Appeals Fund: Friends joining forces with Sewalanka

Friends joining forces with Sewalanka

During the first six months after the tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, Sewalanka Foundation is working with international friends and communities to raise over Rs.20 million in support for micro-projects identified by District Directors.

Children receive equipment in Kalutara through the appeals fund.

Breakfast time at Vipulanantha School is 8.30am and children are laughing while dipping their huge chunks of bread into freshly cooked bowls of dhal. This is just like any other school day in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka. But for these kids having breakfast at school is only a new initiative made possible through the Sewalanka Foundation Appeals Fund.

Residents here were severely affected by the 26 December tsunami. Within this school alone 56 students were killed, and at least 90% of families were displaced. Sewalanka Foundation Batticaloa Office was quick to recognise the need for a school feeding program in this badly affected area – to both provide nutritious meals for children, and to relieve the burden on families.

“At the start of this program it was estimated that up to 75% of the children here were living in the welfare camps, with 25% having already resettled. Breakfast time in the camps is about 9.30am to 10am, and school starts at 7.30 am. This means that the children were not getting the chance to eat breakfast”, says Mr Nagarajan, Sewalanka Batticaloa District Director. The program will run for until December

The school breakfast feeding program in Batticaloa.

From emergency needs...

The Sewalanka Foundation Appeals Fund started on Monday 27 December 2004; the day after the tsunami devastated the 950km of the Sri Lanka coastline. During the first month, the money raised was instrumental in purchasing and/or transporting emergency items to the worst-affected areas. Sewalanka was well-placed to know and respond quickly to the needs of affected communities. Our network of district offices ensured that requests for items were faxed as soon as they became apparent.

For example, donations to the Appeals Fund paid for the transportation of emergency sanitation items for ladies in the eastern districts; the transportation of water donated by SriLankan Airlines to the East; the fund purchased bed-sheets for those displaced and seeking refuge in Monaragala; a generator was purchased for a emergency medical camp in Galle; and emergency food packages were organised for families in Jaffna.

...to micro-projects

However, as international partners came on board and project proposals and funding was finalised, the purpose of the Appeals Fund has shifted to fund gap-projects, these are small-scale projects that are identified in the community that fall outside major funding agreements.

“After the tsunami, there is so much need, it is great to be able to have a fund where we can direct proposals for support – these are small-scale responsive initiatives that make a real difference within the local community”. explains Mr. Nagarajan.

These projects are then matched to funds raised overseas. “Using the web as a tool, we have been able to reach out to make community to community connections. Individuals and groups overseas have responded extremely positively as they can follow the project’s progress and outcomes; adding the human element to fund-raising,” explains Penny Boddington, Communication Advisor.

Support globally

So from the camps of Batticaloa where projects are sourced, to Bollywood movie nights in Melbourne where funds are raised, “Friends of Sewalanka” are doing their best for the relief efforts.

As Kellie Watson, a former volunteer with her partner Lee Ward at Sewalanka, explains, “During our volunteer experience in Sri Lanka we made many friends, especially in the East when we worked on an environmental conservation project. Having heard of the tsunami, like many other people globally, we felt helpless. Although luckily, we were able to get active and help communities directly through the Appeal Fund.”

Overall, Sewalanka Foundation has groups of friends in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Italy and Japan to name a few countries working to raise funds for specific needs.