Planting Seeds of Care

In Sri Lanka’s Colombo District, two midwives are relearning what it means to care for. For Nimeshika Piyumali and Sandamali Madhuwanthi, tThe Caring for Caregivers (CFC) programme, wasn’t just another professional development session for Nimeshika Piyumali and Sandamali Madhuwanthi,. It was a personal and professional turning point. 

The Caring for Caregivers initiative, supported by UNICEF Sri Lanka and funded by the Government of Australia, aims to equip frontline health and early childhood care and development workers with the tools such as communication techniques, stress management strategies, and visual aids to support the emotional and psychological well-being of caregivers. For midwives especially, this covers the critical 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday. 

Though Nimeshika and Sandamali work in separate communities within Western Sri Lanka - Nimeshika in the suburban areas of Kesbewa East and North, and Sandamali in the more urban pockets of Mirihana - their stories strikingly echo with each other. At the heart of both lies a transformation: from empowering families, to cultivating emotional resilience in caregivers. 

A New Way of Listening 

When Sandamali first stepped into her role as a Public Health Midwife, she had little idea how emotionally demanding it could be. “Three months into my role, I was overwhelmed,” she admits. “In that context, our learnings through the CFC programme have not been just a training, it’s been a lifeline.” 

For Sandamali, the programme helped reframe her role entirely. She discovered that being an effective front-line worker meant more than providing medical advice. It meant seeing families as whole units, acknowledging their emotional burdens, and guiding them with empathy. 

In one unforgettable case, she recalls, “a new mother was struggling after childbirth. At the time I had only participated in half of the CFC training, but I instinctively brought the family into the care process. It reduced the new mother’s stress and strengthened her resilience to meet the new challenges.” 

The approach worked because it shifted the responsibility of care from one person to a network. It wasn’t just about the mother anymore; it was about the entire support system around her. And that, Sandamali says, is the true power of CFC. “It’s not just a programme. It’s a philosophy of care.” 

From Instruction to Empowerment 

In Kesbewa, Nimeshika Piyumali has been quietly supporting families for over seven years. But it wasn’t until she participated in the CFC programme that she truly felt the depth of what her role could become. 

“Rather than telling families what to do,” she says, “I learned the power of empowering them to find their own answers.” 

She recalls one early case before her CFC training, where she tried mediating a long-standing family conflict rooted in mistrust. “Despite all efforts, the problem remained,” she says. “Now I realize if I had known the CFC approach then, the principles of empathy, collaboration, empowerment I might have helped them differently.” 

What distinguished the CFC training was its immersive five-day format and practical tools. “The interactive methods of sharing knowledge made such a difference,” Nimeshika explains. “They helped translate emotional support into everyday action.” 

As the only one among 26 midwives in her Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office to have attended the training, Nimeshika now champions it within her professional circle. She hopes every midwife gets the chance to experience what she did. “In urban areas, with so many nuclear families and working parents, this training is essential.” 

Caring Begins Before Birth 

Both women emphasize a central truth they learned through the CFC programme: care doesn’t start at childbirth; it starts much earlier. From pregnancy through infancy, emotional wellbeing plays a crucial role in healthy development. 

“In my community,” says Nimeshika, “caregivers often feel left alone and overwhelmed. But with support and awareness, we can change that. Especially for new mothers, their care doesn’t begin with the birth of the baby, it starts before, rooted in happiness, support, and awareness.” 

This perspective has been a game-changer in communities like hers, where shifting demographics and modern pressures have made traditional support structures fragile. “We’re not just delivering public health services anymore,” she adds. “We’re planting seeds of resilience and compassion.” 

Supporting Those Who Support Others 

For Sandamali, the impact of the CFC programme extended far beyond the families she served. She says it has impacted her personally. 

“More than a workplace programme, CFC became a form of self-care for me,” she shares. “It taught me how to manage pressure, carve out personal time, and reflect on my growth.” 

This is particularly vital in Sri Lanka’s public healthcare landscape, where midwives and Family Health Officers often carry the emotional weight of entire communities. Without adequate tools for self-care, burnout is a real risk. 

By investing in the wellbeing of caregivers as well as frontline workers, the CFC programme is not just enhancing service delivery; it is also sustaining the people behind it, reminding us that that caregivers too need care. 

A Broader Vision 

The impact of the Caring for Caregivers programme is amplified by the commitment and vision of its supporters. Funded by the Government of Australia and implemented by UNICEF in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the initiative is also part of a broader effort to strengthen early childhood development in Sri Lanka. 

In a country where over 90% of children are cared for at home during the most crucial years of brain development, the emotional wellbeing of caregivers becomes a national priority. The support provided by Australia through UNICEF helps ensure that caregivers, especially mothers, receive the guidance, tools, and emotional support they need. 

The programme recognizes that when caregivers are cared for, their children thrive and when frontline workers like Nimeshika and Sandamali are empowered, entire communities feel the ripple effect. 

Both women now carry their new knowledge like a quiet fire—spreading warmth in homes, empowering mothers, and bringing families closer together. They’ve moved from being health officers to becoming emotional anchors in their communities. 

“We often talk about caring for children,” says Sandamali. “But caring for the caregiver is where that journey really starts.” 

With continued support from donors like the Government of Australia, the Caring for Caregivers programme will continue to do just that: nurture those who nurture others.