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6 | CSR TIMES| DECEMBER 2013

Situated on the banks ofriver Tandula, my villageKhalari in Balod district ofChhattisgarh which hasone college and health

centre offers very little opportunity tothe youth. As I shared this with themobiliser from IL&FS Skills, who lis-

tened to me intently and quicklyenough took me through an entry gateassessment test, he asked me if Iwould like to join a vocational trainingprogramme. Offered at the world-classtraining facility of Vedanta IL&FSInstitute of Skills (V-IIS) at Korba, thisprogramme will impart skills, give me acertificate on successful completionand help me get my first decent job. Myeyes lit up with joy and I nodded myhead to say yes. Thus began my jour-

INITIATIVE

MY NAME ISSALIK THAKUR

& I AM SKILLED

Walking towards therozgar rath to registermyself for a training pro-gramme linked to a job, Ithought about the day Ihad to dropout of schoolto start working as a dai-ly wage worker. For a 20-year-old boy who dreamt

of wearing a tie to officeand handling customerswith a smile, life as anopen market labourerwas frustrating and chal-lenging in equal measure.

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