Real Life: Selina Kumar’s Yugashakthi, the company helping Sri Lankans out of poverty - with New Zealand’s help

Selina Prem Kumar.

A Sri Lankan humanitarian whose dairy farming initiative has lifted more than 5000 of her compatriots out of poverty hopes her story is an example to Kiwi women not to give up.

Selina Prem Kumar started Yugashakthi, a company helping vulnerable farmers earn a sustainable income, in 2011 – just two years after a 26-year civil war that ravaged the nation came to a close.

Kumar was recently in New Zealand to share the impact Yugashakthi has been having in Sri Lanka, in large part thanks to the kindness of Kiwis – especially the technical skills shared by Kiwi dairy farmers, which has helped the initiative flourish.

In an interview on Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan that aired on Sunday night, Kumar said she hoped her story of being a “triple minority” who made an impact in her community could inspire other women.

“By ethnicity, I am Tamil; and then by religion, I’m a Christian – Buddhism is the majority, then Hinduism, and then we Christians are a small minority; and then I’m a woman,” she explains.

“We come from a culture where the gender roles are so clearly defined and the women happily took the back seat – until the end of the war. When the war ended, the entire social structure changed because many of the men died, went missing or were taken into detention.

“[Before that, the men] made all the decisions and took the lead role. So for women to step into that, and be providers for the family – not only their own family, but also the extended families – it was a huge leap for them, and they were not ready.”

As a result of the war, Sri Lanka was plunged into an economic crisis. But thanks to the Yugashakthi initiative, more than 5000 people have learned the skills to rear a small herd of around four cows each, providing them with a sustainable income from milk sales.

Just under half of these farmers are women, and empowering women to provide for themselves and their families has become a major motivator for Kumar.

“When I’m in the country, I always attend the women’s group meetings, because I share my story so that they will be motivated never to give up.

“We also have a programme working with men, advocating and making them recognise the contribution of their wives and their sisters and to respect them. That has worked very well with our farmers.”

Asked by Cowan what she’d noticed from her time in New Zealand, Kumar said she had two messages for Kiwis.

“One is to be grateful for what you have got. You have plenty in this land – be grateful and count your blessings. I came back to Sri Lanka because God asked me, ‘What are you giving back?’

“Irrespective of where you are, you can always think: what am I giving back? It may be your own community or overseas or whatever.

“And for women, my message is please don’t give up, whatever the circumstances. Don’t give up, because God will take you through it.”

Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7:30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.