by Jittin Mathew
MUMBAI, APRIL 2, 2019: Bachat Gat Yojana is a project initiated by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for basti women. Under the scheme of Bachat Gat, a group of five to six ladies from a particular basti come together to learn a skill, so as to make an earning through it. As part of many activities to make the city self-reliant and progressive, the BMC through this project helps women to learn and earn their livelihood.
Helping the BMC in this philanthropic and benevolent venture, Bosco Boys Home, (BBH) Borivli collaborated with BMC in its Bachat Gat Yojana project to train basti women of the nearby bastis of Borivli: MHB Colony, LIC Colony, IC Colony, Gorai, Charkop, Chikuwadi, Babhai Naka.
BBH offered their facilities and instructors to train the basti women in the skills of bakery and cookery along with short term courses on soft skills and spoken English this academic year. BBH managed to train 60 women through two batches conducted between the months of December 2018 to March 2019.
Reflecting on the words of Saint John Bosco, ‘Making good and honest citizens’, Father Corlis Gonsalves, the Director of the Institute said, “It is a great initiative undertaken by BMC for the women of our society and we at BBH are very proud to be part of this programme.”
The bakery classes were taught by Baker Rowena Ferreria. “These ladies were so happy to just come here and get away from their daily chores at home. They were very eager to learn new things and also made new friends. I taught them 30 dishes in bakery comprising of cupcakes, cakes, brownies, biscuits, and bread,” Ferreria said.
In the cookery section, the women were trained by Chef Almitra Cheulkar. The women were given recipes of 80 to 85 dishes and were taught to prepare 25 dishes practically. “I always believed that one should learn what will help one in life. That is why I gave them 80 to 85 recipes with the help of which they can start up any catering business. While teaching them I also kept in mind to teach them cost-effective recipes wherein they would not require to invest lots of money for buying expensive things to prepare food,” Chef Cheulkar said.
The project comprised of a demonstration of the dishes and asking the group to prepare and bring the dishes demonstrated the next day they come to class. The women were asked to maintain journals. They were evaluated through practical exams held at the end of the course. They were also taught costing of the food items and how to fix prices of the food before selling it.
It was not all learning and no fun. During the courses, the women made many friends and also celebrated festivals like Makar Sankranti. A farewell party was also organised.
The Bachat Gat Yojana has been introduced by the BMC for women to make them self- reliant, self- sufficient, and to empower them to support their families. “We at BBH tried our best to train these women in such a way that they may start earning for themselves. We intend to train at least 50 and more basti women each year,” Deacon Romero D’Souza, the Principal of the Institute said.
“It was a very enriching experience for me. This was like a breath of fresh air. I got to learn so many new recipes and also made so many friends. The instructors were also very caring and friendly and made us feel comfortable. I thank BMC and BBH for this beautiful and generous help they have offered to us,” Samiksha Darne, a participant of the project said.