Alison Wijemanne: Paving the Way for a Brighter Future

Following the footsteps of success Alison Wijemanne embarked on a journey that was bestowed upon her from childhood. Embracing the value of education, she pursued a degree in Business and Commerce from Monash University, Malaysia and upon conclusion returned to her motherland.

A talented and extremely versatile individual who possess innate business acumen at a very young age, Alison revealed the secrets behind her passion. She comes off extremely keen when conversing on her family business, which incidentally she is a part of where her father Dil Wijemanne, currently manages.

Born to a prestigious family that not only excels in business but also harbours compassion for the hapless children. The Wijemanne family single-handedly runs AMITSU, a home for Tsunami affected children, built-in 2006 by late Premala Wijemanne, Alison’s Aunt.

The foster home currently occupies 24 children between the ages of 05 and 17 who are all well-educated, groomed and nurtured. All children are given equal attention and monitored every step of the way and apart from that, they all have individual bank accounts secured claims, Alison.

The older children attend a primary and secondary school locally while the younger ones are taught in-house at a fully equipped Montessori. The children are permitted to remain at the foster home till reaching adulthood, subsequently, upon turning 18, they are set on the right path under the guidance of Mrs. Wijemanne.

“We have an in-house Montessori for the younger kids, we provide all the children with computer classes, English classes and dance classes. The dorms are split between girls and boys on two separate sides, where each child has a bed, with 3 beds in a room.

The kids and sent to the local government and they are fed 3 times a day as we have a cook in-house and If they do happen to be sick, they will be taken to the nearest hospital to be treated, but there is a sick room at our orphanage as well.”

“Our aim is to hopefully see that these children are sent out into the world with a good education and trained in a vocation suited to their talents, once they have completed their secondary school education. We hope and pray that no child will ever have to go back to the life that they left behind and that they will grow to be productive citizens of their country.” Says Alison. Her compassion doesn’t end there as she’s the proud mother of 15 rescued mongrels a number which has ascended drastically, she says she may hope to adopt more in future.” Said Alison with the

In order to get acquainted better, we asked Alison a few questions about herself and we started off with some tough ones about the lockdown period.

Q: How do you keep yourself occupied and entertained during the lockdown period?

Netflix! And I try to work out every day to keep myself motivated.

Q: What would your ideal Friday night be and why?

I love going out with my friends, it’s something I miss a lot these days. Some of my favourite places are Love Bar, Chiller Room, Skky Bar, Botanik and Monkey Business

Q: What movies or TV serials do you watch?

I’ve watched a lot of shows, I can binge a show and finish it in a day. My all-time favorite show is Friends. But other good shows right now are, Money Heist and Elite.

Q: Where do you fancy going out the most in Colombo and why?

I think Colombo has great nightlife and many good restaurants. I couldn’t choose just one.

Q: When you go outstation, which locations do you prefer?

The south is my favourite place to go, it’s just a good break from the hectic life in Colombo and I love the beach. I also love that there are so many places to go and relax down south. It’s really developed over the years.

Q: What kind of books?

I used to read as a child and I stopped because I got busy with school and university. But now that I am working, I really want to open my mind to new things and learn more about business. So, I am trying to read more often so that it can help me with my work. Right now, I’m reading ‘Intelligent Investor’.

Q: What sort of aspects do you follow on Instagram?

I just try to make my pictures as pleasing as possible to the eye, and I love playing around with editing and photography too.

Q: Would you consider yourself a lifestyle influencer?

I really don’t like to use the word ‘influencer’ because even though it may seem like I am one, I really don’t believe that I am. I don’t take on any paid promotions or reviews because I don’t feel that this is my job, just more of a hobby. My Instagram just got a bit of attention and I love taking photos and sharing aspects of my life so if people are interested in that I’m happy to continue showing it.

Q: Which pages, celebrities do you follow?

I follow many, I like to follow accounts which have nice pictures. The Kardashians really grab my attention for some reason.

Q: How has social media impacted your life?

It impacted in a lot of ways. Sometimes it can lead to unwanted attention. But at the end of the day I’m thankful that I have access to so many people because if I want to get an important message across, its only one click away.

Q: Would you consider it a hobby or a potential career?

Definitely a hobby.

What challenges do you face while being on the platform?

Maybe a lack of privacy and some negative people, but otherwise its been a good thing.

Q: You seem so toned, what’s your diet like?

My father is a very healthy person himself; he always goes to the gym and keeps himself looking good. So that’s always motivated me to look my best for as long as I can. I only eat chicken and seafood and I do feel like that helps me maintain myself too. When I was in university, I always tried to be careful of what I ate because I knew I wasn’t getting any exercise. At one point in university, I also practised intermittent fasting. I’m also someone who doesn’t crave unhealthy foods such as fast food and sweet things.

My favourite meal is Japanese food, which is relatively healthy. But now I’ve started working out again properly to try and build more muscle, so I try to have a diet consisting of no processed sugar, high protein, and eating empty carbs such as avocado.

Q: If you were to travel overseas where would you prefer to go and why?

I have so many places I want to travel to, but the top three right now would be Mexico, Greece and Philippines.

Q: What advice could you pass on to our readers?

Always look after yourself and live a balanced life. You should treat your body right.

Finally, we asked the biggest question ever whether she’d shave her hair off.

No definitely not, I admire people that do. But that’s something I could never do, and my father would be heartbroken, he loves my hair.

Alison and her family currently run AMITSU on a benevolent basis, however, you may donate to the cause to uplift the livelihood of Tsunami affected children. Please visit https://www.amitsu.org for more information.