Meet Akanksha. She taught Computer Classes run by Hosanna Ministries in Mumbai, India. She had been helping students gain the confidence and vocational training they needed to get a “good job” for three years. This is particularly important for women, who are often married young and don’t get the opportunity for further education. This means they have limited options to support themselves and their families.

The computer course is offered as part of the Vocational Training Project which provides a range of vocational training to vulnerable people, including women and youth.

Ankanksha shares that “there are many changes in the incoming students… they don’t have any basic knowledge to begin with”. But while learning these new computer skills they “have a self-formed confidence” they previously never had.

The course allows students to sit a government exam and receive an official certificate if they pass. This opens up opportunities to further education or entry into the workforce.

Thanks to teachers like Akanksha at Hosanna Ministries, the lives of many vulnerable women from this region are changed for the better.

This year’s theme for International Women’s day is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, exploring the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. Bringing women and marginalised groups into technology, mean more creative solutions and innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality.

We celebrate women like Akanksha, who have helped provide this further education to people in need. Ankanksha not only taught the practical computer skills, but helped the students prepare for the workforce. She says “they sometimes ask…what should we wear?" She says they “feel happy asking many more questions” so that they can “clear all their doubts” and ease “nervousness”.

Akanksha has recently moved on to higher studies. She is now pursuing dreams of her own.

Find out more about how your support can contribute to vocational education in Mumbai here.

Hosanna Ministries’ Vocational Training Project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)