We praise the women of Sotokoi, a village located few kilometers after Faraba Bantang in Kombo East, Western Region. The village is now well known for selling gravel thanks to the women folk of the community.

Our reporter on Tuesday traveled to the village to see how the women are struggling with the business.

In fact after the visit she realised that Sotokoi is not alone in the business but Faraba Bantang is also fully engaged in the job. The two villages are among the places where gravel is dug up and sold to urban areas for construction.

Many would be surprised to know that such a heavy job is mostly done by women by using tools like spades and pick-axes. These women are an example to us all. They work hard all the time to provide for their families with very little consideration for themselves.

Not alone do they struggle with issues such as manpower, the women told our reporter that from the meager pay they earn, they have to deduct the pay of the men who cart off the gravel to the lorries when it is being paid for and that leaves them with virtually nothing to take home to the family.

We urge everyone who is in a position to do so to help these women. We also urge everyone in their community to do all they can to help them with the physical side of the work

The women appealed for modern tools suitable for the work as well as a temporary shelter that can save them from the heat of the sun under which they work for hours. They also requested clean water to quench their thirst.

These are not big demands and we can see very clearly that they are vital. Well done to the women of these villages, you are an example to us all.