A new l994 calendar entitled "Women Rebuilding Cambodia" has been produced

by the NGO Concern.

Shot by Italian photographer Giovanni Diffidenti, the calendar includes a series

of six large, dramatic, black and white photographs celebrating women at work.

Pictures show a woman road-building "ganger" with her crew, a woman digging

a fishpond, women taking a lunch break from road building and women clearing scrub

land.

In another photograph, a woman on her way to cut firewood with her two children holds

an axe. They face the camera solemnly, looking small and vulnerable against a dramatic

dawn sky.

The calendar reflects Concern's policy of boosting family income by employing women

in community work schemes in Pursat and Kompong Speu provinces while giving increased

responsibilities to those who show a talent for leadership.

The Irish NGO finds that women are shy about taking positions of authority and unsure

of their capabilities. The scheme aims to help them find out just how capable they

are.

It also finds that it is mostly women who borrow money from the Concern-sponsored

group credit scheme and that they have an excellent repayment record.