“To live charitably means not looking out for our own interests, but carrying the burdens of the weakest and poorest among us”
–Pope Francis
BOSS was a series of projects organized by the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance with the objective of empowering women. The third phase of BOSS, “The Craft Shop” was held on the 24th of February from 10.00am to 5.00pm at the Colombo Racecourse Good Market.
From a bunch of alternatives to empower women, we decided the best was to empower the differently abled women. We chose to light up their lives by giving them a hand to be independent. Our ultimate goal was to create a connection between a selected group of differently abled women and the local market, in order to provide them with a way to sell their handicraft products and to earn an income.
After screening a number of homes for differently abled women, we selected “Mith Sevana” in Bellanthara for our project. “Mith Sevana” gives shelter for 70 differently abled women and out of them, 40 women are making handicraft products such as mats, bags, pencil cases, greeting cards, book marks, aprons, pin holders, dolls, photo frames, pillow cases etc. Boss 3 team identified the amazing skills of these ladies and we were able to buy them some materials for their products and to help them achieve their production targets. This project gave a different kind of experience and a great satisfaction to them as well as for us.
Next, all the project members discussed and planned a special sales outlet in Colombo Racecourse Good Market to sell “Mith Sevana” products. Preparations for the stall began about a month before and “The Craft Shop” was successfully held on the 24th February. The stall was handled by us with the participation of “Mith Sevana” ladies. The stall was visited by a large number of people, who purchased and admired the talents of these differently abled lady bosses.
The contribution given by the members of the Project Committee and the club was a major reason for the success of this project and all the income made from the stall was given to “Mith Sevana” women’s home. Finally, we took the ladies on a tour around the Colombo city and we had a great time with them. They too enjoyed a lot and had a wonderful time proving the project to be a great success.
We, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo is looking forward to do more amazing projects like this.
Written By:
Rtr. Sajani Kannangara – Club Member
