THE CHURCH OF SOUTH INDIA (CSI): KURNOOL TRAINING CENTRE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
The Church of South India (CSI) launched the Kurnool Training Centre for Young Women with the aim of equipping young women with vital skills with which they can improve their quality of life. USPG has been supporting this programme since 2016.
The centre is based in the city of Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. Young women and girls from surrounding rural areas come here to learn skills such as sewing, English, IT and basket making. Along with these practical skills, women at the centre also take classes in church history and bible knowledge, with an emphasis on the importance of women in the bible.
By the time they finish the course, many women with no previous computer skills can confidently use Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office and Tally (an accounting software package that is widely used in India) or send emails and surf the internet. Others can confidently translate from their mother tongue into English.
Women who have attended courses at the centre testify that the training they have received boosted their self-confidence and has enabled them to be financially independent and support their families. Many of them feel that society respects them a little more than before now that they have acquired some skills and can take care of themselves. Some women have secured full time jobs; others have started successful businesses. Some have also become more actively involved in their local churches, usually by teaching at Sunday school or helping to run women’s groups, thanks to the bible studies they attended at the training centre.
