As part of the RISE program at the University of Arizona, Sharon Danjuma, a Human Rights Practice student, undertook a three-week field project in May 2024 in Kerala with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality. The initiative focused on supporting the Blossoms Center, a women-led Self-Help Group (SHG) engaged in tailoring and stitching. Upon discovering that the group’s operations had been disrupted by monsoon damage, Sharon redirected her project from business scaling to recovery and capacity building.
She developed a six-week training curriculum on financial literacy, problem-solving, marketing, and digital skills to strengthen women’s entrepreneurial and leadership capacities. The material, refined upon her return to the U.S., is now applied to community development projects in New Orleans.
Her experience illustrates how immersive fieldwork can cultivate resilience, adaptability, and empathy—qualities essential for future women leaders. The women’s collective strength and optimism, despite adversity, offered a powerful lesson in social innovation and inclusive empowerment for all students.
Two other students from the University of Arizona, Don and Donaven, also participated in the program for three-week periods in April and June 2024. They interacted with MSW students and women from the SANKALP project, engaging in similar community initiatives. Both described the experience as transformative—not only for their professional growth but also for their personal development.
