There’s a particular kind of energy in a room full of women picking up a needle and thread for the first time, a mix of nerves, curiosity, and quiet determination. We felt exactly that energy this month as new batches of our Basic Tailoring Training programme began at two locations: our established centre in Gulermat, Kolkata, and our brand-new centre in Mourigram, Howrah.
The first day started, as it always does, with an orientation session, a chance for trainees to meet one another, ask questions, and settle any nerves before the real work begins. From there, they’ve dived straight in, learning the essential sewing skills that will form the foundation of everything to come. For many of these women, this isn’t just a class. It’s the first step towards something bigger: greater confidence, real skills, and the kind of economic independence that changes not just their own lives, but the lives of everyone who depends on them.
This is exactly why we do this work. There’s nothing quite like watching a woman thread a needle with growing confidence, knowing that this small, careful stitch is really the beginning of a much larger story, one of self-reliance, dignity, and possibility.
Giving Back Is Who We Are
Training our own trainees is only one part of our mission at She Inspires. We believe just as deeply in the true spirit of giving back, in showing up for other organisations doing meaningful work in communities that need it most. It’s a value we try to live, not just talk about. To date, and often one raffle ticket at a time, She Inspires has supported over two dozen charities through the fundraising held at our events.
One organisation especially close to our hearts is Little Big Help, based in India. Through our fundraising, we’ve been able to send sewing machines and sewing kits their way, quite literally putting the tools of independence into women’s hands.
And the updates we receive back tell us it’s working. Again and again, we hear the same story: women stepping into self-employment, families gaining a measure of financial security they didn’t have before, communities feeling the ripple effects of one woman’s newfound independence. It never stops moving us, no matter how many times we hear it. It’s a cycle of change that keeps building on itself, and we’re deeply grateful to be even a small part of it.
A Shared Vision
There’s something fitting about how this partnership came to be. Little Big Help was founded by Lisbeth Johansen, herself a previous She Inspires award winner, someone who took her own recognition and turned it into a platform to lift up other women. That spirit lives on in the charity’s board of trustees today, which includes our very own global ambassador, Sohini Roy Chowdhury. It’s a full-circle kind of story, the sort that reminds us how connected this work really is.
When people and organisations come together with a shared purpose, even the smallest steps start to add up to something bigger. The story of Little Big Help, and of the women just now picking up needle and thread in Kolkata and Howrah, tells us the same thing in different ways: that empowerment starts with opportunity, and opportunity starts with people willing to invest in one another.
We’re proud to be part of that story. And we can’t wait to see where these new trainees, and our continued partnership with Little Big Help, take it next.
