With women stepping out of their familial zone and taking up career options like never before, migration to new cities is a frequent thing in the lives of the new age women and girls.
A new city comes with its challenges like secure housing, travel, food and to top it all, the emotional upheavals of being alone.
This gap was recognized by few well meaning citizens, who had their daughters face similar issues while migrating to new cities and countries. The patrons then decided to start a movement towards alleviating such fears and called it Sissaheli.com, an acronym for Sister Sahelis.
Since the launch in Pune, three months ago, by Girija Nair, Founder and Ceo of startupmentor.co.in, the calls for help to settle in Pune in the form of a job or a staying option or emotional counseling went up. Few events were organized and the response began trickling in.
"The observation while I spoke to most of the registrations, around 480 odd, was that, more than anything else, the knowledge of being part of a verified and safe network, gives a massive boost to the decision of coming to a new city alone. To encourage interactions, we have formed Whatsapp groups, organized dinners, movies and outings. We have plan for many more," says, Girija Nair. Further, she adds, "My core business is to mentor startups, but of all of them, Sissaheli is close to my heart, as I experienced similar issues when I migrated to Pune 5 years ago and my daughter migrated to Australia, three years ago. I, could therefore, relate very easily with the intention and objective of Sissaheli."
Some members were gracious enough to allow us to be quoted.
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22 year old Priyanka says, "I am an engineering graduate, fresh out of college and was seeking a good start to my career. Sissaheli gave me my first break and a great one too. I am no longer alone!"
Jyoti, 26, a first time entrepreneur says, "For me, meeting such focused group of career minded women, was a complete joy! For an entrepreneur like me, the Sissaheli network is a boon!"
Divya, an IT professional, says, "I joined Sissaheli initially because I was new to Pune and did not have many friends. I was amazed to see the quality of women in the network! I am not alone, clearly. I found some very good friends here."
The network has its processes of verification, post which introductions are allowed and adhoc events as is the wish of the network are created. Thus creating a Family for all.
Sissaheli plans to introduce women's hostel, secure Cab network, Emotional counseling's, placements and events like dinner, movies, outings etc in the future.