'Solar grannies' celebrate women's day in India

Illiterate and semi-literate women from Africa and Latin America gathered here today to celebrate their achievement of becoming solar engineers. The amazing fact is that they are all grandmothers!
The handful of women are the latest batch of grandmothers from across the world who participated in a certificate programme that began in September, 2013, to learn the knowhow for electrifying their villages using solar technology.
The programme is part of the solar engineering programme conducted by the government's India Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) which in 2008 adopted the Barefoot College in Rajasthan's remote Tilonia village as a training centre.
"I am happy to have participated in the training course at Tilonia. Now I'm anxious to go back home and teach everybody about solar energy," said Anna Paulo, a grandmother from Brazil.

Speaking through an interpreter, Paulo said she was happy to come to India and attend the course. She addressed members of Indian Women's Press Corps and other dignitaries at the event organised by External Affairs Ministry to mark International Women's Day.
"Anna is one of the four women we chose from Brazil for the programme... It was at a time when a rape case received wide publicity and the women chose not to come. But this gutsy woman came," said Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy, founder of Barefoot College.

The ambassador of Brazil, who helped translate Paulo's address, said, "If you can replicate this experience with other people from my country, I will be glad."

Rashmi, a grandmother from Indonesia, became emotional while narrating her experience in Tilonia.
"At first, I was scared to come to India because I did not know English or Hindi but, suddenly, I found myself in class," said Rashmi, who donned a traditional off-white Indian salwar kameez for the occasion.
As part of the course, women like Paulo and Rashmi learn how to assemble solar power circuits, mobile chargers, fixed solar units and lamps, items which are then shipped to their villages when they return home.
At Tilonia, any woman over the age of 35 who hails from a remote, inaccessible, non-electrified area of the world, can enrol for the international solar training course, provided she is backed by her village. Indian government pays the airfare and six months' training cost for the women.

"Till date, 340 women from 58 villages have been trained to be solar engineers at Barefoot College. Over 22,000 homes have been electrified all over the world," said Kumar Tuhin, Joint Secretary in MEA.
Ambassadors from Mexico, USA, Togo and Brazil were among those who participated in the event.