The Power of a Single Step

“If only I knew earlier, my life wouldn't be this way. My parents died young, and I was raised by my aunt, sometimes left alone in the convent school. I never learned what it meant to share my life truly – that made me arrogant and rude." She smiles with a hint of sorrow behind the expression. 

Surangi is a mother of two daughters in the fishing village of Janasavipura, Kalpitiya. Hardship shaped her childhood leading to an early marriage with a young fisherman at the age of eighteen. Working as a hotelier as a young mother was difficult. Her husband left for fishing before dawn, children had to be taken to the school, and the whole responsibility of the family was on her shoulders. Surangi left her hotel job to protect her daughters, aware of the dangers in a place where teenage pregnancies and marriages are so common. "At least one or two girls elope each month. It is not big news. But what do they know about marriage, children, or their safety?" She sighs, "Motherhood is a burden of responsibility, isn't it?"

Her involvement as a World Vision volunteer in area development programs changed her outlook. As a volunteer, Surangi is directly involved with families in organizing various family enrichment programs and cultural exposures. She began to experience the difficulties families go through especially adolescent girls and women in the fishing community. She got the opportunity to get involved with the Grace Project.

"The Grace Project's training on befriending and empathetic listening – it's been invaluable, for my daughters and my community. People see a different Surangi now." The befriending and empathetic listening program aims to develop the skill of listening with empathy in selected community members, teachers, and government officials who engage with the public and children. Gratitude shines in her eyes for the Grassroots Conflict Prevention (Grace) Project, funded by the European Union, which operates in the Western and North-western provinces of Sri Lanka benefiting over 130,000 people who are vulnerable to conflicts due to social and economic situations in Sri Lanka.

"My eldest is in grade six. Usually, by eighth or ninth grade, village girls find older boyfriends. Their lives change and sometimes they get abused, it's heartbreaking. They don't understand what being in a relationship really means. Parents are too busy making ends meet. Feeding and sending them to school is their idea of parenting. This life is harsh. That's why this training is my most precious tool. I can be my daughter's friend, a confidante for her worries, and for other vulnerable girls at the dangerous edge of womanhood too." Grace project has an integral approach to address these vulnerabilities to prevent violence by providing livelihood support and by creating avenues to get involved in dialogues to promote a culture of peace.

"Now," she concludes, "I feel like more than just a village woman, I have a purpose."