By Sr. Joanna Lobo
After having done a lot of paper work, we were able to have this workshop conducted by the Central Bank. Mr. Pause the manager of Central Bank and Mrs. Shinde who is charge of these workshops were ever ready to give their best.
Mrs. Sunita Tribhuvan and her team came in to teach the women how to make handmade agarbathis (incense sticks). The process was slow but interesting as it was a ten-day worshop. It was nice to see the interest shown by the women. 
Besides learning the skill they also had input sessions on how to become strong women, awareness on bank schemes and other inspirational games which helped the women feel motivated.
At Maria Bhavan, Bableshwar the women felt free as they spent nearly ten days with us.
On 12 January we had the Valedictory function and it was a joy to see the many illiterate women have the joy of receiving certificates. One of them exclaimed “Today I feel free and happy because I have gained confidence and can stand here and speak; thanks for helping us come out of our homes and leave aside our pots and pans”. All of them appreciated the hard work put in by Sr.Catherine Pereira, the animator to help them grow in confidence and self respect.