Empowering Women

EMPOWERING WOMEN TO CREATE THEIR OWN BUSINESS

REPORT OCTOBER 2005

Dear All:

After almost 9 months of working in this Project, AIESEC in Sri Lanka is proud to say that Empowering Women has tangible results and it is in a stage of impacting people who were affected by the tsunami.

It is not an easy task to empower people to create their own business. It is not an easy task to give motivation to people who have lost everything. It is not an easy task to get people around a common idea. But it is an easy task to believe in a dream and make it happen.

During all these months the Core Team of Empowering Women had this dream: building a training center for sewing and supporting women to create their own sewing business.

Today this dream is becoming a reality and we want to thank all the donors, people who supported with ideas, people who have donated time and skills to the Project and those who believed in it.

Thanks for making the Project a reality, not for AIESEC, but for the women who are benefiting from it.

Thanks for helping us to EMPOWER WOMEN. (Pictures can be found here).

AIESEC IN SRI LANKA

October 2005

SUMMARY

After some weeks of having bought the first machines and started the trainings at Galgoda Camp, AIESEC got informed that the people living in the Camp would be moved to another place, where they would receive a place to live, a house for each family.

AIESEC knew about the implications of this measure for the existence of the Project. The Core Team of Empowering Women decided to contact the Divisional Secretary Officer of Panadura to get support to continue the Project in the new Camp where people would be moved to.

Surprisingly, the Divisional Secretary Officer granted the functioning of the Project in the new Camp and gave a place for it to carry out the trainings, this time including more women.

Empowering Women is already functioning in the new Camp for 4 months already. An official Opening Ceremony for the Training Center was carried out with the presence of AIESEC, Start and Improve Your Business (Organization which will support the entrepreneurial training stage), governmental representatives, the National Chamber of Commerce, business people and the media.

The Ceremony was really a success and has marked the initiation of a structured Training Center for Women affected by the tsunami. The Center now trains around 20 women, has 7 machines, all the necessary tools and materials to teach how to sew, necessary infrastructure (fans, electricity, tables and chairs, etc) has a committed trainer, specialist in sewing and the support of the local authorities. The Center is not only an example for other camps but for other organizations running local projects.

During the last couple of months women have dedicated their time to produce some products like cushion covers, wall hangers, bed sheets, table mats and greeting cards, among others. AIESEC and the National Chamber of Commerce are planning to organize an exhibition in the incoming month, to promote, sell and find the market for the products made by the women.

It is also programmed for the next months to have business training sessions by Start and Improve Your Business (for more information please refer to http://www.siyblanka.com), in order to provide the necessary skills for women to mover forward with their own business.

AIESEC in Sri Lanka is certainly proud of presenting this Project to all of you and show the clear and impactful results Empowering Women has had in its participants.

State of the Project. October 2005

The training center has been established in Panadura, Modarawilla Camp. It is composed by chairs, seats, tables, fans, sewing machines and all the necessary tools and materials for the training.
20 women are participating in the sewing training program.
The sewing training program is happening once per week. 8 hours per day.
5 normal sewing machines were bought for a total of Rs38000 (350€)
Women are making products for New Year’s season. Those products will be promoted and sold during the exhibition. One of the main objectives of the exhibition is to find buyers more than selling the products; we intend to get some orders from the buyers, so that we can produce the ordered products in the coming months and to sell it in the New Year season.

Cost of the Project

Sewing machines: Rs 65,960.00 (555€)

Transportation: Rs7,583.00 (64€, Cost of transportation for machines, materials, trishaws)

Opening Ceremony: Rs 4,755.50 (40€)

Training: Rs 43,866.00 (369€, Transportation and the lunch for the trainer is considered as the cost of training)

Materials: Rs 50,510.75 (425€)

Research and promotion : Rs 3362.00 (28€)

By Maria Lucia Uribe and Sahan Hannadige, November 2005