Defying The Impossible With Determination

Moving to Mumbai from the serene Konkan wasn’t very much of a dreamy experience for Sandhya Sawant. She moved to the metro city 8 years back after marriage. She had to adjust with her new family, city and all in all, a new living environment. Today, she owns a beauty parlour that she named ‘Saheli Beauty Parlour’ where she runs a small but successful business. However, this wasn't the case when she first stepped into the city.

“It was lot of struggle to adjust to the fast pace of the city. I knew nothing. People around me were unknown and on top of it, I used to think that I was less educated than others. This whole thinking affected my personality for years.” - said Sandhya while talking about her initial years in the city.

“When I heard about Omkar Foundation’s courses under their Skill development & Women Empowerment Scholarship Program, I was hesitant to sign up for them. For all these years, I've only been a home maker. This was a tough call to make, for myself to be going out of the house and start working. I used to feel scared. But the trainer and coordinator motivated and pushed us to do something on our own. This actually helped boost my confidence,” she describes. “After Sandhya joined the course, she became determined & hardly skipped classes.” said Suman Shevale, one of the coordinators of the skill development course.

Sandhya not only opened her own parlour in Worli but now employs two other girls from her batch. She’s also mentoring them on other aspects of business: money management, customer relationship.

“My husband supported me financially to open the parlour. Now, the only challenge lies in being able to run it a for a long period of time. I am also learning many things along the way. However, I still need to learn other important things like marketing and costing.” mentions Sandhya.

It’s the long journey she had to take before owning a successful venture that was truly successful. This has built her self-confidence, respect amongst her friends and family and thus lead to be a stronger mother, wife and home-maker.