Our Work With Women In Peril

Circumstances in Sri Lanka can pose dangers for women. For example, the culture is especially hard on women who have lost their husbands. When a woman’s husband dies, it is considered to be a result of her Karma, and the community regards her as bad luck. She is immediately shunned from social gatherings: a bride will not even look at a widow for fear of harming her impending wedding. Having lost the protection of her husband and the support of her community, she becomes a target for exploitation by men. Many are pulled, for lack of any other option, into the darkness of prostitution. Other women may become at risk due to abandonment of a husband or poverty. Resplendent Hope wants to restore the self worth and dignity of these women.

Esther Centre

The Esther Centre is a shelter for women, which provides housing, counseling, support, and teaching for a new vocation in agriculture, sewing, food preparation and horticulture. After completing a year program, a woman can support herself and her children, and they are relocated to a new community near a church center that serves as a protector and extended family.

Sewing School

The sewing center is one component of restoring self worth and dignity to women. At the center, women are trained as a seamstress, which will provide them with a livelihood. Upon graduation, they are provided with a sewing machine, tools and materials to prosper on their own.