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A big congratulations goes out to talented FOG chess player Sasith Nipun Piyumantha who won the Bronze Medal at the Sri Lanka Open National Chess Competition, hence now selected to the National Squad at the age of 16.
Monthly Cricket Coaching Programmes across the Northern Region have now been introduced by the Foundation of Goodness with the kind sponsorship of Tokyo Cement PLC, conducted by National Women’s Cricket Coach Mr. Hemantha Devapriya. The very first coaching camp took place this month in Jaffna with 35 students in attendance.
35 students received their certificates at the inaugural graduation ceremony at the Mathagal Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre in Jaffna. This is a big milestone for the Foundation of Goodness as Mathagal marks FoG’s very first Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre to be established in the North, an initiative made possible thanks to the generosity of Rajiv & Kiran Radhakrishnan who gifted their ancestral property.
22 bicycles sponsored by the 2017 PMTT Charity Ride- Singapore, were distributed to students at the Mathagal Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre in Jaffna, and a further 75 bikes were also distributed in Kilinochchi to help rural beneficiaries who have no other means of transport to travel with greater ease. 7 more bikes will be handed over during the charity ride (15th - 22nd September).
Jiska from Holland visited the Foundation of Goodness and donated stationary and sunglasses, while other visitors this month included Felix and Yasmin from VACD (Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities Limited), Director, OYOB- Dhilharan Sivaratnam from Australia, CEO of Brickendon Consulting- Christopher Burke, and teams from Tokyo Cement PLC, CIMA Sri Lanka students (pictured above) and an observation visit by the International Finance Corporation (World Bank).
The FoG Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres have had a busy month. In addition to the inaugural graduation ceremony taking place in Mathagal, the Eravur and Thirukkovil VHP Centres celebrated their 1st anniversary. The Moneragala Centre held an IT camp, English camp, robotics workshop and a special Social Action Programme with the British Council while the Matara Centre organized a Goodwill Poster Exhibition promoting positive life values. In Udumulla students participated in a food preparation workshop and they also took part in a special ‘parent appreciation’ programme. The FoG Village Heartbeat Empowerment model now operates in 8 locations island-wide.
The Community Psychosocial Unit conducted a number of programmes including an awareness programme for the Women’s Enterprise & Empowerment Centre students on how to lead a happy life, a special programme at the local children’s homes and a music therapy programme at the Balapitiya Elders’ Home. The team also organized a special awareness campaign together with the Kahawa Children’s Goodness Club members about non-communicable diseases and attended the ‘Mindfulness Teacher: Educators Programme’ at the Light of Asia Foundation in Battaramulla. The CPU continues to cover a variety of community social development areas.
The FoG Medical Centre held special clinics at the Hikkaduwa, Madampagama and Wellawatta Elders’ Homes to make sure that the residents remain in good health while the dental clinic continues to conduct monthly oral care programmes introduced by US teenager Sonali Ranaweera’s Recycling4Smiles initiative.
Dance classes for children with special needs continue to take place at the MCC Centre of Excellence giving these children a fun opportunity to get involved with new activities and develop their aesthetic talents.
The little ones from FoG’s Lahiru Pre-School went on their annual class trip and spent a delightful day at the Dehiwala Zoo and Rathmalana Air Field, learning new and exciting things about animals and airplanes.
Special welfare and community development programmes conducted this month;
- Donation of FoG lab items including a microscope, centrifuge, colorimeter, beakers, test tubes and other medical material to the Arachchikanda Hospital
- Donation of groceries to a hearing impaired family in Galle.
- Handing over sports and athletic equipment to St. Joseph’s Vidyalayam in Columbuthurai, Jaffna with the kind sponsorship of Rex Martens from Singapore.
- Distribution of sports equipment donated by well-wishers and visiting sports teams to schools across Sri Lanka.
- A large collection of books and stationary donated by Vinitha Wimalasundera which were handed over to the Oddusuddan Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre and the Maharagama Cancer Hospital Children’s Ward
- The monthly donation of grocery packs to needy beneficiaries by Savindri Thalgodapitiya and Ravi Seneviratne.
Beneficiary community aid projects this month;
- Repainting the Sports Academy pool and sports area by the swimming and club cricket teams.
- Cleaning programme at the Seenigama Kusumarama Temple by the Tamil class students.
- Cleaning programme at the Akurala Sri Vijayaramaya Temple by the Akurala Children’s Goodness Club.
