- Sri Lanka’s Women’s Bank president honoured at the ILO’s Women’s Day celebrations

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Sri Lanka’s Women’s Bank president honoured at the ILO’s Women’s Day celebrations

mercredi, 23 avril 2008

"A bank that protects our hopes and dreams, that is made up of our own hopes and dreams is vital for rural women like me. It is an immense social and financial net that protects these dreams". - Rupa Manel Silva

Mrs. K. V. Rupa Manel Silva, hon. president of the Sri Lanka’s Women’s Bank (Sri Lanka Women’s Development Services Cooperative Society), was among the four panellists who were chosen by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva to grace the occasion of their International Women’s day celebrations held at the ILO premises on Friday, 07th March 2007. The other chosen panellists of the event were Ms. Evelyn Oputu (Nigeria), the Managing Director and CEO of Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI), Ms. Michaela Walsh (USA), the founding President of Women’s World Banking and Ms. Agnes Jongerius (the Netherlands), the Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and a titular member of the ITUC General Council.

The day prior to the event (6th March), Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka (Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other international Organizations in Geneva), in his capacity as the chairperson of the ILO governing body, hosted a cocktail reception in honour of these four remarkable women. The cocktail was held at the ILO premises and was attended by the ILO Director-General, Mr. Juan Somavia and the ILO Women’s day organizing committee. On the 7th March, the four panellists were formally welcomed at the ILO by the Director-General, Mr. Juan Somavia. Following a short discussion with him, the panel members were taken to the famous governing body room of the ILO where the celebration was held from 10.00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The celebration was attended by ILO staff, representatives of different international bodies, journalists and other invitees. After the inaugural speech given by the Director-General, the four panellists were given each 15 minutes to address the gathering.

Mrs. Silva’s presentation comprised of her speech given in her mother tongue, Sinhala (this was simultaneously translated into English and other UN languages) and a video documentary on her work. Her presentation as well as her work clearly impressed the participants at the assembly. The presentations were followed by a question-answer session, during which the panellists, including Mrs. Silva, answered the questions raised by the participants.

Following the ILO women’s day celebration, Mrs. Silva was invited to be a guest of honour cum panel member at another women’s day celebration organized by the Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF) in Geneva. Mrs. Silva was in fact among the fourteen WWSF women laureates (the only one from Asia Pacific region) who received the prize for women’s creativity in rural life 2007. She was awarded this prize for her outstanding work as one of the initial members and president of the Sri Lanka’s Women’s bank, a bank whose mission is to financially and socially empower poor Sri Lankan women. Both the ILO and the WWSF admired Mrs. Silva not only for the service she has rendered the poor Sri Lankan women and their families, but also for the immense courage and determination she has demonstrated in evolving herself to her current position in the society from being a mere house wife of humble backgrounds.

Rupa Manel Silva- A bank by women, for women

Rupa (50) was born into a family of farmers in Bandarawela, in the hills of Sri Lanka. Despite the death of her father when she was 16, she continued her education through high school level. Due to lack of economic means she stopped her education and married at the age of 19. In 1978, she moved with her husband to Colombo. Facing unemployment herself, she decided to create the first women's bank group in the area. Her strategy was to encourage poor women to begin saving regularly, no matter how small the amount, to establish a basis for loans. The saving system initially started with a deposit of Rs.5 ($US 0.12) per person and per month. The project idea was for a group of 5 to 15 women to select a leader, who was well aware of the background and needs of each family member, and who took responsibility to give the loans for a deserving purpose.

The Women's Bank (of which the founder is Mr. Nandasiri Gamage who is an economic graduate of the Peradeniya University), bringing together all the groups, was officially formed in 1989 with branches in 18 districts. It emerged out of a pilot project of women's mutual help groups initiated by the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) of Sri Lanka. The total of the deposits to date stands at Rs. 850 million for 65'000 members.

By 1994, Rupa was able to extend the network to rural areas and support the establishment of women's groups in areas where life for most women meant only housework, cooking and raising children. The last 12 years have transformed many lives, including Rupa's. Mud houses have been changed into brick homes with electricity and running water. Many women have learned to read and write as well as the importance of environmental protection. Most of these women in the informal sector cannot imagine the concept of retirement, but with assistance from the Women's Bank, for the first time, women can imagine the possibility of a pension in an old age. At the end of a member's loan period, a program will calculate her monthly pension based on her savings and the number of years of membership, with the same interest rate as in the other banks.

Last Updated ( mardi, 24 juin 2008 )