Women

With support, education and training, women are able to play an important role in helping their families and communities to become self-reliant. We help women to stay healthy, develop new skills, stay in education and create alternative income.

Self-Help Groups

A Self-Help Group (SHG) is an unregistered group of micro-entrepreneurs with similar social and economic backgrounds, who voluntarily work together to improve their individual and collective business. The purpose of SHGs is to promote the businesses of women, young adults, and unskilled farm workers. Members save small amounts regularly, with the mutual agreement to contribute to a common fund to meet their emergency needs. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper use of credit and timely repayment of loans.

The Kayal Self-Help Group is a group of women who have set up a micro-business selling prawn pickle. We have helped them to secure finance, set up a small manufacturing and packing facility, and liaise with Government departments to get permits and a site for their mobile shop: this involves purchasing a vehicle and someone from the team to learn to drive the vehicle.

Vocational training

We believe that education is vital for social and economic development. For many reasons it is not always possible for young people, and particularly young women, to complete their school, college or university education. Working closely with Government and with the long-term support of donors, we have developed a vocational training programme, supporting younger women to develop sewing skills that will help them to secure jobs in the garment industry.

Women’s health

Health and self-care is a low priority for the women that we work with. Many women’s health issues are not spoken about openly. We organise health clinics specifically for women of all ages to find out more about female health issues, find out more here