Rampur Girl becomes Civil Judge with HWF Education Support

Subuk Muskaan, 23, a second year LLM student in AMU’s Law Faculty secured 29th rank in the last PCS (J) Exam and qualified to become a judge in Subordinate Judiciary. Cheerful Muskan shared her feelings that “it’s a beautiful achievement and may change socioeconomic condition of her family.” However, her journey to reach here was not easy. There were many constraints in her path, and financial impediment was one of them.

Hailing from a small town of Rampur district Muskan has faced multiple challenges in education journey. Her father died in a road accident in 2014 a couple of months before her High School Board exams. Being a daughter of a single mother and with three siblings she had to struggle to complete her education. After completing graduation, she got admission in LLM but due to limited sources of income faced difficulties.

The hardship made her strong and her father’s dream to see his daughter as judge kept her moving forward and now, she has become a judge. Muskan shares that “where there is a will there is a way,” as she received help from social organisations. She recalls that “in those hard times I applied for
Scholarship in Human Welfare Foundation. They have scrutinised my academic credentials, interviewed me, and then selected for their scholarship program. The scholarship money helped me pay my course fee and hostel fee.”

On her goal of life, Muskan said, she wants to bring behavioural change in the society towards helping accident victims. “People are hesitant to help accident victims on roads due to fear of police harassment, detention at hospitals, and prolonged legal formalities. And due to this negative attitude “we lost our father who met with an accident, but nobody came forward to help him in time.” She further resolves to bring reform where people can without any hesitation and fear help victims of accident. She also wishes to work for dowry eradication as she has witnessed this evil practice in her surroundings. “In my place Rampur, it is very prevalent. There are anti-dowry laws, but it is still prevalent. There is a status competition.” Therefore, I want work to bring positive change in the society, says Muskan.

A humble girl Muskan was graceful in her interview and expresses her gratitude to all those who helped her. “I am thankful to all people who helped me in my journey. I extend my gratitude to Human Welfare Foundation for their timely help and humane gesture.” | Subuk Muskan

NVK Establishes new centre in Ghazipur, UP East

NVK has established a new center in Ghazipur, UP East, covering more than 20 surrounding villages. This new center will primarily focus on raising awareness among the villagers and assisting them in accessing various government schemes and financial assistance programs.

Nagrik Vikas Kendra (NVK) serves as a crucial intermediary between various government departments and marginalized individuals, ensuring that they can avail themselves of the benefits offered by these government schemes.

Orphan Scholarship distribution program in Malerkotla, Punjab

The Human Welfare Foundation has been dedicatedly working towards improving the lives of underprivileged and deserving orphaned children by providing them with vital support for their education. This commitment to making a positive impact was recently exemplified during the orphan scholarship distribution program held at the Punjab Urdu Academy in Malerkotla, Punjab. The event not only garnered the participation of over 50 influential individuals from the city but also ignited their enthusiasm for supporting this noble cause.

The program saw the esteemed presence of numerous dignitaries, each of whom played a crucial role in bolstering the spirits of the attendees. Jamil Ur Rahman, the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Malerkotla, graced the gathering as the chief guest and delivered an inspirational address. Other notable personalities who lent their support included Latif Ahmad, CEO of the Punjab Waqf Board; Er. Jasvir Singh Dhiman, Deputy Chief of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL); Mohd Khalil, District Education Officer (DEO) of Malerkotla; and Dr. Naved Aslam, a renowned cardiologist. Their words of encouragement resonated deeply with the students, igniting hope and determination for a brighter future.

During the event, the audience was also enlightened about the various activities undertaken by the Human Welfare Foundation by HWF General Secretary Muazzam Naik and Public Relations Director Rizwan Rafiqui. These efforts not only shed light on the organization’s valuable work but also reinforced the importance of collective support in transforming the lives of orphaned children.

