Champika Subashini is one of many examples that show how vocational training and the opportunity to borrow money to start up a business can fundamentally change a person’s life.
Under normal circumstances her disability would have probably meant a life in obscurity and dependence on those around her. But instead Champika Subashini can now look forward to starting her own clothes shop next-door to her parents’ house.
She hopes this means that she will not only be able to provide for herself, but that she will also be able to contribute to providing for her family.
Own clothes production
The project behind the venture is Rehab Lanka, which works with vocational training and the production of assistive devices for the disabled and clothes under its own brand.
Sales revenues go to the work of the parent organisation Sri Lanka Foundation for Rehabilitation of the Disabled (SLRFD) to improve the rights of disabled people.
Sida contributes funds
Sweden and Sida are providing funds for SLRD’s development of a network of local association and other organisational development work. The support is mediated by, for example, the Swedish National Association for the Disabled (DHR) and the Swedish Organisations of Persons with Disabilities’ International Aid Association (SHIfA).
