Educational Scholarships
The village of Komari on the East Coast of Sri Lanka currently has only one makeshift school (the original was washed away by the tsunami) which provides education up to the equivalent of GCSE level. Those students capable of attaining the equivalent of 'A' levels or above are required to travel to neighbouring towns for their education. Although there are no fees for the provision of education in Sri Lanka, the costs of books and travel prevent these students from pursuing further education. The Trustees of HELP are convinced that educating the children of the region is key to breaking the cycle of poverty and hardship that most of their families have endured. Working closely in conjunction with CFDR, a small US NGO based in Komari, we have identified 47 children within the village who have the capability, but not the financial capacity, to undertake further study.
HELP has therefore agreed to provide full educational scholarships to these children. The scheme will be monitored by CFDR (at no cost). Monthly/termly reports on each of the students will be received and our continued support for each student will be dependent upon their regular attendance and success in examinations. The annual cost per student is approx £180 (SLR 20,000).
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HELP has provided a monthly bursary to the Swami Vipulananda Home from 2006 to assist with its ongoing expenses and to employ an after-school IT teacher for the boys. We also provided funding to assist with the setting up of a sustainable farm run by the boys. The Home is now funded by other donors and no longer needs our support.
HELP has been actively providing medical and other equipment to the local hospital in Thirrukovil, which services a large population of Ampara District.
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July 2022
Also in July 2022, we received a request from Mr Gunapalan, our school teacher in Thirrikuvil, to help support 100 elderly people in Thandiyaki who were suffering from the crisis. We were very pleased to be able to provide the funds to buy rice and other foodstuffs for these elders.
July 2022
In July 2022, we received a request from the orphanage for two very worthwhile projects. The first was to set up 60 families with seeds, plants, compost etc to establish their own gardens to provide a livelihood and, of course, their own home produce. The second project was to provide dry food parcels for 200 families headed by women who were suffering desperately from the economic crisis. We were very happy to support both.
April 2022
In April 2022, we received a request to increase our monthly fund transfer to the girls home to meet its ongoing costs, which had increased significantly due to the economic difficulties of the country. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were very happy to do so. We also provided new clothes and equipment (beds, mattresses and school equipment) for four girls who had recently been taken into the care of the orphanage.
October 2021
In October 2021, we received a request from the orphanage to support the educational costs of four of the girls who had successfully achieved the necessary grades to attend university, an outstanding achievement by all four girls. We were delighted to be able to support them. We also provided additional support for the orphanage, including educational equipment and the completion of the external wall to provide greater security for the girls.
November 2020
In November 2020, we provided additional support for the orphanage in Akkaraipattu, providing funds for new clothes and educational equipment for the girls.
May 2020
In May 2020, with thanks to our many generous donors, we were able to arrange an emergency Covid support package for 260 families in the remote villages of Ampara District. Coordinated by our good friend Mr Vamadevan, who runs the orphanage in Akkaraipattu, dry food parcels were distributed to deserving families in the region.