WomenShare

WomenShare is an outreach by the Easwaramma Trust for networking women's service projects. This can include women's service projects (seva) or service by anyone to women and/or children. We are adding this feature to our website so that people can post descriptions of projects that serve women and children, and network with each other to start similar projects and to troubleshoot with each other any problems that come up in running these projects.

We invite you to read and to send us your project description and experiences to post!

Click the button to submit.

Serving formerly homeless women and their children in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

In May, 2006, a project was started in St. Louis to help homeless women. A needs assessment was done, and based on this, these services were provided to empower the women and make them better able to become self-sufficient:

• Tutoring for the high school equivalent diploma (GED).
• Workshops on appropriate business attire, etiquette, and resume writing; enhancing computer skills, personal finance, organizational skills; health and healthy eating; parenting.

Most of the training was provided by Sai volunteers, with help from area professionals. The volunteers were all trained in SSEHV, and this was an integral part of the program. Sai devotees researched job leads for the women, and have also provided used furniture, household supplies, toiletries, computers and quilts, to help these families reestablish themselves.

This project has now moved to a new location, where battered women and their children will be served.

Contacts:
Doris Hampton, waddoris@swbell.net
Sumi Chakraverty, cschakraverty@gmail.com

Ladies’ Seva in South Africa

The Ladies’ Forum of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization of South Africa is currently involved in a few programs:

• Skills development program, which serves the disadvantaged ladies from a village that has been adopted by the Sri Sathya Sai Organization as part of their village uplift program.
• Wellness and lifestyle program, which serves only the devotees of the Sai Organization and is run on a monthly basis in different regions in Kwa Zulu Natal. This is designed to help the Sai devotees to do better seva.

These two programs have come a long way since their inception in early 2008. The dedication and commitment of the ladies is awe-inspiring. They willingly sacrifice the weekends to serve in this program because they truly believe that it is a program that will benefit whole communities for generations to come.

Apart from these two programs, the Ladies’ forum observes Ladies’ Day on the 19th of every month. This can either take the form of a seva, or workshops addressing women’s health issues, parenting, budgeting and a whole host of other issues to assist the ladies in their role in the Organization. They are also involved in making school lunches in disadvantaged areas and they sew clothing for the AIDS orphans.

Contact: Savy Ramlall savyr@cinet.co.za