Ashar’s Dream: Livelihood Beneficiary Breaking the Poverty Cycle

Who are geniuses? Are geniuses born or made? This oddball question has gained a lot of attention from humankind for a few centuries. The highly acclaimed movie Good Will Hunting portrayed how a janitor at MIT from a commonplace background can turn out to be a genius, even without a formal education. 

Beyond The Genius 

But what about those who work hard, come from no-privilege backgrounds, and need a formal education in the form of livelihood training to make it in the world? An increase in unemployment from 7.14% in January 2023 to 7.45% in February 2023 has shot up the number of unemployed people in India.

With the country making strong moves towards becoming a global super economy, it’s imperative that the Indian youth is prepared for the job market from the word ‘go’.

Ashar, a resident of Govandi (Deonar), Maharashtra, seemed shy in the beginning. In his world as an introvert, even interacting with people on a daily basis was a task. But when one meets their tribe, one becomes more expressive and interactive. That’s exactly what happened with Ashar Sayyed, our livelihood beneficiary.

Ashar’s Strive 

Ashar lost his father during the mayhem of COVID-19. As what happens with people of limited means; Ashar never concerned himself about getting therapy to resolve the trauma and emotional upheaval of losing a parent.

Instead, he started looking for job opportunities. Making money was a priority for Ashar. Professional therapy is expensive when all your efforts go towards securing an income for your family.

Ashar wanted to start contributing towards household expenses that included the educational expenses of his younger brother. His mother is a homemaker and his elder brother is a sales executive. His elder brother’s income was not enough for the whole house and its needs.

Ashar promised himself to get a job that provided well for his family. The Euronet livelihood programme done in collaboration with Smile Foundation offered Ashar a perfect opportunity to make his dream come true.

Getting Enrolled Into Smile Foundation’s BFSI Course 

He enrolled himself in the 4-month long BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) course at Govandi center of Smile Foundation’s Euronet programme and became a livelihood beneficiary. He didn’t have to invest in his training financially and that was a big relief to him.

In his first few classes, he seemed nervous but he eventually became more comfortable with his classmates and faculty. Ashar started exhibiting youthful exuberance and confidence; something that made everyone at the center happy.

His soft skills, computer, banking, marketing, and core employability knowledge improved exponentially in the course of these 4 months. The faculty at the center was his guiding light. With the support of understanding counselors, Ashar was able to determine his goals and charter a path toward achieving them. 

Ashar Acing His Interview 

Our resilient one, Ashar was fully prepared for his interview rounds at the end of the 4-month long BFSI course. The faculty at the center was successful in helping Ashar live his dream. He got a great job as a sales executive at Sincetele Info. Solutions Ltd.- a company offering personal loans to its customers. With a monthly salary of INR 11,000, Ashar is standing on his own feet, determined to make it big.

Ashar might not be a genius but he is everything that all parents hope their children turn out to be– hardworking, kind, and ever-ready to learn new things in life. Ashar is doing justice to the multiple meanings of his name– Ashar is brave, lively, and accumulating all the needed wisdom in the world to keep going.

Smile Foundation and Livelihood Programme 

Smile Foundation through its Livelihood programme, STeP connects the unemployed or underemployed youth from disadvantaged communities with the sectors which have large growth potential in terms of revenue generation and employability like Core Employability, Healthcare, BFSI, Retail Management, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Digital Marketing.

The STeP programme has trained over 75,000 youth with more than 47,000 youth placed, like our livelihood beneficiary, Ashar. 400+ respectable brands across the country are the employers of STeP ptogramme.  Learn and become a part of our livelihood programme here or get in touch with us to learn in detail about our livelihood-related interventions.