Featured Article written by Ishara Jayawardane on Daily News paper which can be accessed at the link below,
http://dailynews.lk/2016/08/25/features/91297
Otara Gunawardene is one of the most well-respected and well-loved personalities in Sri Lanka. Her compassion and concern for living beings is admirable and has endeared her to all who come across her. Otara – successful and charismatic – is warm-hearted and dazzling at the same time. Today we feature Otara Gunawardene, a leader in her generation.
Q:Otara, your achievements are so many that it is difficult for me to mention all. But suffice to say that you are a powerful and outstanding woman. In 2013, Echelon Magazine named you the ‘Most Powerful Woman in Sri Lanka’. To what do you attribute your success?
- My greatest passion has been to change lives. Helping people, animals and the environment is what I have wanted to do from the time I was a child. I started the business to help raise funds for elephant conservation and I loved being able to uplift people’s lives by giving them better opportunities and more exposure. I was able to give a better shopping experience to many from what was available to them and I was able to contribute to helping the community and the country I lived in. This was a huge driving force for me to do more each day, learn more, improve and grow the business daily.
Since I did not know anything about business, marketing, retail, finance, fashion or people management, I had to learn everything on the job. I think it is really important to always want to learn and listen and no matter what position you are in, always believe that there is so much more you can learn from others.
Q: In 2000, Jaycees named you the Most Outstanding Young Person in Sri Lanka. Reaching the age of 50, when you look back, what was it that made that 34-year-old woman so remarkable to be called the ‘Most Outstanding Young Person’?
- A. Actually, I am 52 years this month. I have never done what I do for awards, not then and not today. However, it was certainly encouraging to receive this award. As a young entrepreneur, it is wonderful when your work is recognized and it inspires you to keep going and trying to get better each day. I am thankful to everyone who has supported me over the years.
Q: As a woman, what did it mean to win the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award?
- A. I hope I have been able to inspire many women to be confident and know that they can achieve whatever it is they would like to do. It requires commitment, passion and strength to keep going amidst balancing family life but it can be done. Being a mother and running a business can be very challenging sometimes. I know what it is like to have to make your mark in a man’s world as a woman, often not being heard or taken seriously. I think that even though there is a lot more acceptance of women leading in the corporate world, there still is a fair segment that finds it difficult to accept.
Q: On September 11, 2014, you sold all your shares in ODEL to the Softlogic Group. This must have required a tremendous amount of courage?
- It was one of the hardest things I have done but more than courage, it is the whole path of listening to my heart and soul, and knowing when the time is right to exit, which has been a big learning experience. Detachment is a very difficult thing for us humans. I had built the business in to a corporate structure which I found less and less exciting to function in. Whilst it gave me the way to exit and for the business to continue with a new owner, it was not an environment an entrepreneur who likes to create, chop and change enjoyed. I also wanted to make sure that when I sold, I would not have even a few minutes where I would regret selling. The hardest part was the people because I knew it would be difficult for them with the changes. But it does work out in the end and many have got better opportunities over the last two years and are contributing well to growing the business today.
Q: You have said your calling in life is to assist animals. Why do you say this?
- Everyone has a calling and a purpose in life. I have always known mine was to help animals and to be close to nature. Our drive to want more and more each day for ourselves in life, has made us lose our balance with nature, and our understanding that all lives matter is often irrelevant. It is not a world just for humans to abuse, hurt and destroy animals as we please. I truly believe we will never find happiness till we are in sync with nature.
Happiness to me today is not what I get or what I own but seeing other lives without suffering. That is what brings me the greatest happiness.
Q: You have said everybody has a purpose in life. You are definitely spiritual. Where did this spirituality come from?
- Everybody is born with a purpose. It is about your connection to the source, to the universe or some say God. Everyone has access to it, if you let yourself be open to it.
I am sure many know that the purpose is to end up in a realm where you are not reborn. Hate, greed, anger and ego is not going to get any one of us there. We come with nothing and we go with nothing.
The difference you make during that time to lives, and a healthier happier world, is all that matters.
Q: Can you talk to me about Embark: its history and its functions? What is in store for Embark in the future?
- Embark started nine years ago, because I was doing many things for animals, people and the environment. But I thought it was best to focus on one thing where I could make a big difference. That was the reason I chose street dogs. Niko, who I found on the road, changed my life and my view of street dogs. I was also someone who just drove by them and never gave them much thought. They really are amazing dogs, they are truly Sri Lankan and we should be proud of them. They have been a part of our culture for centuries and they should be treated with care and respect like any other life. I started to raise funds to help them by making six black and white t-shirts and continued to grow the range. The more I earned, the more I could spend on helping both dogs and communities, and Sri Lanka. One of the most difficult things is to raise funds to help not only animals but also people or to do any social work. I have always wanted to be able to earn the money to be able to do the work. Going around asking people for donations can be done but it comes with a lot of challenges. However, all donations are much appreciated to enable us to help more.
Q: You have said that your love for fashion has always been linked with your passion for animals. What was it that made you and still makes you a fashion icon?
- A. I started the business to raise funds to help animals and other causes, and I continue doing that today. It would be great if there are plenty of people to give me money to help street dogs and other animals, but if it was so easy, so many would be doing it, and they would not really need much help from me. I truly believe that businesses need to contribute much more especially at the grassroots level if we are to uplift Sri Lanka. Profits are important but huge focus on the bottom line and drive for growths in the world today comes at a huge cost.
Q:What prompted you to start ODEL? Because as much as you made ODEL what it is, it too made you what you are today. What were its beginnings?
- Starting from nothing and borrowing money is something that many can do. It is important and not demeaning to start very small and to grow from there. Along the way, it is then up to you to change and tweak things to define what you want to create and the role you want to play.
Q: What was your childhood like? How was your schooling at Ladies’ College?
- I was a very playful student, good in sports and bad in studies!! I really disliked studying but loved the competition and the training to win sports competitions.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the future? Where do you see Embark in the future?
- I hope I will be able to make it grow because the more I do this, the more I can contribute to helping street dogs. I don’t want it to be a similar format to what I have done before, so, let’s see how it works out.
I also want to contribute more to protecting our environment and our wildlife. I think it is so important that we don’t lose what we have. I see so much suffering of both people and wildlife these days and I will do my best to help in any way I can. I am also very interested in organic farming and helping the farmers to market their produce whilst providing non- toxic food for all.
Q: When you are not involved with Embark, how do you spend your time? Do you read, watch DVDs, read poetry or engage in sports? I understand you excelled in athletics and swimming at Ladies’ College?
- I continue to stay fit in the gym, yoga, meditation, and reading. Travelling around Sri Lanka is my current passion. During my time at ODEL, I had to travel so much outside Sri Lanka that I never had time to travel much here. I used to love exploring Sri Lanka as a child, visiting jungles and being close to nature. Now that I am exploring again, it really saddens me to see how much of it we are now destroying. I truly hope we will strive to retain the incredibly diverse fauna and flora we have been gifted with.
Q: What are your tips for success?
- Do something you love doing. Make a difference to many lives. Giving is more important than taking. Work hard. Have a vision. Use your heart and not only the head.
Q: What is your message to the people?
- We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. We need to work together to preserve our wildlife, our environment and the true Sri Lanka with our amazing villages. We need to care so that we don’t destroy it with garbage everywhere, destroying waterfalls, forests and places of true beauty that need to be preserved for future generations and for visitors from all over the world to enjoy.
