Arul Mary

Don Bosco Non-Formal Technical Training Institute
Lalpahar, Chouldhari, Port Blair - 744103, Andamans

Arul Mary hails from a small village called Saithankadi in South Andamans and has a family of five members including her mother, 2 brothers and one sister. Her father passed away a few years back and her sister is married off. She now lives with her mother and 2 brothers. Her mother works in a rubber estate and has a meager income. The elder brother is married and has bought a jeep on loan and drives to earn a living. Being married, he looks after mainly his own family. The younger brother works at the Don Bosco Institute, as the Instructor for 2 wheeler vehicles. His salary is the main source of income for the survival of the family, since their mother is a daily ¬wager and as such is not a regular source of income.

Arul Mary had only minimum education and used to work in the rubber estate depending on the availability of work. The Don Bosco Non-Formal Technical Training Institute, which was started in the year 2006 for helping the tsunami affected people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, came to her aid as she joined the institute for a course on Food Processing which lasted for 3¬months. After finishing her course at the Institute she got her certificate but then she faced the difficulty of what to do next and how to do. Once again, the Institute extended its hands to help her as well as all those who passed together with her by setting up Sales Centers in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also in Chennai to market the products that the trained students prepared. She was also encouraged by the Institute to start up her own small venture for which initially, money was advanced to her from the Institute which were later refunded when she got money through the sales of her products.

Institute run, Boys’ and Girls’ Hostel also order food items prepared by Arul on a regular basis. In this way, she has been successful in earning an average of Rs 2000/- every week. Deducting all the expenditure, she is able to save at least Rs. 1000/- per week.

She accredits all her success to the Don Bosco Institute.