“Umeed” – Books before bread, identity before lethargy

And sometimes extraordinary things happen in most ordinary way. We come across the kind of people who change our approach towards life forever. One such person is Udita chadha. I got to know about her, through one of my family friends. While having conversations about life and other things we discussed about people who have the courage to believe in their dreams and pursue them rather than living the lives of an average person who goes through the daily grinds of life . One such inspirational story is about Udita Chadha, 30 yrs , who has achieved something at a very young age which most of us don’t even think all our lives .

 

Udita Chadha is a graduate in Social Entrepreneurship from University of Southern California with over 9 years of work experience in both corporate and development, Udita has an ardent belief in gender equality and women empowerment. In 2014, Udita founded a Non-Profit Organization called “Umeed” in Hyderabad, with an aim to promote women’s empowerment and radically alter the mindsets that exist within society.
Udita’s Journey & how she entered into Social Service –
Being born as the second girl child into an insolently patriarchal society in a small city in India. She witnessed countless instances of physical, mental and emotional abuse against women in her family and around. She started to question such mind-sets from a very young age and grew up to become a fierce believer in women’s right and empowerment.

Working in a corporate for 3 years after her graduation made her realize that she cannot do this for ever as it didn’t provide her the purpose of life she was looking for, something closer to her heart which she believed to be more meaningful. So she quit the corporate world to join Teach For India initiative in order to get exposed to the social space.

Two year of Teach For India fellowship, where she taught grade 2& 3 students in Govt School in Hyderabad, helped her in interacting with the kids and their families. What shocked her the most was how boys and girls, believed that hitting a woman was acceptable! It was not that all the girls knew their life was going to be like their much-abused mother’s but the fact that they had accepted their fate at such a young age made her question the role she was playing as a teacher. Women’s miserable situation in the community was affecting not just their daughters but also their son’s. Most of the boys, aged 8 to 11, had already started working small jobs in the evenings to support the family financially.

During the second year of her fellowship, she co-founded Umeed, in august 2014, with a vision to promote women’s empowerment and radically alter the mind-sets that exist within society. By way of providing skill training, knowledge and exposure to women UMEED aspires to bring about an immediate and lasting difference, one of hope, dignity and security. UMEED is currently working with 30 women from 6 slum communities across Hyderabad.

Through Umeed, She has many stories to shared such as that of Janki Ji. 7 years ago Janki gave birth to her second child, Prashanth, who was diagnosed as a special-abled child. Unlike her family, she took a bold step of taking care of him without any discrimination and took him to a special school every day, religiously since last  years.
Overtime, Janki realized the importance of being financially independent rather than depending on her family. Joining UMEED gave her a sense of happiness and comfort especially in terms of developing her emotional, social and financial independence.

WHAT IS UMEED DOING for WOMEN EMPOWERMENT?
They are trying to bring a change in under- privileged / oppressed women’s by providing training and knowledge to women to bring about an immediate and lasting difference; one of hope, dignity and security in each of their lives. Umeed is a holistic program, for unskilled women from low income urban communities,that will have them learn and grow through workshops and trainings based on 3 focus areas:
-Functional Skill: Programs for building skills that are employable, with a deep focus on bridging the gap between the skills, aptitude levels of women and the local industry requirements.
-Values and Mindset: Intensive awareness programs that develop a sense of self-worth in the women and make them more self-aware,
-Exposure: Programs that lead to knowledge and awareness about fundamental rights, duties, work rights and responsibilities of women along with understanding how to practice these learnings at a personal and professional front.
Umeed is an opportunity for these women to take their very first step towards financial independence in their longer journey of becoming empowered women contributing to the Indian economy. These skills will go a long way to drive their confidence, empower them and, eventually, alter the oppressive mindsets around them to progressive ones. Umeed does not exist only to better the lives of these women; but to better the lives of their whole families and communities.
In Udita’s words “ IMPACT OF UMEED”

The impact of Umeed is reflected in Janki’s unmatched courage, indomitable will and many such stories of each of our women. After 5 years of running Umeed I can proudly say that our intervention in their lives has left a remarkable impact on the women as well as on us. We have failed more than we have succeeded but the small positive changes that we see in our beneficiaries and their families keeps us going

Learn more about our struggles and triumphs of Umeed here :
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uditachadha
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UMEEDsocialmedia
Website: https://umeedhyd.wixsite.com/umeed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umeedforwomen/
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_BMd-b-L6mcfkBZGoeiVYA

Media Coverage : 
https://thelogicalindian.com/awareness/hyderabad-ngo-umeed-women/

https://yourstory.com/2018/03/umeed-women-hyderabad

https://umeedhyd.wixsite.com/umeed/ourteam