St. Euphrasia's Home for Women is run by the Good Shepherd Sisters, an international order of Catholic nuns who minister to girls in distress and unwed mothers in the island nation of Sri Lanka.
The Good Shepherd Sisters, also known as the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, opened St. Euphrasia's Home for women in 1926 for vulnerable girls and, in 1938, St. Euphrasia's Safe Home (a separate home for unwed mothers). After years, a nursery and kindergarten were added to the facility.
The nuns have helped hundreds of women and girls over the years. Currently, there are 25 women at the center.
To run these centers, the nuns solicit funds and donations from people. One of their annual fundraising events is during Lent.
During Lent, the nuns beg on street corners in major cities in Sri Lanka to care for the girls in distress and single mothers, according to Sr. Priyangani Hathurusinghe, the principal of Ave Maria Convent, Negombo, near Colombo, the country’s capital.
Additionally, they also seek contributions from Catholic schools and parishes across the country.
The Women's Wellbeing assessment, which was the first nationwide assessment on violence against women and came out in 2020, indicated that one in five women, or roughly 20% of women in the country, have experienced abuse from their spouses. The survey found that more than 40% of the victims never disclose or seek help for the abuse because they are too ashamed or afraid of what will happen next.
Data from the Sri Lankan Bureau for the Investigation of Assault on Children and Women says that in 2024, around 3,000 kids were abused, including over 1,500 rapes and sexual assaults.
In 2013, Human Rights Watch reported several instances of rapes and sexual assaults committed by the military and police against Tamil women in northern regions, despite the civil war having ended in 2009.
A report from the United Nations Population Fund in 2024 says that the number of teenagers getting pregnant in Sri Lanka has been going down over time.
According to official data, 6.5% of all recorded pregnancies in 2009 were among minors. This number dropped to 4.4% in 2018 and 3.8% in 2023. However, some regions continue to experience a high number of teen pregnancies.
As many as 375 Good Shepherd nuns work in 72 convents in Sri Lanka. They minister to destitute women, victims of abuse, single mothers, and prisoners.
They also manage 17 childcare centers, of which about 800 children benefit. in collaboration with the Department of Probation and Child Care Services. - with input from Global Sisters Report
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