Regina Maram and the ‘beauty’ of equipping youths with skills

Esther Verma
Dimapur, June 8 (EMN): As unemployment is witnessing extremity in the Northeast region, many young people between the ages 15 and 25 are straying towards addictive and abusive habits. This is represented in the growing number of school drop-outs in the region.

This was where Regina Pamma Maram from Maram Khullen village in Manipur decided to dedicate her life to shaping and guiding these breed of young, unemployed youths of the region.

Regina, a former beautician and hair stylist at Bangalore’s plush Lakme Beauty Salon, has been training and mentoring over 800 youths over the past seven years at Dimapur’s Don Bosco Tech at the Anma Integrated Development Association (AIDA) in the beauty and wellness section of it.

Maram informed that most of the students are either drop-outs or educated but unemployed and hailing from different states of the Northeast. “Most of the trainees come from broken families, are either drop-outs or just basically unemployed even though they have a degree,” she said.

“It is reported that nearly 31 million Indians are jobless, out of which a huge percentage is from the Northeast,” she informed when asked about job opportunities in a hard hitting economy.

Maram, while creating a close meaningful connection with students, said it was also important to keep updated with pastors and GBs or heads of villages in the states as mobilisation is done in the rural areas more often.

“We go to villages and meet with pastors, GBs, or village heads to sensitise and hold awareness programmes so that we can be trusted in helping the young people,” she said.

Everybody always hears about the ‘troubled path’ a young person may take or any negative habit one might pick up which can lead to self destruction. For Maram though, she says that the youths need to keep busy to not succumb to bad habits. “I am so happy to see my students who have overcome their bad habits such as chewing and smoking tobacco to drinking during their training period,” she proudly said.

Further, Maram said that every time her graduated students call to show appreciation for her guidance and support, she feels “contended and encouraged” to carry on in the field.

“I get inner satisfaction knowing that they are doing well in life,” she said adding that 16 of her students are already working abroad earning up to INR 2 lakh a month. “I can see the fruits bearing,” she beamed.

Maram also informed that even though she has a degree in Sociology, it did not open doors especially in the job arena. “Only after my skill development course plenty of job opportunities came my way,” she said.

“People have a misconception about working outside in hotels or the beauty industry in terms of safety but we must all know that it is not the place but it is one’s discipline that matters which will not create situations,” she said when asked about the perceived racial discrimination youths from the Northeast face in mainland India.

The new batch for the programme begins on July 15 which is available for free. Apart from the beauty and wellness course which includes body treatments, basic hair care, basic and advanced make up, others such as hospitality and food and beverage courses are also taught.