Soft toys designer Dilani gets ‘certification of appreciation’ for her life story

Soft toys designer Dilani De Silva did her Christian community and her close circle of mentally challenged associates proud by receiving a ‘certification of appreciation’ for penning her autobiography at the event titled ‘National Literature and Arts Awards 2024’ held on December 18th in Colombo.

She didn’t win first prize in the ‘open category’ event which drew entries for autobiographies.  However writing her story gave her enough pleasure and opportunity to reflect on a life which has enough stuff for a best-selling thriller. She hurriedly penned her life story when she was told that there would be a competition and she was in with a chance of winning it or earning appreciation. She is one individual who received blow after blow in her life journey, but survived to tell her story. Sadly only the judges got to cherish the content in her ‘autobiography’ that was penned for the competition. The competition was organised by the Department to Develop the Skills of Mentally Challenged which is affiliated to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.  

Dilani speaking to ‘Daily Mirror’ said, “Never in my dreams did I think I’ll earn recognition for my writing. I’m not a great writer. I wrote my story for the competition using simple prose; just like I would relate my story to a patient listener. All this appreciation is because of God’s grace,” said Dilani who is a staunch Christian and a regular church goer. 

Just a few months ago she penned her book titled ‘From Innocence: The journey of a betrayed woman’; a publication which was well received by her community and close friends.  She is known in her community for producing soft toys herself and teaching the less affluent to earn a living by taking to this profession. She said that the best creative ideas for her work come in the wee hours of the morning. “The moment I get them I get to work. My darkest days are over and I am ready to help others who have gone through depression and hard times in life. Art is a therapy and its healing powers are amazing” she said. She has also worked closely with Consumer Action Network Mental Health (CANMH) and the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) in Angoda. There was a time in her life when living was a daily challenge, but now she is down to one prescribed tablet a day and is a much sought after person when it comes to community work and getting soft toys done for orders. She stitches rabbits, elephants and the whole gamut of animals in Sri Lankan wildlife, but most importantly she stitched her ruptured soul back in place. If one wishes to get inspiration through her life story, her published book is a must read. Her community religious, leader, Pastor Dishan commended her at her book launch for ‘putting all her negative experiences into a book and presenting the society with a publication which can be classified in one beautiful word; manure’. 
Reflecting on her recent achievement she had this to say, “It takes time for all good things to come to your life. You just have to have the patience for it”.