Caritas helps poor women launch businesses

By UCA NEWS Negombo, Sri Lanka

With thousands of people thronging the exhibition hall, Surangi Gamage had to speak up to attract attention.

"A bargain at 150 rupees [$1.40] for two!" she shouted, as she held up two teddy bears she had made.

Gamage, 28, was one of 40 women who exhibited and sold their handmade products at a Caritas Colombo exhibition held Dec. 12 and 13 in Negombo. Caritas Colombo, known locally as Seth Sarana, is the social service organization of the Colombo archdiocese.

The first exhibition of its kind was held to celebrate 10 years of a program aimed at helping poor, unemployed women become financially independent. A microcredit initiative is part Of the program.

Caritas provided Gamage a loan two years ago to start her business. "My mother is sick and my father is a fisherman," she said, adding that her family could not live on her father's wages alone. The colorful teddy bears she has been making and selling for two years have proven popular with buyers.

"I have really built up my confidence through this program," she said.

At a nearby stall, Surangani Jayasuriya, 38, was selling wooden household items such as bowls, spoons and cutting boards. She told UCA News that the Caritas program has helped her family immensely for four years. Her husband became jobless five years ago and they found it hard to support their children.

Sanalda Dodamgoda Arachchige of Caritas said the organization started its work to help women become financially independent in 1996. The organization ran six-day programs to teach them bookkeeping, business management, leadership, marketing and other skills. "After these programs, they began to have ideas for starting businesses and started to save small amounts of money in groups," Arachchige said.

"However, this was not enough to build up a business, so in 2001 we started to give out loans" to these women's groups, she said. "And we have an accountant for each group who will collect the repayment and give it back to Caritas. So far we haven't had any trouble collecting the repayments."

Arachchige said the exhibition was a chance for the women to gain knowledge about marketing their products as well as to make sales.

According to Caritas, the 40 women who exhibited their products are only a few of the 1,500 people in 197 groups who benefit from the loan program. Each group works on a particular product--for example, baby frocks, nightdresses or pillowcases--with each woman playing a role in the production process:

Nilantha Fernando, who coordinates the microcredit program, said that members have sold their wares at festivals, Sunday fairs and church feasts. She explained that the approach has been to lend each group, numbering 12 to 15 members, 5,000 rupees. "Then we see for six months whether they have developed their business, and if so we will increase the loan to 10,000 rupees. If they are in need of more loans, they can apply."

The loan coordinator added that the groups are charged 1 percent interest a month and usually repay a loan within six months. Caritas obtains funding for the program from international donors.

Anuma Nilanthee, who displayed pillowcases and clothes hangers at her stall, told UCA News: "I am very grateful to: the church, which has made my future bright. We all are from families who can't even afford three meals a day."

COPYRIGHT 2007 National Catholic Reporter
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning