Disadvantaged & Socially Handicapped

Rural Dalit Youth

THEIR GREATEST

NEED

Spoken English

Critical thinking

Training in job skills

Self-confidence

To become part of the solution

Moral development

Dr. B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, a Dalit jurist, a scholar, an economist, politician, and social reformer emphasized the need for English language for urbanization. But the rural Dalit youth is seriously handicapped by discrimination, poverty, poor schooling in the regional language, malnutrition, ignorance, lack of skills, addictions, and severe lack of confidence, which automatically relegates them to blue-collar jobs but with no skills, they join the category of non-workers. The stigma of their caste-based untouchability permeates all areas of their personhood- physical, social, intellectual, psychological, and spiritual.

This year the Govt. of India has allocated only 0.5 percent of the GDP for skills development for all youth in India (not just Dalit). All too frequently the vocational training provided under government schemes are not matched with the skills needed in the marketplace. There are not enough funds to even trickle down for those at the bottom of the human heap, the rural Dalit, in India.

JOB SKILLS FOR LIVELIHOOD FOR RURAL DALIT YOUTH

The need for skills development in rural India is colossal, especially among the Dalit.

IMPACT is involved in teaching Spoken English, as and when instructors are available. Spoken English is a much-needed skill for employment in urban India.

There is great need of trainers in handy skills like plumbing, electrical fittings, carpentry, welding etc. along with soft skills for the high school dropouts. A job skill boosts the morale of the people as they discover their own potential; it gives them confidence in seeking employment, and employment garners respect in the community. A trainer is a living example of people coming forward to help others. This role-model works as building blocks for community transformation.