By IANS,
New Delhi : Cherie Blair, wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, Tuesday said her foundation which works for women entrepreneurs will coordinate with a global charity to help poor widows in India and elsewhere.
Blair, who was in Delhi for a programme at the Sanskriti school, is the president of the Loomba Trust that was founded by Indian-origin industrialist Raj Loomba to alleviate the plight of impoverished widows and their children.
The trust presently works in 12 countries across the world, including several states across India.
“The Loomba Trust had begun its work by helping children of poor widows, by helping them enrol in schools. Then we started working for the widows themselves, helping them empower themselves by working as hairdressers or seamstresses,” Blair told reporters in the capital.
“My trust, which works for strengthening the capacity of women entrepreneurs, is getting associated with the Loomba trust because it’s a common goal we are working towards,” Blair said.
The Cherie Blair Foundation works with local partners in different countries to provide women with access to business development, networks and finances.
Talking about the Loomba Trust, Blair said that from supporting 100 widows in Delhi, they are now aiming at increasing this number to a thousand.
“There are an estimated 30 million widows in India and we want to reach across to each one of them, especially the younger ones so that they can empower themselves,” she said.
“One of our main campaigns is to urge the UN to recognise June 23 as International Widows Day in order to raise awareness on the plight of widows world over. My mother was abandoned by her husband and she had a difficult time raising the family, so I know the challenges that a widow faces,” Blair added.