The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rebuilding their lives after tsunami

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Saturday, Sep 13, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rebuilding their lives after tsunami

Liffy Thomas

‘Livelihood Knowledge Bazaar’ of self-help group products held

— Photo: M.Karunakaran

Wide choice: Visitors check out the products manufactured by SHGs on display at an exhibition in Ennore on Friday.

Chennai: Four years ago, their life and property were destroyed in the tsunami. But they are not the ones to give up easily.

Gathering courage, women here have made an attempt to supplement the family income through small entrepreneurial ventures.

Kalaiselvi Karunalaya Social Welfare Society (KKSS) organised a unique ‘Livelihood Knowledge Bazaar’ on Friday at the Don Bosco Youth Animation Centre in Ennore. Women from around 20 self help groups from Ennore and Pulicat came with their products, which were seen more as a knowledge-sharing exercise.

As for Oxfam Australia, which funded the SHG, this initiation is special, as this is among the last few tsunami rehabilitation programmes in India and it will be winding up work by December 2008. “Our focus was on the poorest of the poor and we made sure that the funds were properly disbursed by our 12 partners in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” said Nathan Knoll, Tsunami Programme Manager, Oxfam Australia. The Chippikul Muthu group is a perfect example of communal harmony. Here women have taken up non-traditional jobs generally taken up by men. The 10-member team comprise three Muslim and Hindu women each and four Christians. Living near the fishing hamlet at Ulaganathapuram, these women earn a living selling cutting knife to fishermen in their community. “We buy the blade from the market, sharpen it before it is ready to be used to cut fish,” says Noor Jahan, a member of the group.

Another group selling homemade masala powder say they send around 10 kg every month through their folks working in countries such as Dubai and America.

Group Enterprise Meetings is next on the agenda. The organisers plan to conduct more such livelihood bazaars in other pockets.

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