A Humanitarian Emerges


by Jeˇ Mortimer Amanda Van Dort ÿ nds her calling in Sri Lanka A


t fi rst glance, it’s hard to fi gure. How did an Eastern alumna with a degree in exercise science become, at age 23, the top executive of a nonprofi t foundation in Sri Lanka that has nothing to do with exercise?


“I’ve always had a strong interest in people and social issues,” says Amanda Van Dort (BS10).


“My mother’s mom, who passed away in October, was a political activist who once had her house burned down. Both my mom’s side and dad’s side have a lot of activists, which I’m extremely proud of.” So bloodlines are part of the answer, and not just that gene for activism. Both her


parents are natives of Sri Lanka, the island nation off the southern coast of India where she is the country director of Emerge Lanka Foundation, an organization that teaches business and life skills through jewelry-making to young women ages 10-18 who have been removed from their homes due to abuse. Equipping them with an


Photographs by Ravi Bandaranaike


Each girl in the Emerge Lanka Foundation works through a self-paced curriculum designed to teach jewelry making and business skills. The girls develop financial skills and are guided through the process of designing their own business.


Eastern | WINTER 2012 17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36