Financial literacy workshop for potters of Maloya by Enactus team of Panjab University

Chandigarh, February 5, 2023: Enactus SSBUICET is a non-profit organization consisting of students who are dedicated towards one single objective: raising public awareness of societal issues and assisting neglected and underprivileged communities in standing on their own feet. The team puts a lot of efforts into educating and raising awareness in these communities on various important topics including Financial Literacy, Health & Nutrition and Menstrual Hygiene, conveyed Prof. Seema Kapoor, Faculty advisor of Enactus team. Prof. Kapoor said that financial literacy enables one to better prepare for particular financial obstacles, which, in turn, lowers the likelihood of experiencing personal financial difficulty.

A potter's village in Maloya serves as the base for Project Dhra of Enactus team. By substituting single-use plastic with clay-based goods, the project seeks to both reduce plastic pollution and resuscitate India's ailing handicrafts industry, said Preet Kanwal, President of Enactus team.

With the aim of making the underprivileged potter community in Maloya more financially sound, a Financial Literacy workshop was organised, which was attended by around 75 members of the potter families, conveyed Leeza Phogat, Finance Head of Enactus team. The eminent speaker for the workshop was Dr. Monika Aggarwal, an Associate professor of Commerce at PGGC 11. She is a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) empanelled resource person to impart financial literacy. Her informative lecture revolved around how the families can achieve financial freedom and avoid wrong investment decisions. She focused on the importance of saving and budgeting. She made the potter community aware of many Government Schemes including Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna and encouraged them to enroll in these schemes. The community people enthusiastically participated in the workshop and raised many queries. The Enactus team helped them in filling the forms for various schemes.
The workshop was a great success all around, as today's culture places a high value on financial literacy because it is necessary for many aspects of daily life, including saving for retirement, taking out loans, and budgeting, conveyed Ainesh, Vice President.

After the workshop was over, reusable cloth based sanitary pads made under Project Uday of Enactus team and CSR project Amodini of Versatile Group, Ludhiana were also distributed among 35 menstruating women and girls. These ladies were also made aware of the benefits of using these napkins and were asked to give their feedback to the team after usage. These sanitary napkins were sponsored by an alumnus of Dr. SSB University Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Panjab University, conveyed Mridul Sharma, Project head.  Refreshments were also served to the community members after the workshop. 

Enactus team has been working with utmost zeal for promoting the products made under Project Dhra, said Preet. From putting up a stall in Institute of Home Economics, Delhi to promoting Dhra in Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College in January 2023, the team has left no stone unturned in helping the community become self-sufficient and financially stable, said Aftab Ali, Content head, Team Enactus.