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Gujarat
earthquake:
Self help is the best help |
Beyond
Sanmar |
| In the aftermath of the man-made disaster
of September 11, attention has naturally been diverted from
other devastating occurrences. Thousands lost their lives when
a major earthquake hit Gujarat on January 26, 2001. While there
may be debates about whether help is reaching the victims in
time, there is no denying the sincere initiatives taken by several
groups of NGOs and other agencies. |
| It is heartening to note that many agencies
are doing their bit to help bring quake ripped Gujarat back
to normal. One such NGO is the Self Employed Women’s Association
(SEWA) of Ahmedabad with over 210,000 poor informal sector women
members. In Boha village of Kutch, disaster-affected artisans
have pitched up a large tent where they do embroidery work together.
They say that only more work will help them bring harmony back
to their lives and to their village. Without work, they feel
the horrors of the quake will continue to haunt them. SEWA is
up-scaling community-based employment opportunities in this
and other disaster-affected areas of Gujarat. |
| In September 2001, SEWA organised a sale of
100% cotton fabric – hand spun, hand woven, hand dyed
and printed – at Sri Sankara Hall, Chennai. SEWA is proud
of the fact that 65 per cent of its total sales revenue goes
directly to provide relief to the affected families of Gujarat
spread over 145 villages. |
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| An artisan of SEWA Mahila Trust, recently in
Chennai to mobilise funds for Gujarat quake victims. |
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