Gospel House
An estimated 70% of Sri Lanka's unemployed are aged between 15 and 25. Unemployment is especially common in rural areas, pushing people into the cities in search of work. This breaks up small rural communities and threatens the survival of indigenous cultures. Gospel House Handicrafts was set up to tackle youth unemployment in a way, which allows young people to work in their local area and preserves indigenous traditions. The organisation aims to help all less privileged young people, regardless of race, caste or religion. Gospel House now employs 35 young people in its toy factory, as well as working with five smaller producer groups. By providing economic security, Gospel House not only helps its own artisans, but the entire community they live in.
Chamilla is 22 years old and comes from a small fishing village in Tangalle. Her husband, Sujith is a fisherman from the small village. When she was 19, Chamilla was forced start working in a garment factory near Galle, as her husband's income was insufficient to meet their needs. The factory paid her US$0.90 a day, so when she was offered a job as a Line Quality Assurance Inspector in Jordan, paying US$125 a day, she jumped at the opportunity.
Chamilla sent her earnings back to her husband Sujith, who started building a house in their home village. On Boxing Day 2004, Chamilla heard about the Tsunami wave that had devastated her home country. When she could not contact Sujith or her parents, she decided to go back to Sri Lanka in search of them. Chamilla returned home to find her village all but destroyed, but found Sujith and her parents alive and living in a refugee camp. The house that Sujith had nearly finished building had been swept away.
Soon after, Chamilla came in contact with a producer group making handbags to be sold through Gospel House. She asked the group if she could be part of the project, and when they discovered her knowledge and experience, they asked Chamilla to be their head of Quality Assurance.
