A second batch of 12 more women are undergoing training in masonry under the project sponsored by Bestseller, a leading clothing company in Denmark.

Bestseller's project include raising coastal shelter vegetation along
Tarangambadi coast, providing training for tsunami-hit women Self-Help
Groups, day-care centres and evening tuition centres for tsunami-hit children and renovating some of the mounments damaged by the giant waves of December 2004 in the historic town of Tarangambadi, a former Danish colony.

Bestseller's projects are being implemented by St Joseph's Development
Trust (SJDT), a Theni-based NGO.

Torkil Danteer, an official from BestSeller, visited Tarangambadi on
Wednesday and reviewed the progress of the projects being implemented.

He inagurated the masonry training for the second batch of women and coastal plantation drive in which over 12,000 saplings were planted.

Members of Tranquebar Association, Denmark, and a group of Journalists from Demark accompanied Torkil Danteer.

Danteer told PTI that Bestseller's rehabilitation project was benefitting 900 tsunami-hit school children of 12 villages around Tarangambadi.

The children are being imparted free tuition in the evening. "Besides, day-care centres have been opened at five villages, Rs.14.16 lakhs had been disbursed as loan to 110 women SHGs in tsunami-hit areas," he said.

"Our project aims at planting different salt-tolerant plant, mangrove sappling sand tall coconut varieties along the Tarangambai coast, as part of the coastal vegetation development. It is being implemented stage by stage", he said.

On the masonry training offered to women, Danteer said that the tsunami-hit women had proved that they were equal to men in the masonry work.

Sebastian, Executive Director, SJDT said that fisherwomen who were doing only fish marketing activities, were now showing interest in all vocations.

"Apart from masonry, we have also imparted training in the making of paper bags for 15 women of Tarangambadi. They are now doing this job so well that a Denmark company has placed orders for paper bags and cups," Sebastian said.

The women, who underwent masonry training said, they were getting continuous employment and the job had proved to be highly remunerative.

"At first, we hesitated to take up masonry, but now we fell very happy to have become masons. We have received scientific training, which enables us to take up construction proejcts independently. We would even form an all-women construction group soon consisting of women masons and women labourers," they said.

Wearing a blue coat, these women look very cheerful and are ready to challenge the male-dominated world.

The Hindu, October 6, 2006

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