PESHAWAR, Feb 13 (APP): A unique initiative by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of the Small and Medium Entrepreneur Development Authority (SMEDA) helped the transgender community in Peshawar in switching from routine practices of begging and dancing towards the honorable livelihood of garments stitching.
A financial grant of Rs 1.5 million by SMEDA for the establishment of a stitching unit at Peshawar transformed into a vocational training center offering skill training in the fields of stitching, embroidery, fashion design to the highly neglected and vulnerable community of transgenders.
“The training center is a success story of our project of establishing 1000 Industrial Stitching Units all across Pakistan including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan and merged districts”, informed Rashid Aman, Provincial Chief SMEDA KP.
Talking to APP, Rashid apprised that the project was launched with a financial budget of Rs. 350.545 million and so far around 93 Industrial Stitching Units have been established in the country, benefiting hundreds of thousands of people by imparting training and creation of jobs in the textile related field.
The objective of the project was to promote the public-private partnership to boost value addition in the field of textile garments by establishing industrial stitching units by strengthening small and medium entrepreneurs.
The amount of Rs. 1.5 million was provided to an institute REST (Rehabilitation, Education, Skill Development, Training Awareness) led by a trans person Katrina, provincial chief SMEDA told APP.
There were a number of hitches in awarding of the contract to a transgender, but the management decided for going ahead with the objective of providing an opportunity to the neglected community of our society, Rashid remarked.
Around eight Juki Sewing machines were purchased and installed at REST and arrangements were made for the training of the staff by National Textile University Faisalabad.
“The center is performing well and successfully imparting training to transgenders who are now starting up their own business or getting jobs at different tailoring shops,” says Rashid with feeling of complacency clearly visible on his face.
“SMEDA’s help is a first ever initiative by a public sector institute of posing confidence in our abilities by offering us the opportunity of making earning through honorable sources of livelihood,” remarked jovial Katrina, in charge of REST institute.
Around 20 transgenders have benefited by learning the skill of tailoring, embroidery, baby garments stitching etc, Katrina told APP.
She said out of 20 beneficiaries, several have stood up on their feet by starting a business or joining jobs, shunning the old practice of dancing and begging.
She also requested other departments to follow the footsteps of SMEDA and provide opportunities for transgenders in transforming their lives by opting for honorable sources of earning.
Katrina said she is also providing training to trans persons on fashion design and is ready for other programmes of vocational training from the platform of REST if financial and technical support is extended to her.