A CUMBRIAN rotary club has raised £1,000 to fund a literacy programme helping vulnerable women in Bengal, India.

Cockermouth rotary club has raised the money to help a vulnerable group of women in West Bengal’s rural Murshidabad District.

Five of the seven women in the group, who are mostly widows, did not complete schooling because of extreme poverty and family pressures. None of these women can read or write their state language, Bangla (Bengali).

International committee chair, Ron Salmon, said: “Unable to communicate in writing, these women are held back in life and vulnerable to exploitation. The best way our club could help the women was to fund a literacy programme.”

The club held an Indian night, with lots of home-cooked Indian food, as well as a quiz and an Indian dance demonstration, to raise most of the money required. The £1,000 will enable 350 training days for the group and should see their literacy standard improve significantly, opening up opportunities for the women.

Kantha throws, made by the group, were also offered for sale, raising further funds that will provide the group with purified drinking water to reduce the risk of illness from waterborne pathogens.

This is one of many projects supported by Cockermouth Rotary Club. The club’s next international fundraiser will be a Ukrainian night, to be held in the Christ Church Rooms, Cockermouth from 6.30 pm on Sunday March 17 to raise money for support of Ukrainians suffering in the ongoing war with Russia.