We don’t want to sound cheesy or get sentimental so we need you to let us know what works and what doesn’t- a description on the Mums in Colombo Facebook group sums up its interest. Mums in Colombo is an online forum that helps mothers across Colombo interact and help each other as they forge through the precarious and unpredictable world of motherhood.
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| Amber Habib Vitharana |
The brainchild of Amber Habib Vitharana (39) mother of two, the group has been a massive success since it was set up a few months ago. With 1000 members and counting, it continues to provide mothers with valuable information, gifts and pick-me-ups around the clock.
Mothering an 8 and 5-year-old, working on a part-time project and working on the group, Amber is not the easiest to get in touch with. Over the course of emails and phone interviews, we managed to find out more about the group from the elusive super-mum, Amber.
Why did you feel the need to create a Facebook group for mothers in Colombo?
I was a full time Marketing professional. I totally loved it and I had been working for over 10 years when we decided to start a family. At that point I knew I would have to stop working full time. So after my first child I tried various things – my own business, consulting, etc. But I could never really get into it.
At one point I was internet chatting to a good friend and complaining about one of my consulting jobs. And he came up with this idea for Mums in Colombo. It’s not rocket science - it has been done very successfully in other countries and he had seen it somewhere and thought it would work here.
I felt instinctively it would work because when I gave up working I felt so lonely and bereft. I have no family here - my friends had no kids or older kids and it was as if I was figuring all this “Motherhood” stuff on my own.
So I figured there must be others like me- more than anything you just need to feel you’re not alone in this, there are others who are in the same situation, and you need adult interaction with people who can relate. Social media sites like Facebook make this possible. So along came Mums in Colombo - a site where mums can share ideas, post comments and experiences , get information and generally interact with other mums they may not even know.
Since you set up the group how interactive has the group been and how has the response been?
When we started in December we called and texted friends and asked them to join. And by January we knew everyone on the list. So every time we posted an article we would text people and ask them to comment. I feel sometimes mums here are not comfortable starting a conversation but are quite happy to continue one. Anyway in five months we have 1000 members (as I speak) and every post generates almost 2000 impressions and several comments.
I have also had mums come up to me and say they heard about the circus from us or took their kids to a movie based on our review. And that feels good.
Initially even our contributors were people we knew, friends like Mike Masilamani who had to be bribed to write, and Dr. Mayanthi who is our parenting expert. But since then we have moved on and got in touch with others who are now writing for us.
Is ‘Mums in Colombo’ a team effort or are the updates and organising handled by you?
It is a team effort. I handle the updates but I have a team to help me with the designing, etc. And I have a partner who is a close friend and keeps me grounded when things get crazy.
What can a subscriber expect from the Mums in Colombo newsletter?
Information on what’s going on in Colombo, articles on parenting, relationships, promotions (we gave a free massage voucher, etc)
Visiting the group you will find information varying from articles from the net, questions posed by mothers and answered by experts, articles on parenting by experts and entertaining write ups; such as Confessions of a House Husband by Mike Masilamani, reviews on child-friendly restaurants and more. Some of these are compiled into a neat newsletter and mailed to subscribers on a monthly basis. For more information feel free to visit the Mums in Colombo, Facebook group. |
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