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| Sunday, 30 March 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Women from border villages get a helping hand : A ray of hope by LAKMAL WELABADA Women who endured the brutalities of war in the border villages are struggling to rebuild their lives. The All Ceylon Women's Buddhist Congress (ACWBC) joins hands with other NGOs to give them a helping hand. People from villages bordering the war torn areas top the list of those who seek peace. It is they who suffered most. ``Not any more,'' said E. H. M. Nandawathie (32) from a border village - Mangalagama, Maha Oya recollecting scene after scene of the brutal massacre of 16 civilians by the LTTE in her village on one night in 1996.
Sitting in a corner of the bakery training centre at the all Ceylon Buddhist Congress, Colombo, Nandawathie sobbed continuously while recalling the deadly happenings of that night. Her brother and his six-year-old daughter were also among the victims. After a nightmare of about a quarter decade of war, today Nandawathie sighs with relief, yet with uncertainty since the peace process is still at discussion stage. All these years the sole intention of border villagers was to save their lives. With the initiation of peace talks however, they have started to see a silver lining in the black clouds; new hopes for a better tomorrow and a brighter future for their offspring. Along with the government, some non governmental organisations have come forward to help rebuild young lives in these areas. "Self-employment training would be the best thing we could suggest as an immediate solution for them," said Mrs. Ranee Chandraratne, President of the ACWBC, Colombo where altogether 114 girls from war-torn areas of the N-E were given training on various subjects which could be adapted for self-employment. The project was spear-headed by former president of the ACWBC Mrs. Maya Senanayake. And assisted by NORAD and Konrad Adeneure Foundation since its inception, from May last year. ``We take the girls batch by batch. The present batch comprises 33 girls. Twenty four of them are from border villages like Padaviya, Welioya, Gomarankadawela, Ampara and Kalyanipura. The rest are from Monaragala, Hambantota and Kurunegala," said Mrs. Clodagh Fernando, the Project Director of the ACWBC. The selection of these young women is done with the assistance of SUCCESS, an NGO in Colombo, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Sports and other NGOs. Selection is on the basis of age (15-32 years), poverty level and village origin. The training programme includes free board and lodging, with all the training material provided. The comfortable living quarters are provided in a secure environment. The training is scheduled by taking into consideration the availability of raw materials in their home areas. "The project was originally intended for catering training, but on request from the trainees, the ACWBC has touched on other subjects such as basic dress-making, skin care and beauty culture, bridal dressing, fabric painting, family planning and first aid. In catering training, the girls learn to prepare bakery products along with rice and special dishes for festive occasions. ``They can improve it to have their own catering service outlet," said Mrs. Padmini Jayawickrema, in-charge of the Bakery Unit of the ACWBC. Special trainers are hired from Cathy Rich Training Centre (affiliated to the International Centre for the training of Rural Leaders) at Embilipitiya to instruct the girls to make various food items at low cost using simple and available resources. The dress-making course includes the basic requirements like baby shirts, saree blouse, school uniforms, night dresses and underskirts. "On request we have given sewing machines to some of the girls who are really keen in taking up sewing for self employment. And SUCCESS has been helping us a lot. One won't believe that some of these villages do not have a single sewing machine. So, with the ones which we provide, the girls could really earn if they work hard," said Mrs. Fernando, the Project Director. Bridal dressing, beauty culture and saree painting are taught by well-known and skilled personnel. The ACWBC provides all the required equipment and products for practicals. As an encouragement to initiate self employment, a valise of beauty products and fabric paintings is given to the girls when they pass out . The most important course the ACWBC committee and its trainees assume is first aid. "This course qualifies for a certificate from St. John's Ambulance Brigade enabling the girls to obtain employment in the Health Sector," said Mrs. Fernando. Family planning and reproductivity has also been an important subject for the girls as they rarely get a chance to educate themselves on such topics. It is learnt that still the inner villages of the war-torn areas like Padaviya do not get even the local newspapers (Sinhala or Tamil). ``If we want to get a newspaper we have to go to the town which is seven miles away from our village," said Chamila Sudarshani Bandara (21) from Balawewa, Padaviya. But Chamila says they could watch TV and listen to the radio with the help of car-batteries. "We have to transport the battery to the town every twenty days to get it re-charged since we do not have electricity in the area," she said. Chamila is waiting to enter to 'Vidya Peeta' (teachers' training school) expecting to get a teaching job. She recollected the nightmares her family went through and the sleepless nights hiding themselves in the jungles at the height of the N-E war. "I was a student at Ruwanpura Central College at Padaviya. It was very difficult for us to go to school and concentrate on studies after long fearful nights. But we studied with determination with the limited `mental and physical' resources left," she said. Chamila has got through her O/Levels with five credits and seven simple passes; and A/Levels in Arts with A, B and C passes. Chamila, Nandawathie and all the other trainees hope to share the knowledge they got from the ACWBC with their fellow village youth once they return to their homes. "No one would look at 'peace' with a disapproving eye if they had had to undergo the suffering of the border villagers." In response to my final question - "What do you expect from the peace process?", Nandawathie said, "At least now we can sleep in our homes during the night peacefully. We suffered enough. Our struggle was to save our lives, and not to catch the Sun or the Moon," May their responses echo in the ears of both the peace-makers and war-makers. |
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