“A few years ago, I lost my husband to the war, and was utterly helpless with my two young children. I was sitting at home crying one day, when I was asked to come and join the Diriyen Idiriyata women’s society that had been recently started in my village. I took the chance and went for it, and my whole life changed that day,” said a smiling Surekha Kusumalatha Wanasinghe – a perfect example of a woman empowered to go through life with new vigour.

Surekha and her fellow villagers of Halmillawe – a tiny hamlet located in the North Central Province about 20 km from Habarana along the Palugaswewa–Kekirawa road – have been the fortunate beneficiaries of the Village Adoption Project carried out by the John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation (Foundation) since 2005. Halmillawe, with a total population of about 550, most of whom are dependent on agriculture, lacked basic facilities such as water, electricity, educational infrastructure and enterprise-based livelihood opportunities. Focusing primarily on integrated village development through self-reliance, the project’s main objective was to develop this long-neglected village through sustainable initiatives towards making these villagers more independent and self-sufficient.

Having found the village through the recommendation of the two Habarana-based hotels of John Keells – namely, Cinnamon Lodge and Chaaya Village, the Foundation proceeded to identify the villagers’ most essential requirements through regular stakeholder discussions, and prioritize needs and implement various initiatives in phases, with the support of Cinnamon Lodge. One of the main initiatives undertaken was the construction of a feeder channel to improve the water catchment into the Halmillawe tank to increase the period during which agricultural activities could be carried on – a crying need which had apparently gone unheeded for 50 years until John Keells stepped in. In addition, initiatives such as provision of infrastructure and logistical facilities to the village school including a library, solar power, TVs and DVD players, construction of a new pre-school, support to construct a Dharmashalawa-cum-Community Centre, as well as livelihood projects such as farmer loans and enterprise development among the women and youth, have been highly successful.

Yet another highlight of the project was the establishment of the women’s society ‘Diriyen Idiriyata’ in 2007. The initiatives undertaken by this society have been quite fruitful, such as a village-based savings scheme providing the women financial independence, and development of cottage industries such as mushroom cultivation with training provided by a team from Cinnamon Lodge. Also, more recently, a 6-month sewing course was conducted following which at least 9 women are now fully capable of sewing clothes for their families as well as for commercial purposes. This women’s society has about 56 active members at the moment.

The Village Adoption Project marked its fifth anniversary through a simple ceremony organized by the villagers on 10th March 2010 in the village. The event was attended by a representative gathering of villagers as well as teams representing John Keells Group and the Wilpotha Kantha Ithurum Parishramaya. At the ceremony, a review of work accomplished over the 5-year period took place. The villagers also took the opportunity to show their gratitude for all of the sustainable initiatives undertaken by the Foundation in collaboration with Cinnamon Lodge.

“Our village is truly fortunate to have been chosen for this project,” said Sunil Premaratne, a community leader and member of the Farmer Society. “We greatly appreciate all that we have received, especially the building of the dam which has been a huge asset to us, since we are mainly dependent on agriculture. In addition, our school and pre-school were developed, while residential facilities for the teachers too were arranged. Educating our children is the most important thing for us, and they are already enjoying the benefits of this project,” he added.

Chamila, Treasurer of Diriyen Idiriyata, outlined the various initiatives which John Keells had launched through the society and expressed the sincere appreciation of its membership for empowering them through the saving and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Partnering the Foundation actively in this project is the Puttalam-based Wilpotha Kantha Ithurum Parishramaya, which has acted as the animator of the women’s empowerment initiatives at Halmillawe. “John Keells is truly a treasure to this village, developing not only the dam, school, pre-school and the temple, but also giving them facilities such as solar power panels for the school, pre-school and dharmashalawa”, said President of the Wilpotha organisation Karunawathi Menike, who has been a great source of strength to the village women. Referring to the popular Chinese proverb, `Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’, she emphasized the importance of the self-help initiatives launched by the Foundation which now needed to be sustained by the villagers.