June Highlights
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The Foundation of Goodness continues with its 3 step Flood Relief Programme following the devastation caused by Cyclone Roanu. Following the completion of Step 1 in providing 100 families with dry rations, Step 2 was completed in June distributing household packs to 121 families as well as year-long educational scholarships and Essential School Supplies Packs to 112 children from these families who are all from severely flood affected areas such as Wellampitiya and Mulleriyawa. Stage 3 will include trauma/ loss counseling, scholarships and livelihoods restoration for those affected by the Aranayaka landslide for which we are still collecting funds, and would greatly appreciate your donations.
FoG’s Goodness Rhythm Dance Troupe were invited by the Marylebone Cricket Club to perform at the prestigious MCC Lords grounds during the 2nd day of the England vs. Sri Lanka 3rd test match (held on 10th June, 2016). Two additional performances took place at the Lords Nursery Ground on the 9th and at the Westminster City Hall upon the invitation of the Lord Mayor on the 8th. The Dancers were flown to and from England courtesy of Sri Lankan Airlines.
A big congratulations to Sanduni Prabuddhika and Ramiru Rashmina from the FoG Table Tennis Team who participated in the Southern Province Open Ranking Table Tennis Championship where Sanduni was the Under 12, Under 15 and Under 18 Singles Champion and Ramiru became the Under 12 Singles Runner Up and Under 15 Singles Quarter Finalist.
We also congratulate Yasindu Kavishani who placed first at the 43rd Sri Lanka Schools Aquatic Sports Championship Girls' Under 19 50m Butterfly event. Yasindu participated representing her school Ambalangoda Dharmashoka College and trains with our swimming academy daily. She is the first national level champion to emerge from among the swimmers at FoG's Sports Academy.
Sporting success in the month of June continues with FoG Academy netball player Achini Madhushika who represented the Galle District Team at the Junior National Netball Tournament and was named the best player of the tournament.
72 used computers were donated to the Foundation of Goodness by Mercedes- Benz, Sydney in collaboration with LBW Trust to help elevate IT skills and education amongst rural villagers, which is essential in bridging the gap between rural and urban communities.
20 scholarships were handed over to female tertiary students from the North and East with the kind sponsorship of LBW Trust and Batting for change, bringing the total number of scholarships distributed by them so far to 275 which goes a long way towards ensuring a secure future for these students.
Subway Sri Lanka invited the FoG Children’s Goodness Club members to their brand new branch in Mt. Lavinia prior to it’s official opening. 50 members from the Seenigama, Udumulla, Rathgama, Akurala and Kahawa Children's Goodness Clubs enjoyed a day at the beach and then dined on mouthwatering treats sponsored by Subway at the Mt. Lavinia outlet which was a first time experience for these kids.
Forte life-coaching conducted a ‘One Sri Lanka’ workshop for youth from the Seenigama region about developing yourself at the same time as developing your country, and preventing social, religious and other divisions to create one united nation.
Volunteer psychologist Sarah Whittaker- UK accompanied by Dr. & Mrs. Hettiarachchi conducted a special workshop for the FoG Community Psycho-social Unit on childhood behavior and supervision.
A group from Edwin Doran Sports Tours- UK visited the Sports Academy and conducted special coaching camps for the netball teams and the junior & ladies cricket teams to help improve their game and donated some sports equipment as well prior to their departure.
A collective group from the Highlands Cricket Tour, Toro, Southern Highlands Private Hospital, The Bradman Foundation and Lion Sports Travel from Sydney, Australia visited the FoG Lahiru Pre-school where the adults painted the building while the kids designed a special mural. The group also sponsored the refurbishment of flooring in the pre-school play area.
Two groups visited Seenigama to participate in the 'Plates of Goodness' cookery classes which give visitors a chance to learn some delicious Sri Lankan dishes in a village setting.
