The Museum of Digital Society: A Living Archive of Digital Inclusion
Yashoda Devi is 71 years old. A resident of Parsa village in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, she lost her husband at the age of 40. Since then, she has had the sole responsibility of raising her eight children. Wages in Barabanki are low, and families are big. It’s almost the same story in every household but Yashoda Devi’s age acts as a further disadvantage. However, she has been making ends meet somehow by working in fields or people’s houses. That’s how she has been able to afford her children’s education.
Recently, this 71-year-old woman came to the Baank-e-Loom centre in Saidanpur village of Barabanki district, seeking to learn computers. Baank-e-Loom is an initiative of DEF and Ericsson India to digitally empower the weaver community of Barabanki. The centre also provides free-of-cost computer education to village housewives, senior citizens and young girls.
We have been absolutely amazed by this woman’s sincerity to learn computers at this age. She isn’t sure what direct and immediate benefits it will get her, but she’s taking her classes every day. She says, “Learning computers at this age is like holding a candle in the dark.” That’s not it; she’s even been encouraging other women in her village to enroll for digital literacy classes.
Then there is 40-year-old Vijaya who is one of the most regular students. She loves to practice writing her name in English on Microsoft Word.
Like most of rural India, women in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, find it hard to take a break from household chores and step out of their houses into public spaces for various social and financial reasons. To tackle this problem, the Baank-e-Loom team has initiated all-women’s classes in Parsa and Chaukhandi villages of the district. More than 50 women are enrolled for classes at the interest, and their enthusiasm can be matched to that of a 12 year old’s.
Meanwhile, Saidanpur village women are known for their inherent skills to create beautiful embroidery patterns. Women beautify their homes by embroidering on bed sheets, pillow covers, table covers and anything they can lay their hands on. And so, in January, we identified five women to join the Baank-e-Loom project to add splendor to hand-woven products. To improve and improvise her skills, 18-year-old Fehmeen is even learning the lazy daisy stitch by watching videos on YouTube.
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