Reena: February 2023 Story of Empowerment

Meet our February 2023 featured tailoring student for Stories of Empowerment, Reena. Reena is from the Behera Pali village in Balangir. She lives with her young daughter, Siddhi, and her husband, who works at a grocery store. 

When Reena heard that she could learn how to stitch for free at the One Life Movement tailoring classes, she went to ask her husband’s opinion. He was completely onboard and excited for her to start the classes. “No knowledge is wasted,” he said. “We don’t know when certain skills will be useful to us.” Needless to say, she enrolled in class immediately! 

Reena’s time in sewing classes was so enjoyable that she had no idea how six months passed by so quickly. In a few short months, she learned how to make a wide variety of clothing items, such as pants, petticoats, blouses, gowns, and many more. Learning how to make these items has helped Reena develop a sense of financial stability for her and her family. She puts her experience with the OLM tailoring classes so beautifully: “One Life Movement has taught me to speak well, to sew well, and to believe in myself - that even I can do something.”

 
Our tailoring center in Odisha helps dozens of women like Reena gain confidence in themselves and develop a sense of financial independence and stability, but we wouldn’t be able to run the tailoring classes without your support. Consider joining us in our mission to help underprivileged women find financial independence by donating today.