Our People
Meet the team
Mohan Rathod & Maruti Chauhan
As children, we watched our mothers, Kamli and Jayna, struggle to support our families on the trifling wages they earned as day labourers. We’ve seen women in our communities driven to acts of desperation by abject poverty. Inspired by our mothers’ grit and determination, we decided to champion the cause of women’s empowerment, to present women from our community with opportunities our mothers never had. To this end, we founded Hamari Silai, in 2020, along with another friend, Dhanaraj Chauhan.
Changemakers
Priyanka Kale
Consultant
With a Master’s in social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and 10 years of experience with non-profits, Priyanka has been an invaluable source of support. Right from inception, she has supported Hamari Silai with everything we needed, from the documentation to the curriculum.
Shiv Kumar
Master trainer
An expert craftsman, Shiv takes Hamari Silai’s most promising candidates under his wing and teaches them the skills required to not only create high-quality garments, but also to pass their knowledge and expertise on to the next batch.
Manisha Rathod
Trainer
One of the first women to sample our programme, Manisha was so impressed with its transformative power that she joined forces with us in 2020. Now this OG HSF graduate trains others.
Kashi Chauhan
Trainer
Kashi joined our programme in 2020, driven in part by curiosity but mostly by the determination to support her family which was really struggling at the time. You’ll find her story told in greater detail elsewhere on this website. But now, Kashi is changing the stories of over 30 others like her, who have come to understand what it truly means to be financially independent.
Jyoti Chavhan
Trainer
Jyoti participated in our programme in 2022 and swiftly acquired the necessary skills to become a trainer herself. Currently, she leads a team of 30 women and earns a stable monthly income, significantly improving her quality of life. Rather than toiling for hours under the scorching sun at Sassoon Dock, Jyoti now spends her days helping others like her to achieve economic empowerment.
Sangeeta Pawar
Trainer
Hamari Silai’s Karnataka chapter was launched in 2021 and Sangeeta came on board at that time. With over a decade of experience in tailoring, she started immediately as a trainer – and she has, since, helped change the lives and fortunes of so many women by passing down
her skills.
Pallavi Kumari
Admin
Since joining us in 2022, Pallavi has been an indispensable member of our team, expertly maintaining our data and efficiently filling out enrolment forms. We would be lost without her contributions.
Shankar Pawar
Grassroots mobiliser
Shankar does yeoman’s work for HSF, visiting community members, spreading awareness about our work and the world of possibilities HSF has unlocked for women. He also helps with the paperwork and with all the support we need to enrol candidates in our programme in Yadgir, Karnataka.
Advisory Board
Nisha Savara
Marketing, branding and business development strategy
Nisha has over 12 years of marketing experience in Mumbai. Her guidance has been invaluable.
Anjana Vaswani
Content
A journalist with over 20 years of experience, Anjana lends us her time and the resources of her team at Mumbai-based content solutions firm, Uppercase.
Our Partners
TOGETHER, WE CAN DO MORE
By supporting our organisation, you will help women from disadvantaged backgrounds to establish a source of income, enhance their skills and build a supportive sisterhood.
