Press release
A group of 6 Sudanese illiterate women from the remote villages of South Kordofan state of Sudan attended the five month long short term training and capacity building programme ‘Training Illiterate Women on Solar Electrification and Rainwater Harvesting’. fully sponsored by the Government of India (GOI). The course was organized at the ‘The Barefoot College’, Tilonia, Rajasthan under the ‘Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (ITEC) scheme of Ministry External Affairs of GOI.
The “Solar Mamas” learnt to build, install, and maintain solar lanterns to provide a renewable source of energy to their communities in remote and far off places off the electric grid. They were also taught soft skills during the programme, this includes budgeting and accounting to foster financial inclusion. It is widely acknowledged that hold on Finances is a major tool to empower household women.
After returning from India, these women are an empowered person capable of running and maintaining the solar lanterns for lighting their homes and communities and help their children to get empowered by studying and getting educated.A grand reception was held on their return to Khartoum by one of the Badr Airlines evacuation flights. Several community celebrations were held to mark their unique success and achievements. One of the community events was graced by the Honourable Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Development, Government of the Republic of Sudan, Ms. Hanim Burhan Edin and a representative of the FDFC. The celebrations were widely covered in media – daily newspapers-Alhadatha and Akhir Lahza; TV appearances-national TV and Sudaniya 24; and radio interview-Al-Salam Channel.
True to its name ‘The Barefoot College’, Tilonia engages the most lowly and neglected sections of our society and empowers them to stand on their own feet and face the challenges head on in this unpredictable world. So far it has worked to empower 15 women from Sudan alone. We are thankful to the Barefoot College representative in Sudan Ms. Gada Kauda, who coordinated the mobilization, domestic travel and related formalities of these candidates and thereafter their welcome home reception and may be their performance monitoring as a follow up measure.
