Giving back and helping others in a time of crisis is one of the most important things a person can do if they are privileged enough to do so. Sri Lanka’s ongoing crisis needs no explanation – every day more and more people begin to struggle to make ends meet. We’ve seen community kitchens and other community outreach initiatives pop up to help those struggling the most and make a difference.
This week, The Sunday Morning Brunch chatted with a woman who has found a way to turn a craft that was once just a hobby into a platform that she can use to help people who are struggling, especially children. Roshi Jinasena Fernando’s little platform, Pottery for Smiles, was able to raise nearly Rs. 100,000 and counting in just over a month to help underprivileged school children get access to books and teachers as well as buy 300 meals for food-insecure schoolchildren.
Giving us a little background into what started Pottery for Smiles, Fernando shared that she had always loved pottery as a craft, and after retiring from her corporate career, she was finally able to try her hand at it. “I wanted to make pottery more regularly, but I didn’t want to sell it or make it a business, so I would end up with a bunch of stuff sitting at home,” Fernando said. “But then about a month ago, I spoke to a friend of mine who told me she was working with underprivileged kids in school who are keen to learn English but have no access to books and teachers and that got me thinking that perhaps I could sell my work and give the money to charity.”
This conversation spurred Fernando to make an Instagram page named Ceylon Clay through which to show her pottery, and this was what led to the Pottery for Smiles concept – she made a flyer explaining just what the cause was and how she was hoping to contribute through selling her pottery.
It was purely touch-and-go, and soon enough Ceylon Clay and Pottery for Smiles had raised close to Rs. 100,000, with many more people interested in and looking to purchase pottery and contribute to the cause. Out of the funds raised, Ceylon Clay has also donated Rs. 30,000 to Community Meal Share.
“A meal for a child costs Rs. 100 and Rs. 30,000 will buy 300 meals,” Fernando said, adding that in Colombo, many people did not think twice about spending thousands of rupees on a night out or at a restaurant and did not always consider just how much impact an amount as small as Rs. 100 could have. “This was something really small that I just started, but the more I look at it, the more I realise that there is a growing need for food. It’s really quite bad, and small initiatives like this are only just scratching the surface. The more you think about it the more you realise that there are so many more things that you can do to help people in these troubled times.”
Even companies and businesses have a lot of potential to do good outside normal CSR activities done for publicity, and many do. Fernando, who previously worked within her large-scale family business and then went on to build a business of her own with her husband, shared that often companies’ potential to do good was limited by the need for mileage as well. However, especially now, it is important for everyone, whether individual, small business, or large business, to come together.
“We all have a responsibility to our fellow people and to our planet,” Fernando said. “Every little bit helps, and each of us, even if we do a little bit, has the power to contribute. Ceylon Clay is not a business, it’s something I started at home. I can’t say I’m hugely talented, but people seem to like what I do and pay money towards it to put towards a cause. That money goes towards making someone’s life better, and it’s wonderful that I have been able to achieve that.”
Ceylon Clay is not focused solely on Fernando’s own pottery though, and in hopes of amplifying the message, Fernando welcomes others who work with pottery to donate their work to raise funds for the cause, be it existing pottery, or pottery they would like to make specifically to raise funds for those in need.
