Fourteen women from Bay- view in Chatsworth were selected as part of the Saris for Good Karma project.

The initiative, of Durban entrepreneur Kanchana Moodliar, is aimed at providing skills and empowering disadvantaged women in Chatsworth.

Saris for Good Karma is calling on women to donate their unwanted saris, some of which may not have been worn for years.

The saris will be re-sold or turned into high-end fashion, couture garments, cushions and African regalia with the assistance of local designers including Haroun Hansrot. The profits will benefit a community in Bayview.

Most of the 14 women involved in the project had at some time worked in the clothing industry but lost their jobs when the companies closed or they resigned due to personal circumstance.

One of the woman is Rosemary Pather, 46, who had to help her mom take care of her three siblings at the tender age of eight. Pather said they had lived in the bush for three years.

"During our years of struggle to survive, my mom and I helped neighbours wash and clean their houses.

"I dreamt of having a good education so that I could pursue a career and be able to take care of my mom and siblings. This is what kept me alive and gave me the strength to take one day at a time," she said.

Pather left school in Grade 10 to find a job. She worked at a supermarket and later at a clothing factory where she moved up from being a cleaner to learning how to sew.

She left work when her baby girl got very ill and became asthmatic. "I couldn't go on working because she needed 24-hour care. My husband had been working for 27 years and provided for us.

"Nine years ago, he was retrenched with little benefits, most of which we spent on settling my children's hospital bills.

"Eight months later, my husband found another job which could provide for only our food," she said.

Two years ago Pather's daughter died of an asthmatic attack and her husband became unemployed.

"We have a son who is unemployed, a granddaughter and a disabled sister who we still take care of. We don't have any money saved for our old age or for my grandchild's education.

She said the opportunity given to her would afford her not only skills but also the power to educate and train others in the disadvantaged community.

Saris for Good Karma will be launched at a function to be held at Durban's ICC on September 16 where jazz vocalist Natalie Rungan will perform.

Karma is a philosophy based on the cycle of cause and effect.

Donors can drop off their saris at the Sunday Times office at MB House, 635 Ridge Road, Overport; B Nagiah's stores in Chatsworth, Phoenix, Merebank, Springfield Park; Ideals stores in Chatsworth and Phoenix; Spice Emporium on Pine Street, Gateway Theatre of Shopping and Reservoir Hills Mall; and Fashion Channel at Suite No 3, 14 Campbell Avenue, Greyville, Durban.