Tourism in Sri Lanka took a huge dip after the Easter Sunday bombings, but that hasn’t stopped these single mothers looking to the future. Zinara Rathnayake visits Think Pink Sri Lanka, an inspiring new initiative that’s putting women in the driver’s seat.

A salty coastal breeze and the usual early hour scenes welcome me as I disembark the train at Hikkaduwa. Men in their office slacks and women in colorful sarees rush past me for a day’s work. I hop on a running tuk-tuk—my driver might be male but, where we’re going, we won’t need male tuk-tuk drivers.  

As we drive past the center of beach town Hikkaduwa, the rush hour buzz isn’t quite as buzzy as it used to be. Many breakfast shacks are closed for operation, and even the ones that are open have empty chairs outside. A few months ago, they’d be packed with travelers looking for a tomato, cheese and omelet roti served with lunu miris, a fiery onion relish. But the travelers aren’t here.