A group of women in Guntur has taken up an eco-friendly project to lend a helping hand to a differently abled athlete from Pune.
The story of Indira Gaikwad has brought together members of The Art of Living Women’s Club, and they began to stitch used saris, dupattas, cut-blouse pieces and cut cloth pieces to make beautiful handbags.
The bags imprinted with the signature of Ms. Gaikwad and her hand print with the caption “The Will of a Strong Lady”, will be signature pieces and will be on sale at Rs.1,000 a piece.
The project named ‘Health Engineers,’ is the brainchild of life skills trainer J. Uma, and has been taken up by women leaders in the town.
“We started the project as part of an anti-plastic bag crusade four years ago. We have been collecting used sari pieces, cut blouse pieces from wholesale markets and individuals, and after cutting them, hand them over to local women, who make bags. We have so far made 25,000 bags,” Ms. Uma told The Hindu on Monday.
Back in Pune, Ms. Gaikwad, 47, has been struggling to make a living. A champion swimmer and power lifter, winning several State and national championships in her prime, Ms. Gaikwad was forced to sell her medals and sweat it out at the gruelling sporting arena to feed herself and look after her ailing mother.
Her moving story, published in The Hindu on September 6, 2014, with the headline ‘Differently abled athlete in Pune forced to sell medals to pay bills,’ moved Ms. Uma, who contacted Ms. Gaikwad and promised to help her.
“I make living by tailoring, and I find it very difficult to pay the medical bills. I have not got a government job in spite of making many rounds to the offices. I am grateful to the women from Guntur who are doing their bit to help me,” Ms. Gaikwad told The Hindu from Pune.
The members then pooled in some money and bought her a battery-operated sewing machine as she would not accept any cash. They also wanted to give a battery-operated wheelchair, but Indira rejected as she did not have the facility to charge it in her single-room dwelling.
“We wanted to help Ms .Gaikwad by raising money and through this project. We are aiming to make 300 bags. Each bag will be sold for Rs. 1,000 and it will have the imprint of Ms. Gaikwad’s signature and her hand print,” Ms. Uma said.
The group is leaving for Pune on July 27 with boxes of cut cloth pieces to hand them over to Ms. Gaikwad, who would then make 300 bags. The bags would be put up for charity sale in IT firms in Pune and also would be on sale in Guntur.
Members of the group are leaving for Pune on July 27 with boxes of cut cloth pieces to hand them over to Ms. Gaikwad
Published - July 26, 2016 12:00 am IST
