*Goldman Sachs to help local self-help groups think global
Express News Service
Chennai:
United States and India is planning a initiative to train women to be local leaders in a bid to promote democracy at the local level, according to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Delivering a speech at Working Women’s Forum here on Wednesday, Clinton said United Stated and India is establishing a regional training programme at the Asia University of Women to spotlight the success of the panchayat programme and train women to be local leaders.
The US secretary of state also announced that Goldman Sachs, a important global financial company, will support a training programme through the Indian School of Business to self-help groups to bring more knowledge and skills about how to take businesses from the local village level to the cities to the countries and to the world.
Hailing Working Women’s Forum president Jaya Arunachalam, for growing from a 800 women members in 1978 to a one million group, she said the self help movement has changed women’s lives be it in India, Bangladesh, South Africa, Chile and Nicargua.
Hillary also highlighted the problems faced by rural women who breathe smoke while cooking in rural areas and hailed Dr Kalpana Balakrishnan of Sri Ramachandra University for making cooking safer for women and children.
“Because of the health problems caused by breathing smoke, we have worked with many partners around the world to create Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and are proud that Indian government launched its own National Biomass Cookstove Initiative two years ago,” she said.
Jaya, who was earlier felicitated by Clinton for winning the Global Leadership title award for Economic Development in 2005, highlighted the role of Working Women’s Forum apart from microfinance on preventing female infanticide, education of adolescent girls, strengthened productive role of women and taking care of old women through insurance and social security.
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