A ConneXions Artisan Story

She Always Had the Talent. She Just Needed to Be Shown It

Sometimes the most meaningful gift one person can give another is not money, or opportunity, or even kindness — it is recognition. The simple act of someone seeing a talent in you that you did not fully know was there. For Reena Nasker, that gift came from ConneXions, and it changed not just her income, but the way she sees herself.

Reena will tell you, simply and warmly, that ConneXions helped her recognise her talent for crafts. It sounds like such a small sentence. But behind it sits years of quiet growth, hard work, and a joy that she had perhaps never expected to find in her working life.

A Housewife Looking to Do More

Before ConneXions, Reena was simply a housewife — a role that carries its own quiet labour, even if it is rarely paid or fully recognised. But like so many women in her position, Reena knew that her family needed more than what her husband’s income alone could provide. His earnings were not enough to properly support the family, and that gap had to be filled somehow.

In 2015, she joined ConneXions and began working in blanket production. It was honest, steady work — the kind that asks for patience and care, and gives back a fair day’s wage in return. For Reena, it was the beginning of something that would grow into far more than just a paycheck.

A New Craft, A New Confidence

Two years later, in 2017, Reena took on something new. She underwent training in card production, learning the delicate, detailed work that goes into making each card by hand. It was a shift that asked more of her — more precision, more creativity, more of her own personal touch.

And she rose to meet it, beautifully. Today, Reena is one of ConneXions’ card sample makers — a role that requires real skill and a trusted eye, since sample makers set the standard that the rest of the work is measured against. It is not a small responsibility, and it is not given lightly.

An Income That Means Her Son’s Education

The money Reena earns through her work is not abstract. It has a name and a face — her son, whose education she is able to support because of the income she now brings home. For a mother, there is perhaps no greater motivation, and no greater source of pride, than knowing your work directly opens doors for your child’s future.

Her income has made a real and lasting difference to their family life. The gap her husband’s earnings alone could not close has been filled — not through charity, not through luck, but through Reena’s own steady hands and growing skill.

“ConneXions helps me recognise my talent for crafts, and that brings me joy.”

— Reena Nasker

Joy Is Not a Small Outcome

It would be easy to measure Reena’s story only in numbers — the year she joined, the year she trained, the income that now supports her son’s schooling. And those numbers matter. But what stays with you most, listening to Reena, is the joy in her voice when she talks about her craft.

So many women spend years, even decades, never discovering what they are truly good at — simply because life never gave them the chance to find out. Reena was given that chance. And what she found was a genuine talent, one that had perhaps always been there, quietly waiting.

Today, when Reena shapes a sample card with her own hands, she is not just completing a task. She is doing something she is good at, something that brings her joy, something that supports the people she loves most. That combination — skill, joy, and purpose, all in one place — is a rare and beautiful thing to find in any working life.

ConneXions is a social enterprise based in Kolkata, India, empowering women from slum communities through dignified work and skills training.

www.connexions.org.in