Who We Are

"If you give me a fish, you have fed me for a day. If you teach me to fish, you have fed me until the water is polluted and the beach is taken for hotel development.

But if you teach me to organize, then whatever the challenge, I can join together with my community and we will develop our own solution."

Sewalanka Foundation is a Sri Lankan development organization that enhances the capacity of disadvantaged rural communities to identify and address their own development needs. Through our own professionals and our links with other service providers, we coordinate training and support services that contribute to the economically viable, socially just and ecologically sustainable development of Sri Lanka.

Sewalanka, a registered non-profit, works with two "daughter organizations" to provide an integrated and complementary package of services. Sewa Finance is a registered microfinance institution that provides financial services to community organizations and rural entrepreneurs. Sewa Economic Development Company (SEDCO) is a social enterprise that focuses on fair trade, value chain investments and enterprise development services.

News

Supporting the Resettlement in the North

Re-establishing livelihoods

New bags for school children

Sewalanka played a major role in providing emergency assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northern region of Sri Lanka. Now, Sewalanka is moving forward from the relief phase to support the Sri Lankan Government with the next phase of resettlement and rehabilitation.

As of August 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka has been resettling and helping conflictaffected internally-displaced families return to their native villages in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Vavuniya and some divisions of the Eastern part of the country.

Inter-Religious Clergy Group Travels to Thailand

In November, Sewalanka arranged for 20 young Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian clergy to travel to Thailand and meet with community organizations, practitioners, scholars and religious leaders. The participants were selected by the Religious Action Alliance, a network of senior clergy who are committed to socially engaged spirituality.
The Sri Lankan clergy met with representatives from conflict affected areas in Southern Thailand. They shared experiences and spoke about the role of religious leaders in non-violent social change and strategies for inter-religious cooperation.
They then traveled to the north to learn about programs with Burmese refugees and minority groups. They also had the opportunity to visit a number of community development initiatives and learn about organic agriculture, seed saving and natural building.

Be a Change-Maker!

IDP Emergency Appeal

Emergency appeal to support people displaced by the fighting in northern Sri Lanka

Links

Changing Lives

Brick making

Ananda, a brick-maker from the Hambantota district in Sri Lanka's Southern province, has been making mud bricks for five years in the employment of a brick manufacturer in the area. This father of two longed to start his own business but couldn't produce at the quantity and price of other established brickmakers. Today, he brings in a healthy income for his family and has one employee.

Read how Sewalanka helped make it possible.