ഇതര സംസ്ഥാന തൊഴിലാളികളുടെ ഭാര്യമാര്‍ക്കായി കുടുംബശ്രീയുടെ ആദ്യ അയല്‍ക്കൂട്ടം എറണാകുളത്ത് രൂപീകരിച്ചു

From now onwards wives of Migrant Labourers will also become the part of Kudumbashree Mission. The first of its kind Neighbourhood  Group, exclusively for the wives of migrant labourers was launched at Edayar, an industrial area in Kochi. The NHG came into being during  March 2018 when Kudumbashree’s Kadungalloor Community Development Society (CDS) registered the NHG as Mahalakshmi NHG. The group consists of 16 house wives who hails from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They had undergone a 32 day stitching training under Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission and  would soon set up two stitching units. The units would be registered as startup micro enterprises named Bismillah and Lakshmi.

The NHG came into being as a means to draw the children of migrant labourers in the region to the Government High School, Binanipuram, where the District Administration of Ernakulam piloted a project named Roshni, to bypass the language barrier to educate these children. As it was found to be good to train their mothers in stitching, which could then be turned into a livelihood opportunity, a training programme was organised for them, even though language was a main barrier in training the women. 

The group of 16 received their certificates in basic tailoring on 20 June 2018. Smt. Abida Khatum, hailing from Bihar is the President of the NHG and Bismillah startup unit. Most of them were doing household chores till then. They are looking forward to support their families better and also plans to attract more housewives to join the group. Kudumbashree District Mission of Ernakulam is confident of empowering them and making positive strides in inclusiveness.