- Cleaning programme at the Rathgama Vijayarathna Elders’ Home by the Rathgama Children’s Goodness Club.
- Beach cleaning programmes conducted by the English Language Class & Diving Centre students.
- Sports Academy annual project helped a poor family in Galle to secure a direct water supply from the national pipeline.
Special training for the Sports Academy this month includes;
- Monthly coaching camp by Sri Lanka's National Women's Coach Hemantha Devapriya sponsored by Tokyo Cement for 42 cricketers and 8 coaches.
- Two day coaching programme for the Sports academy swimmers was conducted by Dhammika Withanachchi and his two daughters from USA (pictured above).
- Soccer and fitness training by Spirit of Soccer Founder Scotty Lee from USA.
- Martial arts workshop for the karate students by Sensei Yoshihiko Inoue from Japan.
- Daily fitness training conducted by Victor Celestine for all FoG sports squads to help improve their performance.
The Foundation of Goodness is delighted to have 18 volunteers with us this month from UK, Germany, USA, The Netherlands and Sri Lanka all of whom are adding value to our work.
14 Village Welfare projects (which are in addition to the monthly ongoing sector programmes) amounting to Rs. 97,500/- (USD 640/-) divided among areas such as healthcare, education 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. A special thank you goes to Ms. Karen England whose generous monthly donations go a long way towards fulfilling many of the welfare requests we receive.
To learn about our activities in the North and East this month,
please visit the North Journey So Far Update (Click for more)
TOTAL BENEFICIARIES
17+ years in the South : 310,000+
6+ years in the North and East: 35,000+
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Major Upcoming Events:
The shipment of two 40 ft containers of household items to be distributed to estate communities by kind courtesy of Scott and Bill from Brisbane Australia, supported by Zesta Watawala Tea Ceylon Limited, to benefit 50 families.
The 2nd monthly cricket coaching camp in the North to be held in Kilinochchi with the sponsorship of Tokyo Cement.
FoG's 8th Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre in Oddusuddan (Mullaitivu) established in partnership with SriLankan Cares (the CSR arm of SriLankan Airlines) to be officially declared open- 1st September, 2017.
Goodness Rhythm Dance Troupe to participate in an all-island dance competition- September, 2017.
We are proud to announce that the IRONKIDS Sri Lanka competition (affiliated with IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo, to take place in 2018 for the first time ever in Sri Lanka) will take place in Seenigama in partnership with the Foundation of Goodness - 30th September 2017.
Mike McCormack and his soon-to-be wife Kristy request wedding guests to donate to the Foundation of Goodness in lieu of gifts ahead of their nuptials in Northern Ireland- September 2017.
PMTT Tuk-Tuk Charity Ride 2017 initiated by British expat bankers working in Singapore in aid of Foundation of Goodness run charitable humanitarian endeavors to take place for the second time from 15th - 22nd September 2017.
Google for Education workhop to take place in Seenigama with Krishni Goonesena, First Secretary, Development Cooperation, Sri Lanka and Maldives Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian High Commission, Colombo - 27th September 2017.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Camp from India to take place in Seenigama- 29th & 30th September 2017.
6th annual Murali Harmony Cup Cricket Tournament - October 2017.
Donation of 50 cricket bags with the kind courtesy of the Shyam Bhatia Cricket for Care Programme in India in collaboration with FoG Trustee Mahela Jayawardena to promote rural cricket development.
Discussions underway for a 9th Village Heartbeat Project Empowerment Centre to open in Kilinochchi in collaboration with Spirit of Soccer & an Australian donor and a 10th VHP has also been earmarked in Bandarawela, at a property gifted for this purpose by the caring Wijesooriya family in UK.
Design Innovation Workshop by ICE (Innovation Creativity Entrepreneurship) to be conducted by Professor Suranga Nanayakkara from the Singapore University of Technology and Design - 24th to 16th November 2017.
Children Action (Switzerland) to host a group of European medical specialists in Sri Lanka over a 10 day period to mainly treat rural children suffering from orthopedic malformations and burn injuries. Children Action have over 21 years of experience with medical missions and have performed 12,482 operations since 2006.
'Helen Kaminski Raffia Braiding Project' women's entrepreneurship initiative to be established in the North and South with Kantala (Private) Ltd.
Coaches Across Continents visit to the Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy- December 2017.
New and innovative enterprise avenues for sustainable income generation underway to attain self-sustainability by the year 2020.
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