Zahida Parveen is a 47-year-old widow living in Baldia Town, Karachi. She has a primary education and is the mother of five children. After the passing of her husband, Ghaffar Ahmed, who was an employee and now receives a pension of PKR 20,000, Zahida became the main support for her family. She works as a home-based stitching worker, trying to make ends meet through her skills. Managing the household on her own while raising five children has been extremely challenging. Zahida shared that it was very hard to handle home responsibilities and stitching work together, especially during the busy seasons. Despite putting in a lot of effort, customers paid very little, and her income was too low to meet the growing needs of her family. She also had limited access to customers, selling only within her own neighborhood, and didn’t have the confidence or knowledge to expand her business. With the support of UNDP and HomeNet Pakistan (HNP), Zahida enrolled in a vocational training program where she learned basic stitching and fabric designing. Her training fee and transport expenses were fully covered, and she received a travel allowance through a cash app, which helped her build confidence in handling money and using digital tools. Before joining the course, Zahida earned around PKR 8,000 per month. However, after completing the training, she became a certified professional with better stitching skills and a deeper understanding of marketing, business management, and online selling. She improved the quality of her work, attracted new customers, and even started selling her products online. This helped increase her monthly income to around PKR 15,000 to 18,000, depending on the season and demand. Zahida now feels more empowered and confident. She is determined to continue learning and hopes to take a computer course, like Microsoft Office, in the future with HNP’s support. Her goal is to become more financially stable, continue supporting her children’s education and needs, and build a secure and independent life for her family.