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  "Working women changing Society"   "Working women changing Society"
   
 
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London Based Arobanam Children's Fund
 
 
CWDR History
CWDR beginnings go back to 1991 when the very first meeting of concerned women was called in Jaffna to launch the organization. The meeting was held in a school in Thirunelveli. Eleven people attended the meeting and a committee was elected.
Through the tireless work of the women in the organization, it began to develop programs to assist women who were already facing hardships caused by the war.. The home for destitute women was the first and urgent problem that was addressed. A house in Uduvil in Jaffna referred to as “Poorani” was setup to house women who did not have a home. Initially there were 76 women at Poorani.

 
 
The common refuge in Mullaithivu for women in 1996.
 
In order make the women feel productive sewing and snack making programs were initiated by CWDR.
We soon started to launch programs to assist women in the community. A retail shop run by women was opened in Mirusuvil in Jaffna and a rope making outfit was started in Kilali.

In 1994 we extended our operations to Kilinochchi district by starting the Pappadam factory and the rope making outfit. From then on we gradually extended our programs to all the districts in the Northeast.
In 1995 our organization was registered as an NGO

The Poorani home inmates were from many types of background. Initially there were 15 women whose husbands have abandoned them with very young children and they had no other family support. Their children numbered 25. There were 20 women who were psychologically affected in one form or another. A further five women were intellectually handicapped. There were 16 young women who were abandoned by their families. Soon we realized that the women need to be separated, according to the types of problems they faced in life, thus were formed the five centers, Malarcholai, Vetrimanai, Niraimathy, Senthalir, and Maryillam, that we manage today.