Castlewellan woman says ‘thanks’ for India support

Castlewellan woman says ‘thanks’ for India support

6 March 2013

DOWN District residents who support Trocaire’s work with women living in remote rural Indian villages have been thanked by one local worker ahead of this years International Women’s Day on March 8.

Castlewellan woman Rosie Murray said Friday is a celebration of the achievements of women in Northern Ireland and overseas who are striving to be the very best they can be.

But she said some women in India and in other developing countries can face seemingly impossible challenges and obstacles in accessing their right to food, health and education.

“In India, Trocaire reaches out to vulnerable women in isolated communities to help them access the health, education and training they need to support their families,” she said.

The 2013 Trocaire Lenten Campaign shows how County Down donations are supporting women living in India’s most isolated and forgotten rural communities to improve their lives and their children’s futures.

Nine year-old Ambika Paraja, who is on this year’s 40th Anniversary Box, is from a small village in eastern India called Jhilligoan.

Rosie said: “I recently visited Jhilligoan village and saw the wonderful difference that donations from Down are making to the lives and futures of women.

“With support from County Down, women are being empowered to work their way out of poverty, grow their confidence, raise their voices within their own communities and imagine a more secure future for their families.

“Ambika Paraja, the little girl on this year’s Trocaire Box, is a wonderful example of how County Down people are inspiring a generation of women through Trocaire’s work.

“Through donations here at home, Ambika’s family now has a basic home, an income from farming and can send Ambika to a local school.

“It is estimated that globally seventy per cent of people living in poverty are women and girls. Yet women deliver enormous social and economic benefits for their families, communities, and nations.

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to ensure that we strive to unlock the potential of women, eliminate the inequalities that make and keep them poor and empower them to improve their own lives,” she said.

Trocaire’s Lenten campaign runs to Easter Sunday (March 31) 2013. To order a Trocaire Box visit trocaire.org or tel: 0800 912 1200.