India and Sri Lanka have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a Women’s Community Learning Centre in Ampara, to impart vocational training including in garment making to war affected/destitute women.

The project will impart livelihood skills as well as capacity building which will lead to the socio-economic empowerment of women in the target areas, a statement from High Commission of India, Colombo, said.

Under the project, to be implemented in two years, 20 master trainees and 100 grassroot trainees will be trained.

The MoU was signed at the High Commission of India in Colombo by Indian high commissioner Y K Sinha and secretary, Sri Lanka’s ministry of women and child affairs Chandrani Senaratne in the presence of Sri Lanka’s minister of women and child affairs KDM Chandrani Bandara.

SEWA, an Indian NGO, is the implementing partner of Government of India. The project is being implemented in close consultation with Sri Lanka’s ministry of women and child affairs.

The Indian government has been implementing a similar project in Batticaloa in Sri Lanka since June 2010. More than 1,500 war affected/destitute women have been trained in the project in seven vocational areas, including textiles, garments, and enterprise development.