Selina’s story
Selina is the amazing woman leading the Self Help Group programme in Sri Lanka. She grew up during the country’s brutal civil war and knows firsthand that trauma and loss were experienced by entire communities because everyone lost someone they loved.
After the civil war in Sri Lanka, Selina saw that widows who had lost their husbands and livelihoods in the conflict were highly vulnerable to exploitation. She identified household dairy production as a viable opportunity for marginalised women to build a sustainable income.
Through a small-holder dairy programme, Selina initiated Self-Help Groups where women receive training and support to care for cows, and how to earn a living from dairy products. The small groups also provide the space for women to process their grief, build their confidence, and find solutions to their problems together. Currently, more than 2,300 women are involved in Self-Help Groups in Sri Lanka.