The programme not just includes basic education and traditional income raising activities for women, it intends to provide women the fullest expression of their feelings. There is no strict timing for women to attend the programme. The programme runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Women can come to the center after attending their household responsibilities. They openly talk and discuss their physical, psychological, emotional and family problems and try to find some solution. If the problem is beyond their limits, the center provides them with expert counseling. Women also have sessions like story telling, writing poems, singing and dancing.

ISST organizes every month a ‘Sakhi Sabha? in which husbands of these women and other men of the community are invited. The purpose of inviting males of the community is to clear doubts and suspicion, if any regarding ideology and activities of ‘Saheliyon Ki Bari?and also to involve and sensitize them for overall development of their families.

In ‘Sakhi Sabhas? apart from this general agenda, in each meeting a special issue is taken for discussion. Some of the special issues that have been taken so far are cleanliness and hygiene, importance of education for women and girls, causes of skin and stomach diseases in slums etc.

ISST has designed a programme called “Bridging the Gap? in which officials from local and civil administration are invited to mediate a direct dialogue between the people and administration. For the first programme of this series, the S.H.O. of local police station has been invited to take a note on some of the important grievances of women regarding law and order situation in the community and surrounding areas.

In the year 2000, ISST began its income generation activities for women. This was done with an aim to help women to seek self-employment and self –sustenance thereby. ISST has been providing tailoring classes to the women of Nehru camp. Regular two hour classes in tailoring are held between 10 am to 2pm.An extension of this activity is carried out in the field office of ISST, located at walking distance from the community in West Vinod Nagar. A professional tailor conducts a tailoring and stitching class between 2pm-5pm. on every Monday. So far the women have learnt how to use a sewing machine, cut and stitch small purses and bags, utility travel pouches and bangle cases. These women have also made frocks for children under the age of four. A few women with prior knowledge of tailoring have also learnt cutting suits and blouse pieces. Two self-help groups of ten women each have also been formed. These are named as lakshmi & khusbu self-help-group. However to produce better products to withstand competition in the market these women need much more rigorous training so that quality of the products be maintained.

Activities for Children

Another programme ISST is running in this camp is non-formal and remedial education for school going and non-school going children. The number of children registered under thee programme varies time to time due to number of reasons. One of them is their formal school timing as some of them attend morning shift and some attend evening shifts in government school. Apart from this some of them work with their parents after their school, especially girls. ISST has started the process of conducting a baseline survey to understand the most workable timings and motivate people to send their non-school going children to the Centre. To make the programme more attractive for the children ISST has also started hobby classes like pot-painting, dance and mehendhi etc.