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“Sri Lanka has achieved great progress in child health indicators, especially in reducing child mortality rates. However, even though there are very good child healthcare services in the country, services for children with disability are not yet well established. This applies to education and social services as well as healthcare. Therefore, my objective is to create adequate health services for such children, including parental support, and also to create an inclusive education system for children with disability.”
Having completed her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery andMaster of Science in Sri Lanka, Asiri was looking for opportunities to enhance her ability to support children with disability when she discovered the Australia Awards Scholarship. The merit and prestige of the program further piqued her interest. After successfully applying for the Australia AwardsScholarship in 2014, this became a platform for pursuing a Master of Inclusive and Special Education at Monash University in Melbourne.
“I gained so much experience from academics, social life, communication - everything. I have several degrees from Sri Lanka, but I loved the pedagogies used by the education faculty of Monash University, which allowed us to learn spontaneously.”
An accomplishment that bears special significance for her was receiving two Dean’s Awards for Academic Excellence and Academic Achievement, a moment which she deeply cherishes.
After returning home in December 2016, Asiri commenced work as aSenior Registrar at the Child Development and Special Needs Unit of the Ministry of Health’s Family Health Bureau. There she was involved in creating a communications strategy for the child development program and launched‘IncluDe’ (Inclusive Early Childhood Development). This disability services program aims to detect early developmental disabilities and provide early childhood intervention to enhance functional capacity, benefitting thousands of families across Colombo and Kandy Districts.
She was then appointed as Consultant Community Physician –Maternal & Child Health at the Regional Director of Health Services Office in Sri Lanka’s Galle District, where she facilitated district-level planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of maternal and child healthcare services. Asiri was subsequently transferred as Consultant Community Physician at the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health’s National STD/AIDS Control Programme, where she was responsible for promoting sexual health among schools, universities and the general public.
In June 2020, she was appointed as Consultant Community Physicians the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health’s Family Health Bureau. As part of her role, Asiri helped to ensure adequate psychosocial stimulation and optimal growth for children through a supportive and nurturing environment. This involved establishing a mechanism for detecting developmental delays and related problems in children, as well as making evidence-based interventions for children with disability. Asiri also plays a key role in policy advocacy and raising public awareness about children with disability, including the need to ensure synergy across multidisciplinary and intersectional stakeholders when delivering disability care programs.
In addition to her official duties, Asiri works with theChildren’s Secretariat and Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka to promote inclusivity across primary and preschool educational curricula, and with the WHO and UNICEF to promote nurturing care for early childhood development. Asiri is also a VisitingLecturer for Public Health, Early Childhood Development and Inclusive andSpecial Education in Sri Lankan universities and committee member of theNational Education Commission. Using her professional and academic capabilities, Asiri strives to create a child-friendly education system.
Despite this busy schedule, Asiri still finds time to engage in alumni activities. She was a recipient of an Australia Awards Small Grant in2020, enabling her to develop educational materials for caregivers of children with disability. This included informative videos in Sinhala and Tamil languages about best practice in conducting parent-mediated activities at home, particularly beneficial during COVID-19. Asiri has also taken part in social media campaigns commemorating International Day of People with Disability and online panel discussions about ‘Literacy and Inclusion in Asia – COVID-19,Challenges and Opportunities,’ organised by Australia Awards (South Asia) inSeptember 2020.
“The knowledge I gained in Australia regarding educational methods and inclusive and special education practices is being used in my current line of work and in the policy and planning of Sri Lanka in its attempts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. This would not have been possible without Australia Awards.”
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