with few options to provide for her family, Priyanka began to look for a job. But she married young, and the little education she did receive was in a different regional language, making it hard for her to find work.

Thankfully, that’s when Priyanka’s neighbors told her about a skill training program for women right in her neighborhood.

Skill Training and Women’s Empowerment in India

In northern Bangalore, Priyanka found the women’s center that would change her life.

What began as one center in 2017 has expanded to seven centers across neighborhoods in Bangalore. Women would travel far to participate, but keeping the centers local has helped VCT reach many more. So far over 1,600 women have come through the doors.

“We should go where the need is — where the women are,” says Sharmila Hepzibah, executive director of VCT, commenting on the nature of starting centers in neighborhoods across the city.

Holt sponsors and donors support VCT’s skill training program through Gifts of Hope. The three-month program is free for women in the community and offers skill development and financial guidance, designed to help low-income women and single mothers provide for their families.

The program teaches women practical skills such as spoken English, tailoring, weaving, quilt making and entrepreneurship. Remarkably, 80% of women who complete the program successfully start businesses of their own, while some join the garment industry to earn income to support their families.

In addition to skills training, VCT connects women to self‑help groups — small savings circles where 10 to 15 women contribute 500 rupees, about $5 a month. Together, they save, lend to one another in emergencies and learn how to manage money without relying on high‑interest loans.

In just two years, Priyanka’s group has saved the equivalent of nearly $1,500 — money women have used to pay school fees, start their own small businesses and care for their families.

Life Skills and Transformation

When Priyanka joined the skills training program, she was given the chance to imagine a different future for her family. She had never learned how to sew before. But as she shares her story two years after joining the program, Priyanka wears the ornate sari she designed and tailored herself.

As part of her training, Priyanka also learned English through a spoken language course, along with the math needed for tailoring.

“This program is designed to be completed in three months. But depending on the woman’s educational background, we can extend that time,” says Shalu Singh, program manager of VCT. “When you did not receive an education, you require extra support for math, numbers and measurements. These things take some time to learn.”

Since women’s backgrounds and situations are different, VCT ensures that every woman has the support she needs to take her next steps. For Priyanka, this support changed everything.

With her new English skills, Priyanka was hired for a part-time position at a local daycare. In the afternoons, Priyanka returned to the skills center to sew garments with a sewing machine. She also joined the VCT self-help group, helping her save portions of her income and learn about finances.

With her first earnings from her daycare position, Priyanka saved each month until she could purchase something precious: her very own sewing machine.

Around the world, a sewing machine can be the turning point that allows a woman’s skills to become lasting income.

For Priyanka, a sewing machine has done just that.

The Impact of a Sewing Machine

Today, Priyanka works part‑time at a local daycare and spends her afternoons sewing from home on the machine she saved to purchase herself. From her small living room, she takes stitching orders from neighbors and regular customers — creating garments for women and children throughout her community. She also makes garments for herself and her children.

Before she knew how to sew, she could only afford one blouse for every 10 saris. Now she can create a wardrobe for herself. And when women ask where she got her outfit, she can promote her business by telling them she made it.

“I am always developing new designs,” Priyanka says. “I am so happy to show off what I’ve made.”

Through VCT and the generosity of Holt donors, the skills Priyanka has gained have changed everything. And for the first time in her life, she’s dreaming beyond the poverty she grew up in.

“My dream is to open my own shop,” Priyanka says with a bright smile. “While my children are young, it allows me to be with them when they get home from school. But my home is very small, so in time, I’d like to expand.”

From Poverty to Economic Freedom

Starting her own business has helped Priyanka provide for her family in more ways than one. With steady income, Priyanka can now keep her children in school, buy nutritious food and pay for family needs. For the first time, she’s also been able to seek treatment for her chronic back pain — an expense she once thought was impossible.

Each day, she fetches water from down the street and carries it back in jugs, sometimes as much as 15-20 liters. Previously, nothing helped ease her back pain. But because she is now earning income of her own, she has started going to physical therapy. She says it’s helped immensely.

Now Priyanka has more economic freedom — both for essentials and for expenses she never considered possible before.

“Before, when my children would ask for something, I’d have to say no. Every time I’d say, ‘Maybe next time we can buy that,’” Priyanka says. “It made me feel very sad because whatever they were asking for, I couldn’t provide for them.”

Now she can not only keep her children in school but also give them things she once could not — like school clothes and birthday gifts. She hopes both of her children will one day become engineers or doctors.

“Because they can stay in school, they will learn to read well and get good jobs,” Priyanka says. “I always tell my children, ‘I want to give you a better future than the one I was given.’”

And because of the skills she’s gained, Priyanka is helping lift her family out of poverty and changing her children’s futures each day.

A Safe Place for Women to Thrive in India

In the afternoons, as fabric rests across her sewing table, Priyanka works just steps away from her children. Not long ago, she felt alone and fearful of what the future held. Today, she is confident and filled with hope.

Priyanka is just one of many. VCT’s women’s programs have helped empower thousands across Bangalore.

“I always tell women that there is such useful training here. Whenever I have new neighbors, I tell them to come,” Priyanka says. “Not only will you learn tailoring, but you will be listened to. Whatever you’re facing in life, they will be supportive.”

Because of the support of Holt donors and the staff at VCT, Priyanka’s life has changed forever — first through the skills she’s gained, then through the community of women she’s found and the lasting impact of a sewing machine.

“There are no words to express the help I’ve received,” Priyanka says. “This has been the biggest support to me and my family. Thank you.”

Today, you can help empower a mom like Priyanka with the gift of a sewing machine. Your Gift of Hope can help another mom turn skills into income and create a brighter future for her family. Give a Gift of Hope