What We Do / Grassroots Projects
Building Regional Centres
The aim of the BRC project was to build regional centres which had the capacity to coordinate activities and train activists in different regions.
In Latin America, the regional coordinator was Miriam Ortega and CECAM, based in Santiago, Chile. Miriam coordinated work in the Latin American region, together with Ana Enriquez who developed new work in Central America. (Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.)
In South Asia, the work was coordinated by Viji Srinivasan, based in Adithi, in Patna, Bihar. Following Viji's untimely death in 2005, regional coordination was share betwen Manasi Samaddar working from Bihar and Mr C.Ramadass, based in Pudukkottai, Tamilnadu. (Bihar, Jharkhand and Tamilnadu in India and Nepal.)
In Eastern Europe, the main focus of the work was in the Balkan countries and was coordinated by Felicitas, based in Belgrade, Serbia. (Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania.)
Results
In each of the three regions a number of workshops and joint activities were held around organising and advocacy. In addition, exchanges and international meetings helped to build solidarity and learn from each other.
In India, a new Federation of homebased workers has been established with strong links across the region. New work has started in Central America and common training programmes and plans for advocacy have been developed in each region.
A final workshop was held in Ohrid, Macedonia, in March 2006 where participants agreed to continue working together, and a majority agreed to work together in the new Federation of Homeworkers Worldwide (FHWW).