Carrying the culture of the village with pride, she conquers the world

When we Sri Lankans visit our loved ones, it is still customary, if not a tradition, to take along fresh vegetables and fruits from our home garden. If those aren't available, we usually buy a packet of cake or biscuits from the shop in a brown paper bag. But even today, what we don’t carry home to eat, yet quietly carry in a brown paper bag, is a packet or more accurately, a pad packet. It’s a well-known secret among us. Though menstruation is a natural process for a woman, in a country like ours, facing it is still shaped by shortcomings in the globally accepted education system. In such an environment, a daughter growing up presents the following message to a global audience: "One common thing about us, women, we all bleed, and we should bleed with dignity." Anundi says this not just on behalf of young girls in white school uniforms in this tropical country; who, due to poverty and a lack of proper awareness and cultural stigma, end up embarrassed and uncomfortable when their menstrual blood stains their uniforms and are forced to cover themselves with their school bags, but on behalf of all women worldwide who are affected by period poverty. For this cause, she stands with the Her Saheli project across the country. The reusable sanitary pads are lovingly handcrafted by the incredible female artisans of @selynfairtrade and @selynfoundation, with kindness, sisterhood, strength, and compassion stitched into every little pad, symbolizing resistance against period poverty. With heartfelt radiance from her Beauty with a Purpose project, Anundi presents a necklace of sisterhood as a small gift to her fellow contestants; An act that shows the world the noble generosity of Sri Lankans. I am truly proud and blessed to witness Anundi stand as proof of noble generosity before the world. I'm Erandi

Miss Sri Lanka Anudi Gunasekara