India WAYS OUT OF POVERTY IN NEW DELHI

India: a country between poverty and upswing. The economy of this country of 1.38 billion inhabitants is growing fast. The growth rates of the gross domestic product are regularly above 8%. But not everyone is benefiting from this growth. At the same time, India is home to the largest number of poor people in the world: a good 268 million people have to get by on less than 1.90 US dollars a day.

The country's capital confirms this picture. An estimated 28 million people currently live in the Delhi metropolitan region - more than two million of them in slums without access to clean drinking water or sanitary facilities. Most of the people affected neither have sufficient schooling nor vocational training. Under these precarious conditions, the thought of educating a child fades into the background in a poor family. This is where the Samuel Foundation gets down to work in favour of young people; enabling those with no access to the education system to receive technical education in one of the country's most important economic sectors: the textile industry.

OUR WORK IN INDIA

In India, the Samuel Foundation can look back on 30 years of educational work for disadvantaged young people. In 1993, our legally independent branch, the Samuel Foundation Charitable India Trust, was founded. Its main office was established in New Delhi and, in the same year, the foundation began to provide technical education on site.

Since then, we have been training young people in the country's capital with the main objective of giving them a long-term way out of poverty and lack of prospects. At two locations in Delhi, we currently offer the chance to complete a 15-month technical education programme on a full-time basis in the field of fashion design and management to 108 young people every year.

At present, each of our centres for technical education has classrooms for theory and practical lessons, a computer training room with modern laptops and administrative offices.

Fashion Design and Management

For many years, the textile sector in India has been one of the largest job-creating sectors - 45 million people are employed in this field. The Delhi metropolitan region is one of the country's important textile centres; here the demand for skilled labour is uninterrupted.

Programme content: The programme is specifically tailored to the requirements of the Indian textile industry - students are trained in the most diverse aspects of fashion design and management. In addition to the topic of design per se, the programme encompasses subjects such as sewing and manufacturing of clothes, merchandising, production, and quality control. Students thus receive all the technical skills they need for the entire textile production chain. Moreover, the curriculum includes computer skills, personality training including lessons on job application, communication and English. Classes take place on a bilingual basis, in Hindi and English.
Employment opportunities: Entry-level opportunities as an assistant in the areas of production, quality control, merchandising or sampling in textile production companies, fashion houses, trading/export companies or boutiques.
Duration of the programme: 15 months on a full-time basis incl. a three-month company apprenticeship
Number of scholarships to be awarded each year: 108
Certificate: Graduates receive a foundation diploma in Fashion Design and Management.

MEASURABLE SUCCESS

Over 85 per cent of the students that enrol in our courses at our centres for technical education in Delhi graduate. And of these, over 95 per cent are placed in permanent employment. Thus, since its beginnings in India, the foundation has already opened the doors to a successful future for over 2,200 young women and men.

Current Projects

EDUCATION SITUATION IN INDIA

20% of children under 14 do not attend school
71% of those under 35 years have not completed secondary education
22% of the population have vocational training / non-university education
11% of the population have a university degree

(Source: OECD)

SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES

The centres for technical education in Delhi provide a variety of activities to accompany the training. Highlights of many years are the fashion shows or professional photo shoots where our graduates present their final projects – regularly, the finest creations and highest craftsmanship are to be admired.
The programme also includes obligatory industry-related visits to companies and markets as well as social service, which is mandatory in all the foundation’s centres. The students conduct fundraising campaigns for the needy, visit and support schools, hospitals, and other social institutions in the poor districts of the metropolitan region as part of their social service.

In addition, the students benefit from extracurricular activities such as self-defence courses for women, workshops on sex education and HIV prevention, and other supportive offers from the social and medical fields. Their self-confidence and motivation are strengthened, and they learn to take responsibility for themselves and the society in which they live.