The teachers and co-ordinators from the Gandara- Matara Village Heartbeat Project which is the most recently opened Village Heartbeat Centre visited the MCC Centre of Excellence in Seenigama as well as the Sports Academy and Udumulla & Rathgama VHPs to see how the longer running projects operated in order to streamline their own services.
A team from FoG visited the venues of the Eravur and Tirukkovil Village Heartbeat Projects which are currently being developed in the North, with hopes of opening the Centres later this year.
The Children’s Goodness Club organised the ‘Meth sithuwili (Good Thoughts) Art Exhibition’ to display their artistic skills and promote acts of goodness and kindness and also had a kite exhibition, enjoying a day at the beach.
The Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy kids participated in the annual Laureus Sports for Good Foundation Art Competition in collaboration with IWF, and 4 drawings from the FoG kids have been shortlisted from among the 8 selected for voting.
Special training for the Sports Academy this month includes Hemantha Devapriya’s monthly coaching camp sponsored by Tokyo Cement for 14 cricketers, and fitness training conducted by Victor Celestine from Nigeria on four days of the week for all FoG sports squads.
Community aid sports tours this month included visits by the Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club- Australia, The Crusaders- Australia, RORZ Group- Australia, Melbourne High School- Australia and Henley in Arden Netball Team- UK. These friendly matches are a valuable experience for the local and visiting teams because of the opportunity to play and learn from each other.
Ongoing monthly projects include Recycling4Smiles bi-weekly oral hygiene programmes made possible over the last 2 ½ years by Sonali Ranaweera- the remarkable teenager from USA, which is a great achievement and an example for us all, the sponsorship towards the Navodaya Centre for Special Children by FoG Trustee Muthiah Muralidaran and monthly grocery packs donated by Sapan Nainani & family and Gemma Nolan towards families in need and Elders' Homes, respectively. Such projects provide ongoing care to ensure the continued well-being of a wide cross section of beneficiaries.
Beneficiary community aid projects this month included monthly visits to the Madampagama and Wellawatta Elders’ Homes by the FoG Medical Centre staff for special medical checkups with an additional medical camp at the Hikkaduwa Elders’ Home, a special cleaning programme by the Udumulla Village Heartbeat Project and weekly beach cleaning programmes organised by the Diving & Training Centre students.
Many donors worldwide have gifted various items to benefit rural kids and youth including books, toys, medication and a variety of other items to improve the lives of rural beneficiaries.
The Foundation of Goodness is delighted to have 14 volunteers with us this month from Sri Lanka, USA, Australia, France and UK, all of whom are adding value to our work.
78 Village Welfare projects amounting to Rs. 473,589.42 (USD 3,266) divided among areas such as healthcare, scholarships, education, electricity, elders' care and general welfare were facilitated this month to uplift the living standards of rural villagers to ease their burden in addition to the ongoing campus style of operation in place.
TOTAL BENEFICIARIES
16+ years in the South : 300,000+
5+ years in the North and East: 26,500+
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Major Upcoming Events:
Phase 3 of the FoG post-resettlement Flood Relief distribution programme.
Upcoming community aid sports tours from 15 overseas teams during the month of July.
FoG graduation ceremonies to take place in July, 2016.
Recruiting Stewards for training & development for the growing tourism industry.
Special training and development for the FoG Best Performers of 2015.
The 2016 Murali Harmony Cup Tournament to take place in September across 5 venues in the North.
Bendigo Bank (Australia) Charity Bike Ride to take place 24th - 28th October, 2016.
Decathlon beach games to be introduced in Seenigama.
FoG’s 5th, 6th and 7th Village Heartbeat Centres to be introduced in Tirukkovil (East), Eravur (East) and Mathagal (North) in 2016.
Proposed establishment of a new Elders' Home in the Seenigama Region.
Development of the Foundation of Goodness North Learning & Empowerment Institute in Panikkankulam, Mankulam Region.
New and innovative enterprise avenues for sustainable income generation underway to attain self-sustainability by the year 2020.
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