Stories of Change – Empowering Women in Sri Lanka Through Skills and Opportunity

Achala was born to parents who are both mute. Her father made a living selling lottery tickets on the street, and her mother sold homegrown vegetables. After years of watching her parents struggle to make ends meet, Achala became determined to build a stable career so she could support her parents and younger brother. Through the Bakery School, Achala secured an internship at a catering company and even helped get her brother a job at a local supermarket. Today, Achala runs her own family bakery, supplying cakes and snacks to pastry shops and school canteens. Through her hard work and achievements, Achala’s parents no longer sell lottery tickets and vegetables on the street.

Menuka is the eldest of four siblings. When she was just 14, her father passed away. After her mother remarried an abusive partner, Menuka was sent to Senehasa Girls Home. Menuka joined the Bakery School and proved to be exceptionally good at baking sweet treats as well as showing strong leadership potential. After her internship at a hotel, Menuka set up her own small business. Now, she works with two other graduates from the Bakery School supplying cupcakes and muffins to private school canteens across the capital city of Colombo.

In 2019, Githmi was at a breaking point. With no family support and frequent run-ins with the police, she was recruited into the Bakery School. Although she worked hard, she initially struggled to keep up with the program. She was invited to stay for a second semester and help guide the new students. Githmi quickly proved to be a natural mentor, and the extra time to strengthen her baking skills made a real difference. She completed her internship with Maldivian Airlines Catering, who later offered her a trainee position. After several promotions, Githmi is now a supervisor responsible for many staff members, including some newer graduates of The Bakery School.

Samudrika came from a very poor family and fell in love when she was 16 years old. Samudrika’s family, and her boyfriend’s family, refused to allow the relationship. The boyfriend found work in a restaurant, but Samudrika needed support to develop her skills, so she and approached the Bakery School in 2016. After graduation, Samudrika completed her internship with the same chain of restaurants as her fiancé. With a few years of hard savings, they achieved their dream to start a bakery enterprise! They began with home deliver food orders by bicycle during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have now successfully grown their business into a popular café and restaurant.

Janaka de Silva is a highly respected freelance hospitality and management consultant who lives in Galle, Sri Lanka. After the 2004 tsunami, Janaka saw an urgent need to assist his community and jumped in to help 25 families restart their businesses and get 110 children back to school. From that beginning, Janaka founded Volunteer Sri Lanka, which provides a number of services including kindergarten assistance, elderly care, and physical therapy for people with disabilities. Janaka, who started baking to help his own family when he was 12 years old, started the Bakery School in 2013. The specific aim of the Bakery School was to help young women from the Senehasa Girls Home gain valuable skills in baking that can change their life. Since then, over 300 young women have benefitted from the program, beginning a career with the skills to be confident and successful.