New Women’s Empowerment Centre

One of the most integral parts of the Foundation of Goodness’ holistic rural development model is Women’s Empowerment. Women in Sri Lanka, especially in the rural areas continue to greatly lack opportunities, are discriminated against and are victims of harassment. Thousands of rural girls grow up believing in societal stereotypes and do not fully realize their true potential, especially since financial resources are usually concentrated on their male counterparts and women find it difficult to balance their responsibilities to their families and pursue their dreams. 

This is where the Foundation of Goodness aims to step in and provide free courses in soft skills such as dress making, sewing, baking, food processing and beauty culture. These courses are a favourite among rural women, as it is easy to learn and convert into a home business. However, seeing the potential in our women beyond these courses, our centres ensure that all our women attend English language and computer training courses, so as to open more doors of opportunity for them. 

The OYOB Centre of Excellence in Seenigama, our flagship centre, has been empowering women over several years, with 5440 women being empowered since inception. This year, thanks to a kind donation from Dr. Naj Nagendran, Dr. Sangarappillai Asokan and Nimmi Dharmarajah the Women’s Empowerment Centre was refurbished and renovated, greatly elevating the learning environment of our ladies.

The graduation ceremony for January 2022 of the women’s empowerment centre was held in the newly renovated premises together with a mini market and bridal show. We hope the new centre encourages our women to continue with their courses and provides better facilities for them to improve their skills.