Picture shows the award winners.

The International Widows day celebrations were held in the Tangalle UC Auditorium on June 23 where awards were presented to five widows selected from the Hambantota District in appreciations of the role played by them in the social and economic development of the country by being engaged in livelihoods.

It was held to coincide with celebrations organized by the Youth Business Programme of the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) in collaboration with the Women Development Foundation (WDF).

Raj Loomba, architect of The Loomba Trust, who as a child, himself saw the trials and tribulations that his mother, Srimathi Pushpawathi Loomba, a widow at the young age of 37, faced with seven children to feed, took part in the Sri Lankan celebrations. Guided by The Loomba Trust, with the noble intension of giving a helping hand to young widows who under go suffering with their children, to enable them to better their lot and to build their lives, The International Widows Day was introduced to the world in 2005.
The Hambantota Youth Entrepreneurs programme was identified as the most suitable institute in Sri Lanka to introduce the mission of the Loomba Trust to the country in order to realize its aims and objective in a more successful manner. It also acts as the Sri Lankan Trustee of The Loomba Trust.

rovision of credit facilities to widows to start and improve business ventures on their own is being done very successfully in the Hambantota District and a number of beneficiaries who have received credit assistance from The Loomba Trust Project during the last period of one year are gainfully engaged in their business activities at the moment. Around 400 widows in the Hambantota district were present at the event.