Paramita
My SaathNirbhar Story:
‘It made us antifragile, not resilient!’
With each challenge that Covid-19 added to the complex project of uplifting the lives of children in Kolkata’s red-light areas, Paramita’s NGO Diksha grew stronger. The on-ground efforts of the 15-21 year-old leaders selected by the children and nurtured by Diksha, achieved something phenomenal. No family in the community went without food. No child dropped out of school. No one fell victim to child labour or an early marriage. The competencies developed by the youth brigade helped in paving the way for unprecedented projects, sources of livelihood for the sex workers, and collaborations with other NGOs.
While the story highlights what was done and paints a picture of the reality of that community, what is missing is how did they manage to do this? What drove them to take this action? What support did they get from each other/ their community that made this kind and extent of work possible? What role did Paramita play?
About Paramita
Paramita established Diksha in Kolkata. She is encouraging the children of sex workers to take charge of their own lives in order to make their communities a safe place for them to grow up and live. She does this in order to inspire children and youth to be change agents. During pandemic, Paramita kept a close eye on the situation of the communities living in the red light district. She assisted families in communities by organising ration kits, sharing information on pandemic, and raising vaccine awareness. She describes herself as a "midwife who facilitates the birth of new leaders," rather than a "brand builder." Following that, these leaders create their own brands. Through her own organisation as well as various platforms and networks, Paramita has been actively promoting youth leadership.
