EU, WVL

Samanthi, is a mother of two daughters and a former nurse who turned entrepreneur. 

“We are all born poor here, myself and most others in my village. We lived through the crisis, studied, got jobs, married, and had children; that’s how life moved forward. But there came a point when I felt I couldn’t go on like this. Despite having worked as a nurse for eleven years, I struggled to make ends meet and support my family adequately. I decided to quit my job, driven by my long-held dream of starting my own business. I wanted my daughters to have opportunities I never had. Today, I am proud of what I've achieved, but I know there’s still more to accomplish”

The Grassroots Conflict Prevention (GRACE) Project, generously funded by the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission, helps these entrepreneurs scale up their small and medium-sized businesses in five locations in the Western and Northwestern provinces of Sri Lanka to prevent grassroots conflicts arising from socioeconomic factors.

Thanks to the GRACE project, she's not only achieved her goals but also created jobs for others.