Internationally recognized Ambekar Institute for Labour Studies offered an opportunity to Shaila Limaye through INTUC, a national level labour union, to attend a course on Management of Small-Scale Businesses in Israel. She had the opportunity to conceptualize and present her Project SECOW - Self Employment by Cooperation of Women during her training at 'Histadrut' in Israel. This project was very well received. SECOW was undertaken by MMCT to test the validity of concepts of SECOW in practice. SECOW was aimed at giving gainful employment to women from underprivileged section of society and thus make them financially independent & confidant.

SECOW is based on following tenets:

1. Women would have the motivation to join such project; commitment and persistence to spare time to take up requisite training from their daily activities, as they would be getting meager monetary compensation for the time spent during training.
2. Skills needed for services as well as management and organization of such project could be imparted to women who have minimal or no formal education.

Initially, the primary goal of MMCT was to provide self-employment avenues to underprivileged women. This included production of handmade, hygienic food products like ghadichi poli (traditional Maharashtrian soft chapati), dry chutneys and pickles, as well as cloth and jute utility products with or without embroidery. MMCT trained these women to produce on commercial basis to generate income. Over the years, our 'maitrins' have emerged as able and confident women.

With the experience of working in this sector, MMCT identified an urgent need to give educational support to younger generations of girls. It was noted that rural students are at a big disadvantage as they cannot easily avail the facilities available to urban students. MMCT wants to change that. It wants to help them explore various opportunities and come at par with their urban peers at an early age. We believe that a sound and strong education is of prime importance to girls from economically weaker section for their sustenance and progress.

The Trust launched Project Pandita with this view in mind in 2017. We have successfully completed two years of this project. The first batch of 30 girls from 8th standard is now in 10th standard, and last year's batch of 8th standard is the current 9th standard batch. This year a new batch of 8th standard has been added. Thus, a total of 90 girls from Sant Jijabai Kanyashala, Dehu will get special coaching through Project Pandita.We are about to start the 3rd year of the Project, for which we need sponsors.

The main aim of this project is to provide the girls with extra coaching for a strong foundation in Maths, Science and English. Through these coaching lessons, the fundamental concepts of the students are refined and they are equipped to make use of this basic knowledge for further practice, analysis and application.

We have also noticed that the socio-economic environment of these students is neither conducive nor encouraging for educational accomplishments. Also, they are not aware of contemporary developments and opportunities for girls in terms of education and professional careers. We try to expose these students to various career opportunities so that they see how academic success can eventually lead to a financially secure future through stable and better jobs.

Majhi Maitrin Charitable Trust is a multi-faceted, sensitive and socially pro-active organization for the betterment of women.

"Financial and social-emotional security are only two of the many facets of a successful life, but adding values and substance to this evolvement requires cultural uplift" says Shaila Limaye. Towards this end, MMCT organizes thought-provoking debates and seminars on current social issues. It runs a free library for senior citizens in cooperation with Kusumagraj Pratishthan. It has instituted the Suhasini Karandak award, which is presented to amateur women actors for one-act plays.

Programs with NALSA are undertaken to spread awareness of the laws and legal resources available to women. Through such activities, MMCT has developed a strong group which meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month for a series of activities such as book discussions, talks by eminent personalities to share their experiences as well as entertainment and music programs.

MMCT recognizes the noteworthy work of other NGOs and felicitates them through a prestigious award named after the legendary woman reformer from Maharashtra, Pandita Ramabai.

Readers are welcome to donate to Majhi Maitrin Charitable Trust. Donations are eligible for benefits under Section 80G of the Income-tax Act.