Kinjal Ilesh Parikh

IR3006

Community Development Center :  Housed within N.C. Mills - an abandoned textile mill, situated in the Amdupura area of Ahmadabad, Prayaas is a Community Development Center specially designed for the community residing in the Chawls around the mills, mostly occupied by the families of the former mill workers. The community center serves as an informal school for young children, a self-development and basic education center for adults, computer and language training center for youth and learn and earn center for the unemployed adults. A creche at the center is run by the elderly women of the community, providing a solution to the problem of women of the community who want to be a part of the activities happening at the center but are laid back due to their responsibilities towards their kids. The multi-purpose spaces provided in the center are capable of hosting various medical check-up camps, festive get-together, special workshops, awareness programs, etc. With the shutdown of the mills, the mill workers all of a sudden became unemployed and struggled to sustain. The center aims at transforming these negative memories and associations into an optimistic and gratifying attitude. It is actually reliving these memories in a very positive manner. The agendas of the center are:  1. Learn:The center aims at teaching the community certain essential skill sets which would help them find relevant permanent sources of income. 2. Earn:  To attract, encourage and motivate the community to be a part of the center, it incorporates income generating activities implementing the skills they learn at the center. 3. Teach:The center encourages participation of volunteers in teaching and training activities.Training to conduct similar programs would be provided at the center to the youth interested in taking up voluntary responsibilities.