During the tsunami, thousands of women lost both their husbands & their family’s income. RI & Panera Bread are providing these women with the training / materials to operate bakeries for family income
Thousands of women were widowed by the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in December 2004. Already dealing with the loss of their husbands & sons, these female-headed households need to establish home-businesses to sustain their livelihoods & improve the current food supplies of the community. The women gain valuable marketing, business & leadership training. Widows from the civil coflict in Sri Lanka before the tsunami also benefit immensely & help support the economy & development of the region.
RI & Panera Bakery have partnered to supply the needed flour & other ingredients, provide training on how to run a small business, give the equipment for bread production, & assist in the development of community support groups that give aid.
Female-headed households are improving their current quality of life and able to support their often large families while adding to food supplies for the community. The project closes the gender gap & enhances Sri Lanka's economic development.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
