- The Empower Initiative’s dedication to support those in need
With Sri Lanka undergoing yet another tumultuous period, with shortages in several essential commodities, there is no shortage of people and families in need. Attempting to fulfil these needs is The Empower Initiative, known simply as Empower, dedicated to supporting families in need and providing sustainable methods for progress with the support of the immediate community.
The Empower Initiative Founder Hiruni Perera explained that Empower is a dedicated initiative that focuses on sustainable support provided for people in need in Sri Lanka by serving as a bridge between those seeking help, and those willing to provide it.
“We are dedicated to help people through their tough times in Sri Lanka and change the perspectives of the capabilities of every human,” she stated, adding that as the world is reeling from the effects of the pandemic, she is here to remind you that there is nothing that we can’t achieve if we all partner together.
Sharing her personal testimony as to why she began The Empower Initiative, Perera stated that she was raised by a single mother, which gave her insight into the difficulties of supporting a family. “Through my teen years I have seen the difficulties my mom faced in meeting the needs of the family by working to gain financial stability while giving attention to my sibling and myself at the same time,” she revealed, adding that this experience taught her that there is more to life, and that there are people out there going through the same thing or worse. “Most people are handed an unfair burden to carry on this journey we call life, and at Empower, we do what we can to help take the load off them.”
She went on to talk about the inspiration behind this cause, which stemmed from a childhood desire to help people. “I used to see beggars on the road and wanted to help them, but at that age I didn’t know how. Later on, I realised that when I grow up, I could do something to help them,” she said, adding that this is what motivated her to fulfil her dreams.
Empower believes in a world without inequality and their goal is to work towards just that.
“The eight-year-old boy begging for money has a father who is terminally ill and needs a big amount of money just to stay alive. The woman you smile at on the bus is a mom with no support from anyone, trying to raise a child alone. The man who drives you to school may have once fought for his country and lost not an arm or a limb, but a soul,” Perera observed, adding that this is just a mere glimpse of the world we live in, a world consisting of people who have real issues that need real solutions. According to Perera’s vision for the initiative, every step they take will always be for someone else, as “after all, we are just walking each other home”.
Speaking on what they do at Empower and what she hopes to achieve in the long term, Perera shared that they have dedicated themselves to identifying various ways they can add value to our community along with their core objectives. “Among the ideas we will be implementing is to create a platform where people from different stages of life share their experiences and concerns so that we can all learn from each other,” she stated, adding that along with this, they will be initiating projects to support education and safe sanitation once the circumstances allow it. “Our virtual platforms are available to connect, get in touch, and build our community,” she stated.
Perera also highlighted that while sometimes we think we cannot help everyone, we can do what we can and use what we have. Together, she affirms that we can go far. She invited everyone to join hands with them on this journey as they do exciting things to raise funds and strive to make things better for the communities we live in. Perera also added that they financially support single-parent families and plan on doing frequent charity projects around the country when circumstances allow, while also championing community participation along the way.
Their next project, she noted, is to help those fighting for our rights at “GotoGoGama”.
“There is not much we can do as citizens at the moment, so it’s nice to help and support those who are fighting for our country,” she shared. They are currently collecting donations and funds via their Instagram page (@theempowerinitiative.sl) and are hoping to go ahead with the donations soon.
Eventually, with this initiative, Perera dreams of bridging the gap between social stratifications by advocating for people who have been forced to hide under a façade. At the moment, their main aim is to power on to the future by supporting humanity and its causes so we can all live in a more humane world. She concluded: “My gratitude goes out to everyone who partnered with me, supporting this initiative both financially and in other ways, and to everyone out there stepping up to make a change. I am proud of you!”