International Episode 15: Nayanathara (Sri Lanka)

International Episode 15: Nayanathara (Sri Lanka)

From Social Work Spotlight by Yasmine Loupis

March 14, 2026 · 53 min · Season 2 · Episode 15

About this episode

Yasmine Loupis interviews Nayanathara, a social worker from Sri Lanka, about her work supporting children and women in education.

In this episode I speak with Nayanathara, a social worker from Sri Lanka and the founder of The Island of Stories, a volunteer organisation that supports children and women in education, while also working as a lecturer in Youth Studies at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode: Nayanathara’s NGO Island of Stories Instagram account - @islandstorieslk Nayanathara’s Research Gate page - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/K-N-N-Jayathilaka Social Work Diaries on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@socialworkdiaries Association of Sri Lankan Social Workers - https://slapsw.lk/ Community Solutions USA - https://community.solutions/ United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - https://www.unfpa.org/ IREX - https://www.irex.org/ Asia Safe Abortion Partnership - https://asap-asia.org/ Asia-Pacfic Forum on Sustainable Development - https://www.unescap.org/events/apfsd13 This episode's transcript can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LIjIeKdjUpzfeNB-2O_vT4O6_TAtGvrhJLM7Si0QaIs/edit?usp=sharing

People in this episode

Host: Yasmine Loupis

Guest: Nayanathara

Topics covered

  • social work
  • education
  • volunteering
  • youth studies
  • Sri Lanka
  • women empowerment
  • children support

Keywords

  • social work
  • Sri Lanka
  • education
  • volunteering
  • youth studies
  • women empowerment
  • children support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Island of Stories, Open University of Sri Lanka, Social Work Diaries, Association of Sri Lankan Social Workers, Community Solutions USA, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), IREX, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, Asia-Pacfic Forum on Sustainable Development

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