Passion leads Karunaratne to become a leader
Being able to contribute to a society has been a passion for Radhika Karunaratne. The passion has led her to join the Foundation for the Education of Needy Children in Fiji (FENC Fiji) as the Chair, National Organising and Management Committee (NOMC).
Mrs Karunaratne hails from the beautiful west of Fiji Islands; the Coral Coast. She is happily married to Jagath Karunaratne who inspires her with a shared vision in getting into the social sphere with the intention of making a difference to the voiceless, needy, the poor and society as a whole.
“This comes with my extreme passion from childhood to be involved in any form or manner in bringing in a smile on another being and I am extremely happy that I joined FENC Fiji after my career in the corporate world for more than 20 years as I am now allocating my time for a worthy cause while attending to my other commitments,” she said.
Inspiration
She said her first inspiration came from her mother, Vijaya Singh who instilled the values in her and always told her to be a fighter in life, stand on her own feet and being independent.
“Education is something she has made me strongly focus on, even sending me to kindergarten at the age of two,” Mr Karunaratne said. “I draw inspiration from Princess Diana who I really admired for her passion and commitments towards eradicating poverty, homelessness and raising awareness of mental health.”
She said women in leadership came with its own unique qualities and characteristics by just being women.
“Their natural instinct to care, protect and nurture with love and compassion adds a distinct difference in leadership,” she added.
“I believe that leadership has evolved in the 21st century in creating a caring and compassionate working environment as opposed to the traditional leadership model in
the past.”
At FENC Fiji, Mrs Karunaratne’s role as a woman leader certainly brings in a gentle, caring and passionate working environment, however, guided by the strong ethics and practices in leadership and with the assistance of their able team who never see or consider dominance of any gender as an issue.
“We have advocated and continue to advocate for Education and Gender Equality as one of our focal points,” she said.
She said her career at FENC Fiji began with an inquiry of the vision of FENC Fiji which eventually made her wanting to be part of the organisation.
“My association with FENC Fiji started off when I was appointed as a member of the NOMC. After a short while, I was nominated and appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees following which the Board offered me to be the Chair of the NOMC,” she said. “Like any other woman, I also
have to multi-task which I believe is a quality that women possess, where I am able to attend to with my other commitments such as home, consulting, research and my role as Chair, NOMC at FENC Fiji. “These are challenges in itself as every role requires full dedication, commitment and time.
“As the Chair of NOMC, with gender equality being one of the aspects FENC Fiji advocates on, we constantly look to remove any obstacles or barriers that women face with not only being part of the organisation but also in the society. “At FENC Fiji, we constantly look at new ways of eradicating the most abject conditions of poverty in our nation while focusing on the strategic goals of FENC Fiji.
“We have and are in the process of implementing innovative ways and going digital with access to all, regardless of gender. We focus on merits while advocating gender equality.”