Mr. Elbanson Tangsang put his whole heart and soul into a 75-day-training program at Don Bosco Tech Society (Shillong) in the Sales Associate domain in pursuit of a stable job. His hard work bore fruit and now happy go lucky is currently working at Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., Pantaloons (Chennai). He is earning a salary of Rs 11,000 a month.

Mr. Tangsang is a resident of Umlyngkdait, a small village in Ri Bhoi District, about 13.7 km away from the district headquarters (Nongpoh, Meghalaya). Umlyngkdait is one of those villages where education is not easily accessible. People, over there are still deprived of having even necessities like potable water and regular electricity. It is also one of those villages which lacks basic amenities and infrastructure like road, communication, etc. He was born on March 19, 1994, to a poverty-stricken family. His life has been full of ups and downs since birth. Raised by his single mother, she could not pay much attention to her children as she had to toggle between time to earn and care for her children in the family. The intervention of his grandmother materialized his dream of going back to school once again where he spent much of his time.

Mr. Tangsang shifted his stay with his grandmother where he completed his SSLC from Oasis Secondary School in the year 2012. Coming from a broken family, the mother is the breadwinner he grew up untamed. This was seen in him as a naughty boy and got him in trouble many times. His grandmother though old was worried about his future and wellbeing. After his matriculation in 2012, he was unwilling to study further even after his grandmother’s encouragement and support. Being aware of the financial situation at home he didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. He then went for doing some menial jobs just to get some money to drink and smoke. His grandmother’s concern kept going high for him day by day.

In the year 2017, he came to know about the free skill training program at Don Bosco Tech Society from his friends who were part of the mobilization program. Soon he got himself registered for the program through them. He was called to the training center for counseling and he found the retail domain interesting and also according to his aptitude. He enrolled for the course in Retail Sales under the Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya (SHCDM) Project. This is where his journey with Don Bosco Tech began.

During the training, he never missed the classes and fulfilled all the requirements of the skill training. In the initial stages of the training, he showed his mischievous behaviors to fellow trainees and trainers. But classes on soft skills and the constant guidance of the trainers helped him overcome these bad behaviors and habits.

On completion of his training program, he had to attend some rounds of interviews in Guwahati. He was very nervous at first, as he never attended an interview before. Keeping in mind that he can’t let this chance just go off and faced the interview with courage and determination. His determination and dedication resulted in getting selected for the job. His new journey in the field of the retail sector started with Khadim India (Bangalore) where he earned a monthly salary of Rs. 8,500 with free accommodation. He worked here for a year before shifting to Pantaloons (Chennai) where he is working until this report was being prepared.

“This training has not only given me a job to support myself and my family but has transformed me to be a better person, the person I thought I’d never been. This platform has allowed me to experience the tender loving kindness of my teachers and fellow trainees, as I lacked while I was growing up. When I look back, I realized I have changed. Seeing me transformed my grandmother is very proud. It would have been a herculean task getting a decent job on my own, had there be no intervention of Don Bosco Tech in my life. I am forever indebted to my trainers and above all to the Don Bosco Tech Society. Thank you so much for this opportunity and for giving me a new life. The memory of Don Bosco Tech’s pivotal role in my transformation will always reverberate in my heart until my last breath,” said Elbanson with gratitude.