Who We Are

We are Girl Up Apara, a student-led chapter of the global Girl Up UN Foundation, based at Chirec International School in Hyderabad. Our team is led by Lasya Penumalli, Aanya Reddy, Sanvi Patchigolla, and Dhanya Prasad. We are all 12th-grade students who have grown up in Hyderabad and are deeply committed to supporting women’s empowerment in the communities around us.

Recently, our team travelled to Sahara Foundation in Amberpet, Hyderabad, to speak with over 30 women. Sahara Foundation was founded in 1986 to serve the underprivileged and socially victimized sections of society. These conversations brought us closer to the reality of the barriers these women face and the urgency of creating solutions that are practical, respectful, and lasting.

Through Girl Up Apara, we’ve led menstrual hygiene drives for over 2,000 women and girls and hosted self-defense workshops to help adolescent girls feel safer and more confident. But this initiative takes our mission further. We’re combining economic tools with skill-building and long-term support to help women start micro-businesses and regain control over their lives.

Providing a sewing machine may seem small, but for many women, it’s the start of something transformative: income, independence, and dignity. This campaign reflects everything we believe in at Girl Up Apara. Our mission has always been to uplift women through support and empowerment—and this campaign is a tangible, impactful extension of that vision.

The Problem

In many parts of Telangana, women, despite being resourceful, resilient, and ready to work, are denied the basic tools to start their own income-generating activities. When we visited Sahara Foundation in Amberpet, we spoke directly with over 30 women. They told us their stories and their dreams for themselves and their families.

Yet across India, the odds are stacked against them. According to UN Women, nearly 70 percent of women in India remain outside the labor force, largely due to structural barriers like unpaid care responsibilities, lack of access to capital, and limited livelihood opportunities. Without financial tools or training, women are often trapped in cycles of poverty despite their willingness to work.

Programs that only provide training without tools, or tools without long-term support, often fail to create lasting change. What these women need is a complete support system that enables them to start earning, sustain their progress, and grow their independence over time.

The Solution
We want to change that.

This campaign will fund 32 high-quality sewing machines along with starter kits (threads, needles, fabric) and basic tailoring workshops conducted in partnership with Sayodhya Foundation. These machines will be distributed through trusted partners like Sahara and Shine Foundation.

But we’re not stopping at equipment.

We’re also building bridges to sustainability:

• A digital marketplace to showcase and sell products

• Community-based trainers who understand local needs

• Support to access local markets and cooperatives

• Ongoing mentoring and follow-up and interviews to tell their stories forward 

This approach ensures women can start earning from Day One and scale their businesses with dignity.

We believe in the power of economic independence as a catalyst for long-term empowerment, especially for women who have been marginalized or denied opportunities. Providing sewing machines is more than a material donation—it’s a step toward financial self-reliance, dignity, and long-term sustainability.

Who We’re Helping

The women we’re reaching are often heads of households, caretakers, and pillars of their communities, but they’ve never been given the resources to lead. This project is about more than livelihoods. It’s about agency. About reclaiming control over their time, their income, and their future.

With the right support, these women can become entrepreneurs—not just for their families, but for their villages.

Every week delayed is income lost. Every machine not delivered is another woman left behind.

What Comes Next - Turning Local Action into National Impact

After this campaign, we aim to grow Girl Up Apara into a rural women’s entrepreneurship accelerator.

We want to move beyond starter kits to build a holistic ecosystem—helping women sustain and scale their businesses through market access, digital tools, and financial literacy. Our goal is to create a strong network of women entrepreneurs who support each other and reshape their communities.

We’ll launch an Apara Marketplace Platform, a website and app where women can sell their products. Like “Meesho for cottage industries,” it will integrate with Instagram, WhatsApp, and regional languages. Each product will feature stories to connect emotionally with buyers.

Regional Apara Hubs and mobile vans will bring training, raw materials, and pop-up sales directly to villages. Women will learn tailoring, block printing, digital marketing, and more—while mobile units handle distribution and outreach.

To scale reach, we’ll partner with Amazon Saheli, Flipkart Samarth, and fair-trade retailers. An Apara Co-op Brand will unify packaging and marketing, reducing individual costs and boosting recognition. QR codes will link buyers to the women behind the products.

Mentorship and financial literacy will be key. Women will be paired with college students and trained in budgeting and microfinance. We’ll help open zero-balance business accounts to promote financial inclusion.

We’ll host Apara Bazaars in cities and train women in public speaking and market negotiation. Certification will boost credibility and access to local tenders.

Finally, we’ll document success stories to inspire support and scale nationally. Each woman’s journey—toward income, education, and independence—will be shared to build trust, funding, and momentum.