Village women from the region, participating in the day's activities

Women have an extremely vital role to play in today's society and on 8th March, the world came together to celebrate, respect, discuss and advance the role of women on International Women's Day. Similarly, in Seenigama, villagers from the region gathered at the recently opened AVIVA Community Centre to celebrate the role of women within their community and to discuss ways to utilise their skills and qualities in order to move the region forward.

The day commenced with the traditional lighting of the oil lamp, followed by a Welcome Speech from the guest speaker, thanking all those present for their interest and attendance. The first speaker for the day was Professor Manouri Senanayake (the immediate past President of the Sri Lankan College of Paediatrics) who stated that through education, mental and child health has improved in Sri Lanka. She also commended the medical services provided by the Foundation, adding that the reasonably high level of immunisation in the region must be maintained. (The Sri Lankan College of Paediatrics has long been supporting the Foundation's Rainbow Clinic ever since the tsunami and we are so privileged to receive their continual assistance.) Following this, a Sister from the Medical Office for Health (MOH) discussed medical health in general and stressed the benefits of breastfeeding.

 
Professor Manori (left) and the Sister (right) discussing the importance of women and medical health

Famous Sri Lankan actress, Harshini, gave the village women some useful tips in natural beauty care, encouraging a healthy lifestyle through a nutritous diet and home-made beauty products. After some encouragement from the audience, Harshini concluded her presentation with a few lines from a recent performance, the villagers cheering in applause.

Priyadharshini De Soysa later showed the village women how simple it can be to make a delicious Chocolate Biscuit Pudding and Bread Pudding, providing them with some inspiration and creative ideas for the kitchen. A similar session for the day was conducted by Nelika De Silva who provided the village women with some tips in table décor and arrangement.

 
Harshini (left) providing natural beauty tips and Priyadharshini De Soysa (right)
demostrating how to make a delicious Chocolate Biscuit Pudding and Bread Pudding

The presentation on Women's Entrepreneurship Skills by Chamari Maelge, a successful young entrepreneur, was a very inspiring one. During her presentation, Chamari stressed the importance of women in the Sri Lankan economy. The vast majority of Sri Lankan women greatly contribute to economic growth through their work, both in and outside of the home. It is only a small proportion of the female population that rely on male 'breadwinners' and the majority of women control the family finances from home. Hence, Chamari encouraged the village women, if not already doing so, to commence a small business of some sort, even from home. Following this, Volga Subashini, Seenigama's well-known sewing teacher, gave a handicrafts and sewing presentation and provided the village women with some useful sewing techniques for the home and for aspiring entrepreneurs.

 
Left: Volga Subashini demonstrating one of the many sewing techniques available;
Right: All-female band, "Bhagya", energising the audience with their ecclectic style of
traditional and modern music.

Throughout the day, guests and residents were entertained by a variety of skilled village dancers as well as a popular all-female band, "Bhagya" from Galle. We are very proud that, in fact, one of our own Foundation staff members from the village, Rashika, occasionally sings with the band and did so in the afternoon for the occasion. We are continually amazed by the talent that is emerging in the region. The day concluded with a traditional village gathering in the Community Hall, where villagers, both male and female, gathered and danced to live traditional music.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the special female guests and inspirational presenters who attended the day (some of whom kindly fit Seenigama into their tight schedule for International Women's Day), including Professor Manouri, Priyadharshini De Soysa, Harshini, Nelika De Silva, Chamari Meepe, Volga Subashini and all the talented members of Bhagya. Most importantly, we would like to thank all of the village women who participated in the activities and discussions for making this day a truly special one.

By promoting the role of village women in the community, together we can ensure a better tomorrow for our region.