BCR NEWS (New Delhi): Today capital witnessed an extraordinary handicraft exhibition by earthquake affected women of Nepal, organized by Self Employed Women’s Association SEWA at Hansiba Showroom.
The exhibition was inaugurated by H.E. Mr Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Ambassador, Embassy of Nepal, as the Chief Guest. Mrs. Gursaran Kaur wife of our former PM Mr. Manmohan Singh, Naina Lal Kidwai , Country Head HSBC and other dignitaries also showed up as Guest of Honor.
Reema Nanawati, Director of SEWA Said“There are 1.9 million poor women, are associated with SEWA. We are working in Nepal for last 7 years so we are well connected to the people Nepal. Soon the earthquake took place women associated with SEWA went all the way to Nepal and stayed with the affected families and motivated them stand again. And here we are with the exhibition with the handicrafts made by women of Nepal. Soon we will be organizing this in other cities also.”
To coincide with the festival of ‘Teej’, it was decided to hold the exhibition from 7th to 14th August 2015, in Delhi, at SEWA’s flagship store, ‘Hansiba’. The products are made from the indigenous fiber of ‘allo’ (described above) and also their traditional weaving technique called ’Dhaka. They have been made keeping in mind, the tastes and preferences of the Indian consumer.
The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), as a part of its major initiative of working in the SAARC region, has been working in Nepal, for more than six years now, based on SEWA’s model of women’s empowerment for livelihoods. The program has reached out to more than 10,000 women and their families, spread in the remote areas of Nepal, from Western Nepal to the mountainous Sunkhasabha, etc. SEWA has set up a social enterprise in Nepal, called SABAH (SAARC Business Association of Homebased Workers), where the poor women are the owners, managers and supervisors of the enterprise. The results have been significant, with uplift in their socio-economic status and increase in earnings by 15-40%.
In the wake of the recent devastating earthquake, SEWA immediately contacted the management team and members of SABAH Nepal, to know of their well-being and situation. Based on SEWA’s experience of working in the massive earthquake of Gujarat in 2001, SEWA provided its help, support and guidance to the affected families there, as well as relief supplies to the affected people there. A team of eight persons from SEWA, who are the organizers and grassroots leaders, was sent to Nepal, where they lived with the community in different villages, for one month, helping them to overcome the trauma and shock, and re-build their lives through livelihoods.
To help the Nepalese poor women, secure their livelihoods, their linkage to the mainstream markets is necessary. Thus, based on SEWA’s experience, it was decided to hold an exhibition of products made by the SABAH Nepal members, which will not only showcase their skills but also the cause of their struggle and strife.
SEWA welcomes the media to the event and looks forward to the full cooperation and support of all stakeholders.