A Scholar’s Resilience: Mariam’s Path to Success with HWF’s Support

Mariam, 22, lives with her widowed mother and three sisters in the Okhla village area of Delhi. Her father, who died two years ago was from the low-income category but put great emphasis on education. Mariam was a meritorious student who always had high marks in school and secured admission to the Bachler of Physiotherapy (BPT) through the NEET exam in Delhi’s prestigious Jamia Hamdard University.

Ms. Mariam was a bright student at her school and quite active in extracurricular activities. In 2018 she was part of the “Children’s Biodiversity Summit” at Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation Organic Farm, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. She was part of the Physiotherapy Team during the Apollo New Delhi Marathon in February 2023. She is an active Member of the university NSS and Hamdard Literary Club.

A year ago, her dream career came to a standstill when her father died due to Covid-19 induced infections. She lost her financial support for such an expensive course from her standard. At that time the HWF extended its helping hand by providing a scholarship for which she expresses her gratitude.

“My father’s death left us distressed and perplexed about my career but the Almighty answered my prayers through the HWF when I received a scholarship which brought a ray of light in my darkest time.” -MARIAM

From a Street Vendor to Owning a Shop

Mehandi, hails from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, embarked on his journey into the world of small-scale startups as a dignified man, dedicating countless hours to mastering the art of customer handling in the market.  Following his father’s dismissal, Mehandi made the decision to transform his passion into his profession.

Nonetheless, the path to success proved to be anything but easy. The initial days were challenging, as Mehandi took on multiple roles – acting as a purchaser, accountant, and more. He began his profession as a street vendor, and over time, he decided to rent a shop and stock it with goods. Unfortunately, due to a lack of capital investment, he couldn’t offer a complete solution to his daily customers’ needs. To overcome this obstacle, he sought self-employment support from the Human Welfare Foundation, which enabled him to fill his shop with inventory.

Over the past year, he has continued to operate his shop through his own efforts. He has also prioritized investing in his daughters’ education and even ventured into additional income streams, such as a battery rickshaw, using the earnings from his business.

CTAG WBCS Coaching Centre in Kolkata Achieves Remarkable Milestones!

The West Bengal Civil Service Coaching Centre, operated by The Centre for Training and Academic Guidance under the auspices of the Human Welfare Foundation, has been providing residential coaching for the West Bengal Civil Service examination. In the recently announced results, 12 students have successfully cleared the preliminary examination of the West Bengal Civil Service. This achievement stands as a significant triumph for CTAG WBCS Centre, Kolkata.

Furthermore, several students from the same batch have excelled in various competitive examinations held for both State and Central government employment opportunities.

To commemorate the accomplishments of these dedicated Civil Service aspirants, a felicitation program was organized at the centre. Distinguished guests including Ramjan Ali (WBCS Group A Officer), Arafat Sheikh (Commissioner of Central Excise), Shams Jabved (Assistant Commissioner of GST), Muzaffar Ali (Social Worker), and Md Nuruddin Shah (TDN Bangla) graced the event. They addressed the gathering, offering motivation and insights to the civil service aspirants. The speakers also shared valuable career advice and extended their heartfelt congratulations to the students for their remarkable achievements.

The Centre’s In-charge, Faruk Ahammad, was also recognized by the speakers and students for his invaluable guidance and unwavering support in helping the students achieve their goals.

Rukmuddin’s Shop of Hope

Rukmuddin’s Shop of Hope

Rukmuddin, 19, is a victim of teenage marriage – a common practice in Mewat, socially the most backward district of the country as listed in the NITI Ayog report.

He dropped out of school and got married at the age of 15 to a girl of his age. He lives with his widowed mother, wife, two children, and two younger siblings. He has been a wage laborer for 5 years out of necessity. Orphaned and poor Rukmuddin had no choice but to take responsibility of his family. He started doing menial jobs but his earnings were never sufficient.

He has 2 buffalos at home and sells the milk in local shops. In his last job as a water tanker When he approached the HWF for support through the local coordinator it was difficult to design a project for him as he was unskilled. However, he had a small piece of land at the roadside. Therefore, a small grocery shop was set up and initial stocks were filled. Now Rukmuddin earns an average of Rs. 350-400 per day which is more than twice his earlier wages.

“I was struggling with low and irregular or at times no income at all. My wages were threatened by the availability of work. Since the HWF opened this shop I have a source of regular income which brought certain peace in my life.” Rukmuddin

From Hardship to Happiness: A Barber’s Tale of Success and Hope

Kaptan, 34, has been a barber for 12 years. It was both a necessity and an occupation associated with caste. He is a school dropout and got married in his late teens. His wife Anisha was in her mid-teens.

Teenage marriage is a common practice in Mewat district. Now he has the responsibility of looking after his wife and children. “After marriage, I had to earn; I couldn’t do anything as I was not educated, and this is our family occupation,” says Kaptan.

He ran his salon in a rented shop in Shikrawa. Life was dragging on with meager earnings, which worsened with the imposition of lockdown when his shop was closed. His financial condition deteriorated, and he struggled to meet his daily needs. During this period of financial hardship and mental distress, our Model Village Coordinator from Shikrawa introduced him to the Human Welfare Foundation.

The HWF, under its livelihood project, helped Kaptan set up a barbershop. All the basic equipment and essentials were provided by the HWF. As his shop was standardized with bigger mirrors and modern equipment, he attracted an increased number of customers.

Kaptan shared that “For the first few days, I got a good deal of customers that I could barely keep up with; the earnings were beyond expectations.”

Cultivating An Entrepreneurial Mindset

In post-covid time, the Indian economy went through an invisible epidemic of unemployment crisis and job shortage. Afeef Saifuddin Asre also lost his employment as his woodcarving unit remained shut during this period. In the pre-covid time, he provided jobs to three skilled workers in his workshop in Chiplun, Ratnagiri. Around five families depended on this workshop as it was their only livelihood source.

Two years after the pandemic Mr. Asre approached the HWF for financial support to restart his business. Mr. Asre inherited this workshop and skills from his family and thus had a clear strategy and training for expansion but lacked capital. He presented his idea and proposal to the HWF team. After a detailed feasibility study and need assessment the HWF supported him by providing CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) Machine to modernize the carving work.

Asre shares that when his father retired from the workshop, the earning responsibility fell on his shoulder. He has aging parents, wife and two children, and 4 school-going siblings to look after. The woodcarving shop was their only source of income. As it remained shut for a long time all savings were spent. Distressed Asre approached the HWF for livelihood support to restart his workshop. He needed a CNC machine to be competitive in the market. The HWF supported him as there was potential for regeneration of employment through the workshop.

The CNC machine has given Asre an edge over market competitors. Asre shares that due to the new machine he is able to make affordable products and deliver on time with good finishing touch. As a result, customer footfall has increased in his shop. As demand and profit grew, he now employs three salaried carpenters and four wage workers. Additionally, he has started giving training to local carpenters in in-house workshops on the machine.

A ‘Tailor-Made’ Success Story

Hailing from the Khairabad block of Sitapur district, Sufiyan always harbored a dream of starting a business of his own. He learned the craft of tailoring from his father, now aging and ailing. A 10th standard dropped out, Sufiyan grew up watching his father design and stitch clothes for local suppliers. Education was not his fate.

As he had the responsibility of his aging parents and younger siblings. Like his father, he also started working for the suppliers. He had two basic machines on which he worked for suppliers on an order base model. Khairabad which is a hub of household garment manufacturing can provide market opportunities too. Skilled Sufiyan understood the market dynamics and supply chain of the cloth business. He wanted to establish his own small business but lacked resources. The HWF helped him set up his own production unit providing required equipment like commercial machines, design dye, heat press, and small assistance for raw material procurement.

With HWF’s help, he started the manufacturing unit for shirts. His younger brother joined him in the business taking care of the sales aspect. He has employed three tailors on a salary and two helpers on a wage basis. Sufiyan says that “the help from the HWF has transformed my life as my dream to start own business actualized which otherwise looked beyond my capacity.”