Philomina, aged 40 years, is a waste picker by profession. She resides in Rajendra Nagar with her husband (daily wage worker by profession) and three daughters. Thirteen years ago, Philomina migrated to Bengaluru from Tiruvannamalai post marriage and remained a homemaker. Her family’s poor financial condition made her search for a job but failed to secure one. Left with no other option she chose waste picking as only means of earning a living. She also does housekeeping on a temporary basis whenever she gets an opportunity for the same.
Philomina enrolled herself for two-day Life Skill Training after she was approached and given an orientation by CARE India’s CRP Post training, Philomina shared her experience, she said, “During the session I learnt about the story of Arunima who climbed Mt. Everest despite losing her both limbs. It enlightened me and boosted my self-confidence and I decided to utilize my skills and the learnings from the training to better my life.” This inspiration motivated her to enroll in a free tailoring class run by a local NGO.
Philomina also completed the Life Skill Plus Training which focuses on financial and digital literacy that made her explore YouTube and she learnt how to make homemade herbal soap and hair oil with easily available ingredients by watching the tutorial videos. Now, she makes herbal soaps in various shapes and fragrances using ingredients like aloe vera, rose, papaya, sandal etc. She sells it to her friends, family and neighbors and gets appreciated and acknowledged for her initiative and skills. However, she is not able to make much profit.
To take her initiative forward and to sustain it, Philomina required support in procuring raw materials and equipment like cauldron pot, stove, soap mould and wooden drying pan and for marketing her products. CARE India has provided these materials. She wishes to see herself as a successful entrepreneur and thanked CARE India for all the support and opportunity and looking forward to undergoing EDP training.
