Indian assistance for women's self-employment program

by Mohammed NAALIR

The Indian Government has donated Rs. 203 million to train conflict-affected widows in the Batticaloa district for self-employment, Deputy Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister M.L.A.M. Hisbullah said.

The Deputy Minister said the self-employment training programs will be implemented in the North and the East to benefit conflict-affected widows. The trained women will be encouraged towards self-employment.

Meanwhile, Hisbullah said the Indian Government will also help train the conflict-affected widows in the Batticaloa district.

During President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to India last year, he had brought to the attention of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the necessity of training these women on self-employment, the Deputy Minister said.

He said the Indian Government handed this project over to Seva India Institution last week.

The Seva India representatives will arrive in Sri Lanka this week. Eighty widows will be trained under the first phase of this project.

Seva India will open an office in Batticaloa jointly with the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry.