HAVING TRANSFORMED the lives of lakhs of women artisans in the country, the self-help organisation SEWA is now helping war-affected women of Afghanistan to rebuild their lives.

For the last one year, Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), with the support of the Government of India, is working with the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Kabul, on setting up a vocational training centre for women at Bagh-e-Zanana in the Afghan capital.

SEWA identified a team of 33 women from Afghanistan and they are currently being trained by the association in the fields of textiles and garments, food processing and environment regeneration.

Shahnaz Nazar Mohammad, handicapped due to multiple fractures she suffered while reconstruction of their house that was de stroyed during the Taliban war was on, is one of the beneficiaries of the project.

Unfit to do any hard laborious work, she is currently being trained in garment manufacture at the SEWA Trade Facilitation Centre.

"My goal is to support disabled women like me," she said.

URL: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=21_05_2008_012_018&typ=0&pub=264