Our Flagship Mentorship Program

A while back, I had an idea that stayed with me. I kept thinking about how change usually flows one way, from people with access to people without it. But what if that did not always have to be the case? What if people from underprivileged communities could be empowered to help others like them?

That thought shaped what Workers of India is slowly becoming.

A few weeks ago, I reached out to a young woman from an underprivileged background who I felt had the potential to become a mentor in her own community. When we met, we spoke about the everyday challenges faced by workers around her and how little information they often have about their rights and available welfare.

During our meeting, I introduced her to the Workers of India booklet and explained the e-Shram registration process in detail. We discussed why the e-Shram card matters, how it provides workers with an official identity, and how it helps them access social security schemes. I made sure she understood the process well enough to confidently explain it to others.

After our meeting, she returned to her local community with the booklet. Through her efforts, she was able to connect with 10 different workers and guide them through the information. This allowed me to reach 10 more people that I normally would not have been able to access on my own.

This experience reinforced something important for me. Real and sustainable impact does not come from one person doing everything. It comes from enabling people within communities to lead change themselves.

This is only the first step. Going forward, I plan to expand this idea by creating a group of mentors who can take this knowledge back to their own communities. By building a network of such mentors, Workers of India can reach further, faster, and in a way that is rooted in trust and lived experience.

This is just the beginning.