By Aruna Koushik, Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada —
As a recently widowed person, I had been coming to grips with the change in my marital status and the subtle social changes I was experiencing, those of isolation and a noticeable nervousness from some of my friends who were unsure how to react or respond to me. In July 2024, I decided to visit India with my friend Barb Bjarneson. Members of my club’s board of directors wisely charged me with exploring a project for widows, as one of them had heard about the plight of widows in India.
We visited the tiger sanctuary in Mudumalai for our first time and had the privilege of meeting Zubair Ahmed, the assistant governor of District 3203 (Tamil Nadu, India) and members of the Rotary clubs in Gudalur. Ahmed and the Rotarians told us about the Adivasi, who are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent indigenous to Asia. Many of them live in the forest areas. They tend to animals under the direction of the government forestry department and work as laborers in the spice and tea estates. We were invited to visit a settlement and witness firsthand the work they provide in the forest areas.
Our discussions circled around the social structures in place for widows and women who have been abandoned (which happens frequently). Historically in India, widows and abandoned women lose social standing and are often shunned by society or blamed for their misfortunes. Opportunities to support themselves or obtain training are minimal.
Ahmed had connections with Sevalaya Trust, an organization that has been working with the Adivasi and decided to seek their input. Sevalaya has built a great deal of trust with the Adivasi in the Gudalur, Ooty, and surrounding areas providing them services like health care, employment, literacy, and vocational skills.
When I got back to Windsor, I heard from Sevalaya Trust in August that while they provide sustainable training for the women, there is considerable need for access to equipment such as their own sewing machines to be able to work independently and earn a living.
My Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland approached other clubs in our district, who were willing to organize a project and fund sewing machines for Adivasi women. District 3203 and the Rotary Club of Gudalur Valley would coordinate the project with Sevalaya Trust and District 3234 (Chennai, India) and the Rotary clubs of Chennai-Mambalam and Kilpauk would channel the funds and arrange volunteers.
Sevalaya Trust was instrumental in the application process and handled interviewing and selecting the neediest candidates from among the women. After a call for applications, 80 women were selected and taught basic sewing skills like stitching Indian saree blouse, Kurta and Salwar. Upon completing the training, they received certificates and signed agreements that they would use their skills in a proper way to support themselves. Sevalaya maintains a list of all the women, who indicated they had plans to continue their training.
We selected the Sri Kumaran Trading Centre to supply sewing machines based on the following criteria:
- a) the price and cost of transportation
- b) the amount of ongoing support and service promised to keep the machines working and in repair
- c) how easy it was for women to access this service/repair.
In addition, after the owner of the business heard some of the life stories of these women, he offered to provide ongoing repairs and services on the machines for free.
Stories
Local Rotarians distributed the 80 sewing machines on 11 January, and I had the joy and privilege of being among them. Here are some of the stories I heard.
One woman talked about living through the COVID pandemic. She had been in a difficult marriage for seven years in which she suffered abuse. The community blamed her, saying she was bad luck. Then her husband died, and she was ostracized. She had to resort to begging for food and working as a day laborer. When she heard the call for training she decided to apply and started to cry when she was selected.
Another young woman was the mother of two beautiful girls and struggling to make ends meet. Eight years ago, her husband said he was going out to get groceries one day and never returned. She is fighting to be a role model for her girls and jumped at the chance of making a decent living. She had us all in tears as she thanked everyone for the chance to get a new start in life.
The Ripple effect
After the giveaway, District 3203 Governor Dr. Suresh Babu determined there was a great need to establish a vocational training center. The Rotary clubs of Kotagiri and Kundha agreed to help organize it to train women in basic stitching skills. The Rotary Club of Gudalur jumped in and distributed 10 more sewing machines in those towns on 12 January. The women who received the machines couldn’t stop talking about this life-changing experience. One woman excitedly noted how her teachers helped her decide the price for her sewing products, as she had no idea how much to charge.
As members of Rotary, we truly do create magic in the lives of others!
Aruna Koushik is a past governor of Rotary District 6400 (Ontario, Canada, and Michigan, USA) and a member of the Rotary Club of Roseland-Windsor. She has been active in Rotary for more than two decades and she and her late husband, Shiva, were originally from India. She recently received an honor from the Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor as a trailblazer for International Women’s Day.
https://blog.rotary.org/2025/03/07/stitch-in-time-rotarians-teach-adivasi-widows-how-to-sew-earn-a-sustainable-living/