Yasotha Balachandran lives in Inuvil in the Jaffna Peninsual. She is the youngest daughter of Balachandran and Maheswari and has two elder sisters. She has completed university studies & wants to stand on her own feet without seeking a job in government or other institutions like most people. Her house is surrounded by trees in a natural environment. Here she was making fashionable costumes for her imagination from a small shed in front of her house. Her father has been affected by diabetes for the past 10 years & lost an eye. He is unable to do his routine works without support. An active father is important for the success of family but unfortunately she is unable to get much support from him. But God did not abandon them, and Yasotha is determined to open another door for her younger sisters. She takes the responsibility for her sisters’ studies. She is proof, having faced many crunches in her life, that “Success is not stopped by not finishing education”. “Anyone could be rich but to create the value you need to be dedicated & spend time & effort”.
Yasotha finished her Advanced Level (2009) at Inuvil Central College in the Arts stream & then graduated in Art and Design from the Jaffna University in 2015. Her education and curiosity were in the field of crafts, so initially, she created jewelry for herself For the past 3 years, she has worked as a Visiting Instructor in Ramanathan academy teaching craftsmanship. She has also created various handicrafts with natural materials available in the environment. She often learns new techniques and gets ideas on the Internet and then designs them hereself effectively. She is determined to stand on her own feet as an entrepreneur instead of looking for jobs in the government.
The piece paper called a degree not evaluate people who are they.
When I talked with her, she said, “Initially I created small accessories and handicrafts for children. Nowadays, girls wear different kinds of String of pearls at the neck, so I turned my thought related to them & design it & upload them on my social website. They were very welcome. Necklace of rice has been welcomed by everyone. Here, I think I’ve done this for the first time”. “Patience is a virtue in the current world of impatient exuberance“. This profession requires maximum patience. But there is no good marketplace for the costumes, accessories, decorative items made of paper and of natural materials. This stands out as a major concern today in our country.
“Small changes you make in your own life can make a difference to the world”.
“I’m preparing birthday and wedding anniversary cards. This time I created a Valentine’s Day card for Valentine’s Day. It was very successful. Besides that, I am creating paintings. I send my creations to my overseas relatives, they like them & their relatives ask me to do more such designs. This is encouraging my curiosity more & I have decided to create my identity in a handmade product”. In the future, Yasodha would like to open her own accessories and handmade product company. I hope to get support from customers for big success.
She is the model for younger women in her village.
“Every little drop does count”