POKHARA: A team comprising 21 women from the District Prison, Kaski is elated to be a part of ongoing coking-baking course organized by the Pokhara Vocational Women Club.

They hope that the course will be helpful for self-sufficiency after they get released.

Sanju KC ( name change), 42, from Nawalparasi, who has been in police detention on the case of economic transactions dispute since the past three months, said she assessed it as an opportunity to learn life skills and would apply it in her life once the case is settled down. “Now I am confident that I could be self-employed through the skills I learnt from the training.”

Sharmila Sharma (name change) who is serving a year jail-term has already made her mind to explore ways for self-sufficiency through the skills she learnt from the training session once she is freed.  “Pokhara is a touristic town and I believe the skills I am learning here would help me for seeking a better livelihood in the future.”

Training facilitator Jhanka Dhakal said he found the participants very enthusiastic. “It seems that this training meets their interests.”  During a 45-day session, the participants will know about the recipe for over 45 items and apply them, according to him.  It is believed that it will empower them with vocational skills, he added.

Prison’s information officer Jhankanath Poudel said inmates and detainees here were being involved in creative and life skills activities so that they could stay away from frustration and depression they may experience during the confinement life.

The prison presently houses 831 inmates and detainees: 39 females, 792 males and three dependent children, more than its capacity for 420.