An inspirational achiever in the UAE Felicia De Silva

10 February 2015 09:44 am

By Shehara Rizly

Many women have become inspirational from time immemorial. In Sri Lanka there are many women achievers in various professions through sheer perseverance and dedication. When you look at the amount of foreign exchange earners, our Sri Lankan ladies are at the helm. Unfortunately these ladies are neither recognized nor noticed in most forums as the belief is that they work out of the country. At LW we would like to share a few stories of women as well as men who hold our Lankan flag high up in the sky in these foreign lands.

Our first lady is Felicia De Silva who is currently employed as Operations Manager in a reputed shipping company in Sharjah. As children we have many dreams which we would like to fulfill but sometimes in life, these dreams either change course or tend to be forgotten in the long run. Felicia is a lady who managed to fulfill her childhood dream by perseverance and dedication.

Dream come true

First of all Felicia shared with us, the childhood dream which was fulfilled. “ I came to Dubai in 1991 with the intention of collecting some money to go to the USA to fulfill my childhood dream which was shattered due to my mother’s demise on the day of the last interview of AFS (an exchange programme for students between countries). I made my dream come true by going to the USA on holiday but I still love this country which has provided me everything I wanted. Ever since I came to Dubai, I fell in love with this country due to the fact that we are only four hours away from home and we can always run home as and when required.”

Family and life back in Sri Lanka

“I’m the eldest in the family with a younger brother. My dad was based in the plantation sector in Waga. Hence, my dad thought that girls should be growing up in convents; therefore he decided to admit me in a hostel at his home town which is Wahakotte from grade 1 ( that is when I was 5 years old). However, whenever I used to see my grandmother or cousins I used to cry. So the entire neighbourhood including the parish priest and nuns used to call me cry baby. I had no choice but spent two years at the hostel in Wahakotte till my dad found a place for me at Holy Cross College, Gampaha, yet again at the hostel. It was not easy to go back to the hostel after holidays; only I know what it felt like but carried on. When it was time to get ready I would climb up a tree where no one could find me. However, I spent all my school life until the Advance level at this very same school. While I was doing my AL’s I had the opportunity to apply for the AFS student transfer programme. My dreams were shattered when my mom passed away on the day when I had to attend my last interview. However, my dad decided not to send me anywhere since we lost our mom. From this day I played the role of  older sister and mom to my younger brother. After my AL’s my dad enrolled me at the Polytechnic at Wellawatte which was a great challenge to me due to the fact that I had no experience in travelling at all being in boarding schools all my life. However, I took this as a challenge and learnt shorthand and typing. Meanwhile I was offered a job at my dad’s plantation estate office. I refused to take up the position as I didn’t want to be a frog in a well. Instead I took up a job at Martin Express, Katunayake as a typist. Within six months I was promoted as the PA to the Director. I was the youngest PA to attend All Island Secretaries’ gatherings at that time. While I was at this job, I was offered a job in Dubai.”

 Life in Dubai

“My family never liked me going to Dubai. But as always I took up this challenge and went ahead.  When I came over I was given a computer to work on, which was all new to me. I told myself this is not going to go right and I will make my ticket money and go back.  But my boss at that time told me, “do not make any mistakes but ask me even 100 times I will guide you.” These few words motivated me. I learnt everything that came my way. I’m not shy or hesitant to mention at all times that I studied at a Sinhalese school and learnt English only as a subject. I work for Gulf Agency Company for the last eight years which is my fourth company in the UAE. Currently I’m based at the Sharjah Branch as Operations Manager which is my third role within the Company it self. I have served our Airport Branch as Senior Operations Supervisor, then got promoted to Customer Service Manager at our main branch and now am at the Sharjah Branch. I was also given a challenge to work in the Angola Branch which I took up to help clear their backlog in 2012. Today I’m very proud of what I have achieved. If we have perseverance nothing can stop us.”

Personal Challenges in the UAE

Bringing up children in Sri Lanka is fairly easy as we have the extended family who will always take care of the younger generation and it is more a habitual and accepted norm handed down from one generation to another. Felicia’s husband Adrian De Silva is a past pupil of St.Mary’s College Dehiwela and currently works in an events company in Dubai.  The two of them together faced many challenges in a country just a few hours from home yet foreign to them. We share the experience Felicia and Adrian underwent during those toddler years. “It was a great challenge to raise my daughter when she was a toddler as we had no help other than the baby sitter. Today we are very proud parents to have raised our child by ourselves. Looking back we are quite pleased with our daughter who is now grown up and working in the UAE.”

Spending free time

“My hobbies are my pets. We have seven dogs here (in Sharjah) which we thought we would never be able to have as it is too expensive to buy one in this country. Somehow God made our dream come true as today we are a proud family with seven furry members as well. I also find time at least three to four days a week to jog or walk around the parks or on the beach to maintain good health as we are always seated indoors. I must mention here that the parks and beaches are quite good in this country.  In Dubai we have an annual event that support breast cancer awareness. In 2009, we had a colleague who was suffering with it. So I initiated this campaign and announced it within the company. At the beginning only a handful of colleagues joined out of 1500. Today we have quite a lot of them joining including my pets supporting this event. In fact, the official newspaper “Gulf News” carried a story about this project as well.” Felicia is an inspiration to all women. We talk of glass ceilings and women not being able to achieve what they want in life. If you believe in your dreams and slowly work towards them they are always achievable. Taking time off for projects such as the breast cancer awareness is another noteworthy chapter in her life. As women we are able to look at different angles in life and work towards the betterment of society. We wish Felicia and her family all the very best in their future endeavours!