I am Nisha Shreedhar Dasame. I got a scholarship for C-DAC Course from Cybage in February. I completed my course in January, and it makes me very happy to tell you that I got a first-class in the exam. I got a job in CDAC R&D on the very first day the placement activity started. I want to say Thank you very much to the Cybage Team for supporting me for the last 4 years and building my confidence and giving a good start to my career. Without you, this would not have been possible. Thank you very much

Ayesha is a student of Nutan Madhyamik Vidyalaya and resides in Shinde Vasti. Her father works in a private company in a clerical post and is the sole earning member of the family. Ayesha wanted to learn about digital devices. Coming from an underprivileged background, she never got an opportunity to do so. But by attending the DE course she became well versed in digital platforms. Ayesha learnt that tracking ration is possible online. She is thankful to CybageKhushboo and Pune City Connect for this opportunity to learn new things.

Srushti is a resident of Shukrawar Peth. Her father runs a clothes shop and is the sole earning member of the family. Shrushti wanted to continue her education but due to the financial situation of the household, she could not. She came across a WhatsApp forward for the DE class and contacted the facilitators. Her father’s business had suffered during the lockdown. When she learnt that the DE course offered training on diverse digital topics including online payments and Swayam app, she was motivated to join the course. Srushti learnt about online payment apps that enabled her father to do quick online payments to wholesalers and customers. She also joined the free course for banking and accounting on the Swayam app. With this, she could help her father and participate actively in her father’s business.

Tabassum is a resident of Nana Peth who runs a small photocopy shop. Tabassum’s husband worked in a company in a clerical position but during the lockdown, his income stopped. This made Tabassum the sole earning member running a household of four. She came to know about the course and saw it as an opportunity to learn things online and use the knowledge in her business as well. Tabassum registered on the Maharashtra Government's “Aaple Sarkar” website and applied for the shop act licence for her photocopy shop. She even applied for a shop act licence for one of her customers. She is helping others with this knowledge gained. Tabassum is able to operate digital devices with a lot of confidence now.

Ranjana is an Anganwadi sevika. She has a family of six and, along with her husband, contributes to the income of the household. She did not know about online transactions and faced problems. When she got to know about the DE course and its curriculum, she was motivated to join. In this course, Ranjana learnt how to do online transactions and is now very proficient in this. From being someone who could barely operate a smartphone, Ranjana has become a digitally confident person.

After completing his ITI, Sarjerao worked for a company for a brief period and then started his own business of repairing electronic devices. During the lockdown, Sarjerao’s business suffered for two reasons: 1) customers could not physically approach him, and 2) even when the customers came, payments suffered as cash transactions became erratic. This often led to delayed payments. Sarjerao came to know about the DE course and joined the training to learn something that could help his business during the lockdown. Sarjerao learnt about e-payment apps through which he started receiving payments from his customers immediately. Now, he does not have to wait long for receiving cash payments. Through this course, Sarjerao also learnt that social media can be used for promoting his business. He plans to promote his business through Facebook and WhatsApp very soon which would help in getting online customers.

Preeti is a resident of Hadapsar and is an Anganwadi sevika. She lives with her 2 sons and her husband. She is a student of Kondhwa center. Preeti Joshi, a resident of Hadapsar, is an Anganwadi sevika. She joined the Digital Empowerment Track course because she wanted to learn how to use her smartphone for more important things apart from calling. Preeti is now capable of handling records of her Anganwadi team through excel and online Google sheets and pays her bills online. She also teaches other sevikas what she has learnt from the course. Preeti has started organizing yoga lessons online through zoom meets, and she also wishes to start her own YouTube channel in the future.

My paternal grandparents passed away in trauma, after that my maternal uncle took me and my three sisters to his house at Osmanabad. His financial condition didn't allow him to feed us all, so he admitted us to a government residential school. I secured 88.80% in 10th Std and 78.60% in 12th Std. After that, I could complete my B.Sc. in Nursing only because of the CybageKhushboo scholarship. Considering my disastrous background and excellent academic performance, I was granted a full scholarship. Currently, I am working as a staff nurse in Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital with a salary of Rs.19,500/- per month. I am now playing the role of a parent to my younger sisters and am confident about helping them complete their education. I am grateful to this trust for their unconditional support.

My father is a driver and mother is a housewife. I have three sisters and one brother. I was able to complete my education only because of the CybageKhushboo scholarship. I now work at Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital in the cardiac recovery unit. I know the importance of education, so I started supporting my sisters with their education as well. A sincere thanks to Ritu ma’am and the CSR team for their motivation, inspiration, and continuous support.

My father is a labourer, my mother is a housewife and my brother is studying. I was good at studies but had critical financial issues so could not pay college fees hence teachers had guided me to CybageKhushboo scholarship, which helped me complete my education. Now, I am working in the emergency department of Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital as a staff nurse. I feel proud of this and supporting my family financially. Thanks to Ritu ma’am and the CSR team for helping me financially to complete my education.