Women ‘warriors’ in their own right
The first female farmer in her neighbourhood in the Puttalam district, A.M.Devika Nishanthi Dissanayake was given 30 cows by World Vision to start a dairy business. Despite protests and disapproval from her community, Devika persevered. Her diligence was rewarded; for not only did she carry off the Thambapanni Abhimani merit award in the Puttalam District Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agribusiness Awards in 2018, she also now runs the farm as a training facility for new farmers and those who wish to know more about the dairy industry.
The Sunday Times met Devika and other women entrepreneurs at the EqualWalk-EqualTalk event organised by World Vision Lanka for International Women’s Day that was marked in March. Held at the Sri Lankan Foundation Institute, the event introduced a number of rural women who have taken advantage of the opportunities World Vision has provided them enabling insights into how they maintain their livelihood.
World Vision Sri Lanka has been a pioneering force in developing rural communities, especially focusing on the education of children and their growth, providing sustainable livelihoods for people, while working to eradicate issues such as child abuse, poverty and more.
“We have worked in all the districts in this country except Colombo because as you know, we have a lopsided development in this country. All our programmes include women as our key partners and recipients of assistance. Women have a special place in our ministry because sadly in the past, we have seen that women are not given their due place in society,” said National Director of World Vision Lanka, Dr. Dhanan Senathirajah.
Malika Comester who was the keynote speaker at the event was another woman empowered through World Vision’s efforts. A vibrant personality, Malika entertained the audience with her story of how she started stitching funeral clothes despite the societal taboos surrounding this trade.
“I needed to find a job and help my husband and family. Although I knew how to stitch (not very well) it was not fruitful. It was then that an idea popped into my mind about stitching funeral clothes for the dead. It was not easy and I did not know very much about it but with the aid of World Vision, I kept going,” Malika recounted.
Another lady that World Vision supports is Raveena Francis who still has mental scars from the war when she had to also relocate from her home. Her dream was to be a teacher but given the circumstances, Raveena volunteered to teach art and crafts at refugee camps instead. Very talented in creating beautiful paper quilled artwork, Raveena has started a small business and teaches those in her community the craft.
At EqualWalk-EqualTalk we were also able to meet a few of the homemakers of Devipuram from the Kilinochchi district where women were trained and given employment in the block cutting industry which produces the raw materials for people of the community to build homes.
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EqualWalk-EqualTalk event organised by World Vision Lanka for International Women’s Day. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Others who were present at the event were Indrani, an eco-warrior from Vahari who had been shouldering the weight of looking after herself and her mother, Sivajothi who in spite of her impaired vision is a groundnut processor and entrepreneur, Somawathi who has been her family’s sole breadwinner since the age of seven as she worked at a tea estate and businesswoman Yugi who owns Abish – a snack products company in Chankanai that employs women in the community to help out.
An international organisation that focuses on humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy, World Vision which began (and is primarily) as an evangelical Christian movement, has been helping communities and the less fortunate across the globe since their inception in 1950.
See their Facebook page @World Vision Lanka and their official website for more information: https://www.wvi.org/srilanka.