press releases
USAID Vocational Centers Increase Women’s Earning Power
03/15/2006
Islamabad - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), partnering with Save the Children, established five vocational centers at Mehra Relief Camp, a tent camp housing Allai Valley families affected by the October 8 earthquake. The centers teach residents, especially women, occupational skills, such as sewing, that allow them to earn wages and to save money on clothes and tailoring expenses.
More than 160 women have been taught how to cut cloth, stitch and tailor clothes on manually operated sewing machines. Learning to sew allows women to save money by making clothing for their families and provides an additional opportunity to earn money as seamstresses.
Many women start earning wages while still developing their skills at the camp. A USAID cash-for-work program pays beginning students to sew simple baby blankets out of flannel. This helps the women practice straight seams and provides infants at the camp with warm bedding. The students’ work is monitored by seamstresses to ensure a quality product is produced. Students receive 20 rupees ($0.33) for each blanket made.
"The girls are happy because they are learning a skill and making money at the same time," said Bibi Manteha, head teacher at the vocational center.
The USAID vocational centers at Mehra Relief Camp provide residents with marketable skills they can use after they leave the camp and return home to rebuild their houses and lives.
The United States, through USAID, is providing more than $1.5 billion in development assistance to Pakistan over the next five years to improve education, health, governance and economic growth. In addition, the United States has pledged a total of $510 million in earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts to assist the people of Pakistan and to support Pakistani government relief and reconstruction efforts.