An ever-smiling face, soft voice and a very firm resolve -- these are some of the qualities that Getsie displays when she is with her trainees in the remote areas of the north, central and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

Nobody has ever heard Getsie (short for Ganantheepam Shanmugam) raise her voice. There is a smile on her face always. People particularly comment on her equanimity when she was stranded in the northern Kilinochchi town because of the breakdown of a ceasefire between the government and the rebels in 1995. Even then she did not lose her smile.

"I was staying in the same house and never saw Getsie perturbed," says Pathimini. "We were terribly anxious but she kept her cool and helped us overcome our mental agony,'' she adds.

The 70-year-old, frail but agile, travels for almost 20 days a month, helping NGOs and community based organisations (CBOs) involved in child rights, women's issues and counselling.

While her children and husband are away in Europe, Getsie has chosen to stay back in Sri Lanka and work with the community. ''What will I do there?" she asks. "I like to be here with these people and work amongst children and women."

Getsie began her career as a schoolteacher in the central part of Sri Lanka. Having lost her mother very young, she made Ms. Doss, her teacher, a role model. Inspired by Ms. Doss, she decided to become a teacher. "My passion was ignited at a very early age," she says. "But after marriage I stopped teaching. Only years later, I began teaching again at St. Joseph's College in Colombo."

This is where her life took a turn. The vice rector, Fr. Joseph Benedict, nominated Getsie to counsel children. "My journey commenced from the children I bore and ended with the children at school," says Getsie. She received initial training in counselling from Fr. Mervyn Fernando and began working with Fr. Fernando's organisation `Subodhi' and the Family Studies Service Centre on an ad hoc basis.

The work at Family Studies Service Centre fascinated her. She went to Vellore in India for training in premarital counselling for two months. She has been going back regularly for refresher courses, support and new development techniques.

"I need to constantly update myself. Without that I cannot train the counsellors, who work at the grass root level. What is the point in imparting training that is old and outdated? Counselling is a field that is evolving,'' Getsie says.

In 1989, she joined Redd Barna (now Save the Children Norway). She gained exposure to a global perspective and was trained to deal with children living in the tropical regions and in war affected areas. She also traveled to African countries during her tenure here and learnt about HIV/AIDS.

"The training and travel gave a lot of exposure and experience. I realised that the Western concepts cannot be applied in our context, so I began working on developing modules that suit our people and our society," she says.

"Some NGOs unfortunately do not understand the Asian perspective and the prevailing gender biases. People employed there are forced to follow their line of thinking. I was part of one such NGO but left very soon because of the differing perspectives," she says.

Getsie's work with war widows of Sri Lanka has been documented by Save the Children Norway. Called ‘Rebuilding Lives’, this book captures the concepts she developed and implemented. They are now used as a tool by several CBOs and NGOs.

After retiring from Save the Children, Norway, she has been working as a consultant with several organisations. She did a short span with Oxfam GB and is currently with FIT (Forum for International Training). She is fully immersed in implementing a programme on child participation in Batticaloa as she feels it is important to hear children’s voices and opinions. So while she is not working with women away from Colombo, she spends time with school children and also devotes time at Subodhi.

Getsie says her aim is to "develop parent education, where parents realise that they should take children seriously."