Priya Devi

Priya grew up watching her mother stitch salwar suits on a borrowed machine at their one-room home in Dharavi. By age fourteen she could run a straight seam without a guide. By eighteen she was altering neighbours' clothes for a few rupees, slipping cash under the kitchen dal tin so her father wouldn't spend it. When she married at twenty-two and moved across the lane, the machine stayed behind.

Her husband drives an autorickshaw from 5 AM to midnight. On days the rains ground the city, there is no income. Their daughter Aashi is two years old. Priya wants to set up a small tailoring unit from their single room — school uniforms, blouse alterations, festival orders. She has already spoken to three schools in the colony about a contract. All she needs is a machine and the Skillinabox certification to show them she is trained.

She applied to GiftASkill after seeing a poster at her daughter's anganwadi. She filled the form on her neighbour's phone because her own couldn't load the page. When our counsellor called her back, the first thing she said was — 'Main kab shuru kar sakti hoon?' (When can I start?) Her training kit is packed and waiting. Eight days remain on her campaign. Help her pick up her needle again.