Today, work has been made easy for several women, who otherwise would have had a tough time earning their daily bread and butter in Periyakattupalayam Village, Panruti Taluk of Cuddalore District.

Here several women crack cashew-nuts with their bare hands. For three kg of cashew-nuts they cracked, they used to earn Rs. 10. This meant their daily wages would be anywhere between Rs. 200 – 250.

But today, the way the womenfolk work in the village has changed. Thanks to the efforts of Coimbatore-based NGO ‘Connect for A Cause’. This NGO has collected funds and provided the womenfolk of this village machines that would assist them crack cashew-nuts, thus revolutionising the way they work.

The floods that hit the State of Tamil Nadu snatched away the livelihood of many people in the flood-hit regions. Philanthropy in cash and kind poured in from various quarters. Amidst all this was Gayathri Keerthana. She is the founder of ‘Connect for A Cause’ NGO and she too visited the flood-hit victims of Cuddalore District.

Initially, as a part of their rescue and rehabilitation efforts, this NGO made a contribution in cash and in kind. However, its founder thought that it was not enough just to lend these flood-hit victims a helping hand for that moment.

Thus, was born the idea to benefit their lives on a long-term basis without pampering them with freebies. This was followed by her making several trips to this village and interacting with them, especially the womenfolk. “A majority of these victims were residing in make-shift shelters that resemble tents put up by a team who is on a trekking expedition. I was requested by them to support them with monthly groceries and cash. I thought to myself for how long will they be supported in this manner. After several rounds of interaction, I collected funds for the machines through ‘Connect for A Cause’ and today these women are effortlessly able to perform their routine activity of cracking cashew-nuts,” Gayathri says.

She also adds that today the women in this village are more than just encouraged to work and earn a living. Thanks to the machine that assists them and makes their job of cracking cashew-nuts easy. Gayathri shares with us that she works as a content writer in the state capital. At the corporate house that she works for, several employees made their contributions in cash and this is how funds for this project were raised.

She continues to make several follow-up visits to the Periyakattupalayam village and every time she visits this place she is more than just happy with the way womenfolk in this village are coping with their work.

‘Connect for A Cause’ is a Coimbatore-based NGO that came into being in December 2013. A group of friends who were students then joined hands to start this.