Gethsie Shanmugam (, ) is a Sri Lankan teacher, psychological counsellor and social worker who had given her service to victims of the Sri Lankan civil war. She was awarded the prestigious

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

in 2017 for braving bombings and threats of arrests in conflict areas to counsel war widows, orphans and children affected by the civil war. Born in 1934 to a clerk in a British tea estate, Shanmugam had her education at Mowbray private girls’ boarding school. After the O/L examination she became a teacher and followed a course at Nallur training college where she met her husband, Muthuvelu Shanmugam. In 1967, she started her career as an English teacher at

St. Joseph's College, Colombo St. Joseph's College is a selective-entry Roman Catholic school in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1896 by French Missionaries led by Rev. Father Christophe Ernest Bonjean. The college has over 4,000 enrolled students with a staff of over 450 as o ...

and meanwhile she pursued an interest in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and became a volunteer counselor at the ''Family Services Institute'' and ''Subodhi Institute of Integrated Education'' in Piliyandala. After retiring from St. Joseph's college in 1983, Shanmugam conducted number of psycho social works for adults and children who are internally displaced in conflict zones during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

References

Living people Sri Lankan social workers Sri Lankan women activists Sri Lankan human rights activists Sri Lankan teachers 1934 births {{SriLanka-activist-stub