Brussels support for NGO women’s project in India

The “Brasserie London”, one of the bars around Place de Luxembourg, hosted an event on a project to empower women in India.

Over the past century, the perception and role of women in Western countries has changed considerably – while in a country such as India, there is still a long way to go to overcome certain discriminative values and traditions, making women victims.

“Project Why” is an Indian NGO established in 2000 by Anouradha Bakshi, which challenges the awareness of the existing inequalities through the empowerment of women. Claire di Felice volunteered for two months in a vocational training centre for women from an underprivileged background in Madanpur Khadar.

Based on her experience, she described the work of the NGO in this district with some 15,000 inhabitants in the Southern part of New Delhi, inhabited mostly by first or second generation migrants from other Indians states such as West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or Rajasthan.

Since 2007, over a thousand women have been trained in order to provide them with the means to earn a livelihood – transforming their lives by boosting their confidence and skills, enabling many to become independent business entrepreneurs. Thanks to this NGO, numerous women realised their potential in taking control of their life, while also ensuring a brighter future for their children and generations to come.

The presentation was received by the audience (some 50 participants from over 20 countries) with enthusiasm and the willingness not only to financially support the cause, but also to increase its effectiveness by offering a series of recommendations.

What resonates with this NGO’s work is that indeed when you educate a man, you educate an individual, but when you educate a woman, you educate a generation.

For more information find them on Instagram and Facebook at @projectwhydelhi.