MANSEHRA: More than 120 women of Balakot were imparted three-month training on handicraft making and marketing to earn livelihood for their families.

Most of the participants of the training had lost their breadwinners in the Oct 8, 2005 devastating earthquake.

The training was arranged by Federation of Environment, Education, Development and Equal Rights (Feeder), a local non-governmental organisation, with the financial assistance of United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID).

“We have not only imparted three-month training to 120 women of Balakot but also equipped them with all necessaries including sewing machines, irons and marketing methodology to market their products to earn good livings,” Quseem Malik, the project manager of Feeder, told journalists after distributing sewing machines and other items among the participants of the training in Balakot on Wednesday.

The three-month training would be completed next week but sewing machines and other items for running small businesses were given away to the participants in a simple ceremony before the completion of the training.

Ms Malik said that majority of the trainees were widows, who lost their husbands in the devastating earthquake in two union councils of Balakot -- Garlat and Balakot -- some nine years ago. They were still in dire need of assistance to establish their business and USAID helped them to stand on their own feet, she added.

Ms Malik said that the trainees were not only imparted skills in making handicrafts, cutting, embroidery and stitching but also equipped with appropriate knowledge to market their products. “Now these diploma holder women can not only make handicrafts but can also market these in accordance with their own demands as they are also trained in marketing strategies,” she said.

Ms Malik said that after getting diploma from technical board in Peshawar, those women could also avail loans from banks for expnading their small business and market their products. The project monitoring and evaluation officer, Mubashar Jahangiri, chief executive Dr Ibrar Ahmad Swati and director Dr Sirajul Haq were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014