Empowerment of the down-trodden women in our operational area is one of BTS’ key focus areas and we have been organizing series of awareness generation & capacity building programmes round the year on different burning issues like life-skill development, financial literacy etc.
15 Usha Silai School has been set up in 9 remote villages under 3 neighbouring blocks-Kultali, Patharpratima & mathurapur-II in South 24 Parganas for Livelihood Development among the vulnerable women(housewives) or unemployed girls .
BTS has taken a special drive to strengthen the existing SHGs as well as covering new areas for micro-credits propagation towards women’s self-reliance and economic upliftment through giving shape of a Women’s Co-Operativre & Credit Bank in our Community Development Block, Kultali. As a result, Kultali Mahila Bikash Co-operative Credit Society got its registration as per Co-Operative Act , Govt of West Bengal and the same unit will work as an Apex Body of all the women SHGs through a proper share holding by every women general body member under the Co-operative & Credit Society Ltd. The Women's Credit Bank is the gradual success of the women SHGs initiated a few years back initiated by BTS.
Very recent, BTS has initiated another Livelihood Development Program(LDP), Project Jiban Jiveeka to rehabilitate the vulnerable women & widows in their families through income generation & financial reliance and social dignity. PPI agreed to support the initiatives for successive 3 years. In its 3rd year efforts already 450 widows in vulnerable situation had been included into Jiban-Jiveeka Groups and given skill training & supported with rearing/farming of Ducks, Chicks, Goats.The project is with a great success as the same efforts have created sources of livelihoods models for the families where they are living in.