Hailing from a nearby village Hajipora Herman, located at a distance of 15 Kms from District headquarter Shopian, Afroza Jan could not continue her studies after secondary school due to some economic constraints.
Afroza had a desire to support her family financially to overcome the economic crisis that her family was going through and in this process she came to know about Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) Shopian, run by the J&K Bank, through Print and Social Media. Without wasting time she immediately got herself enrolled for Women Tailoring Training programme in the year 2018 with an objective to learn the skills of tailoring.
After completing the training course successfully from RSETI Shopian, Afroza hired a room on rent basis and established a Cutting and Tailoring Unit in Hajipora Herman Market with an initial investment of Rs 2.00 Lac in the said business. Though her financial position was not so strong to invest the money from her own sources, but, to make her dreams come true, she borrowed the requisite amount from her friends and relatives for procurement of machinery etc.
On observing the potentiality of her ideas, and the demand of the trade, her friends and relatives vividly encouraged her and extended all possible support including financial assistance to enable her to achieve her goal.
In the year 2018, she formally started her Business Unit in the name and style of SHAH TAILORS at Hajipora Herman Market. During these past 3 years, Afroza has earned a name in tailoring and cutting and has generated a good number of customers because of her satisfactory work. She has a customer base not only in Hajipora but also in other surrounding villages and is now earning her livelihood comfortably.
With the help of this business unit, Afroza not only supports her own family but also the families of two other co-workers. Her parents are feeling proud of their daughter. Her monthly earning has touched over Rs. 20,000. After deduction of her input cost, she is saving a good amount and comfortably meeting her household expenses.
Now, she has become a job provider rather than job seeker by providing employment to two other unemployed educated persons, who are also earning their daily livelihoods at her Unit.
Her endeavours are a lesson for the new generation, especially for those educated youth, who are running after the Government jobs and wasting their precious time rather than opening their eyes and see how many opportunities are waiting around them in which they can go and earn their livelihood. They also can become job providers rather than job seekers, provided they see their future from a different angle.(GNS)