How charity support helped Bano find work in rural Pakistan

I am 24 and live with my husband, six children, my mother and father in law. I did not attend school because my parents did not think it was necessary. I always wanted to attend.

Before joining Y Care International’s project, I spent time doing household tasks such as caring for the children, cooking, cleaning and looking after the animals.

During training, we were put into women’s enterprise groups. My favourite training was in communication. I also liked games that taught us unity and how to work together.

I never had the opportunity to spend time with the other women in my community, or women from other communities. Some parents and husbands weren’t happy to begin with, but this has improved.

I was selected as a sales and marketing agent (SMA) because I had good communication skills, was confident and am able to move around and access the markets. SMAs also have to be skilled in cutting, design and production, to make sure that products are of high quality and delivered on time. …

Bano lives in rural Pakistan, where more than a third of young women aged 15 to 24 have no education and are subject to gender-based violence and forced marriages. Y Care International’s project supports young rural women in creating traditional produce for sale. The project – a joint partnership with Community World Service Asia – has raised the average household income by 141% and has economically empowered 722 rural women. Y Care International is celebrating International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March 2019. To find out more, or to donate, visit www.ycareinternational.org or call 020 7549 3175

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This is an extract from an article that was published in the March 2019 edition of  Reform

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