Noeline Karunaratne

We met Noeline Karunaratne in January 2004.

Noeline (center) pawned her wedding ring in 1976 so her husband could start Gospel House in Madampe, Sri Lanka. Initially, he ran the puzzle-making business that hires and trains high school dropouts, and she ran the family.

He died, and Noeline took over the business, assisted by her older son, Shiran (right). A few years later, her younger son, Modestus (left), joined them.

Together, they have built Gospel House into a model fair trade organization. They have won design awards at an international level and were named entrepreneur of the year by the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce. They have 45 customers in 18 countries.

They still hire high school dropouts, providing a structured work environment along with good pay, a savings plan, social services and skill training. They employ 110 people.

They make a variety of wood puzzles and toys, including the yellow school bus that Baksheesh sells. Each piece is cut, sanded and painted by hand, using power tools equipped with dust collectors.

Noeline is now retired. Her sons run the business, while she enjoyes her grandchildren. And yes, she did get her wedding ring back.

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