Jayaweera
Nilushika Jayaweera came to Singapore to work as a maid in 2001 and 15 years later, she left as an entrepreneur.
The 36-year-old now buys tea leaves from gardens in Sri Lanka and boxes them for sale to some 500 international customers.
She was back in town recently to join a growing list of inspirational speakers on the TED Talks circuit. Other speakers have included tech giant Bill Gates, former United States vice-president Al Gore and researcher Jane Goodall.
Nilushika was invited to speak at TEDxSingapore on Oct 29 this year at Capital Tower.
Not bad for a woman who grew up in an orphanage and was forced to leave her siblings behind to earn a living.
“Back then, I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted. Life just happened to me,” said Nilushika, who came to Singapore to support her four younger siblings.
Her parents died when they were young. Nilushika and her siblings grew up in an orphanage.
In her presentation, Ms. Nilushika highlighted the work of Aidha, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Singapore that mainly teaches maids how to manage their money and start businesses. It was Aidha — a Sanskrit word which means “That to which we aspire” — that transformed her life.
Nilushika said her time in Singapore not only equipped her with business skills, but it also taught her how to empower women in her home country, Sri Lanka.
The money generated from the tea business helped her start her own NGO a few months ago. She is now teaching women in her village how to start small businesses such as pig farming, dressmaking and spice-packing so as to lead independent lives.