I love this initiative, and in support of Women’s International Day on March 8th, I am encouraging everyone to read Yogarasa’s story and then go make a donation. It is incredible how just $5 can make such a big difference to a woman’s life.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day to think of women around the globe and how their lives may be different to ours. It’s also a good day to thank Shesconnected and the women at the Social Media Conference last September who donated SAFE Stove’s and changed the life of so many women in Sri Lanka.
Yogarasa’s Story
This is Yogarasa’s story; one of the women who benefited from the SAFE Stoves:
Yogarasa Yogarani is a 41 year mother of three young children, now resettled in Killinochchi, Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Yogarasa is a widow – her husband died during the conflict years. She now heads the household and is responsible for bringing up her children, feeding and clothing them, and sending them to school.
We ask Yogarasa about the Anagi stove distributed by the UN World Food Programme, and on which she is cooking her children’s meal.
She beams broadly. “This is a miracle”, Yogarasa says. “I can prepare food very quickly on this stove. Fuel prices have tripled in the past months and I cannot afford to buy kerosene to cook with. The jungle area is too far away from my home to go and collect firewood, and much of it still has to be cleared of landmines.”
“But this stove, with this miracle thing, I use less firewood and can normally collect it from the area around my home. I’m lucky,” Yogarasa declares.
“I do not have to worry about spending what little money I have to buy fuel to cook with. Now I can use this to invest in other things, such as my children’s education.”
The SAFE Stoves cost just $5 and are produced in country to create jobs for women in the community. You can purchase a SAFE Stove here for just $5 and make a huge difference to a women’s life. Interested in learning more about WFP and the work we’re doing to empower women? Sign up here to receive our monthly newsletter and other updates on the fight against hunger worldwide.
Thank you for your generous support of WFP helping to empower women around the world. Please keep blogging and tweeting about WFP and the important work we do and follow us at @WFP_Women.
Julie Marshall, Canadian Spokesperson, UN World Food Programme.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.
They also make it really easy to see how your purchases translate into savings. Each time you add an item to your in basket, they calculate your total, and your donation total as well.
