Appeal to help women’s cooperative When the TOS in Chennai engaged in its extensive tsunami relief operations starting in December 2004, two self-help groups were established: the Annie Besant Ammaiyar Coastal Women’s Federation and the Annai Theresa Coastal Women's Federation. Both were helped to set up paper recycling plants as ecologically sound employment opportunities, principally for the wives of fishermen whose livelihood had been lost. The Annai Theresa group, which works in the little coastal town Pazhaverkadu, north of Chennai, has recently run into rough weather, as the land they are using to dry the paper after manufacture is going to be built on. The women have been trudging all the way to a nearby cemetery to dry the paper.
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ELECTRIC WINCH Total cost: Rs. 1,25,000 00 |
It came to the notice of the TOS in Chennai that the terrace of the existing building could be an alternative place for drying the paper. The women have tried carrying the paper upstairs to the terrace, but they are simply not strong enough to manage it and as a result have been suffering from health problems. On the whole, it is a very pathetic situation and threatens to kill the recycling unit which provides employment for a good number of women. The self-help group is not cash rich and cannot afford a motorised pulley to carry the material to the terrace. In this context, the TOS Chennai proposes to solicit funds from individual philanthropists and philanthropist groups. The total amount required is approximately US$2600 (1900 euros). We feel that it is important to follow up on the projects we helped start in the first place, especially brave and innovative ones undertaken by local women. | ||
Contributions are welcome. Diana Dunningham Chapotin, the International Secretary of the TOS, has kindly consented to coordinate this collection. She can be reached at tosinternational@wanadoo.fr.
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