Over 20 years of volunteering for women

Ms. Leki Wangmo

“I want to return the generosity shown to me by many people after the loss of our father at my age of 11” said Ms. Leki Wangmo, one of the long serving volunteers with the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB) in Bumthang.

Ms. Leki joined as a volunteer member of the organisation in September 1985 when she was in Bangtar, Samdrupjongkhar Dzongkhag where her husband was working as the Sub-Divisional Officer. There she witnessed many difficulties faced by the women and children especially in the rural areas.

“Those experiences evolved into my small venture of weaving. I developed a Women Self Help Group and involved more women from the poor family background which created job opportunities for the sustenance of the family and community as a whole.”

She took the lead in organising trainings for the school dropout girls and for those underprivileged women in weaving to enable them to earn their livelihood through weaving. Providing education to orphans and single parents are also a part of her initiative.

“Through my volunteer work with NWAB, I had an opportunity to represent the country as a weaver at Japan Expo held in Fukuoka, Japan in 1989. The ideas and exposure gained from this visit was tremendous and affected my day to day life in serving women folks back home with more and better understanding of how things are taking place in other developed countries, and brought back some ideas which could be implemented and shared with my fellow sisters.”

In 1990, when her husband was transferred to Bumthang, she started the Bumthang Women’s Association.

“With the support from the NWAB Thimphu, we were able to take some women to NWAB’s National Handloom Development Project in Khaling to procure natural dyes, which was then only sold to the local weavers. I taught and helped them how to dye yarns. It was rewarding to see that their products earned more than the chemically dyed ones.”

The Bumthang Women’s Association has supported the education for nine children who come from poor family background.

“It is really satisfying seeing the sponsored children go to school year after year. Some of them have completed their education and are employed with different organisations. It is rewarding to know that they are healthy and productive contributors to their families and communities.”

At present five children are benefitted from this programme, one of which is in need of special care and is now in grade 11.

“I have, and I will always encourage women to join the association, whether old or young. I personally gained a lot from volunteering, for example, travelling to Japan as a weaver was important exposure for me, which I never forget to mention in any women’s gathering. It was possible because of my volunteering with the NWAB.”

Ms. Leki’s daughter joined the association in 2004 and is one of the very active members of the organisation.

“One day my goal is to set up a Women Co-operative that will have a name in itself, where we can all work with PRIDE!!!” Ms. Leki proudly told us.