November Highlights
The Foundation of Goodness has started fundraising for the annual Essential School Supplies Programme ahead of the 2017 school year to help rural disadvantaged children stay in school and excel at their studies by providing everything from a school bag, books, box of mathematical equipment and stationery to their uniform, shoes, lunch box and water bottle etc. for just USD 30/=
The ‘Punchline: Live Stand-Up Comedy Show’ was organized by Sanjay Pathmanathan on 25th November at the Ananda College Kularatne Hall, Colombo to benefit the Foundation of Goodness, with proceeds going towards the Essential School Supplies Programme to help rural impoverished students ahead of the 2017 school year.
33 ladies made up of FoG staff and past/ present pupils from our Women's Enterprise & Empowerment, Sports, Diving, IT and Business Skills sectors participated in the Women's Entrepreneurship Day conference held at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel on 18th November, providing motivation and guidance for female entrepreneurs as well as giving them the opportunity to register with the Regional Development Bank for business development loans by way of micro-financing.
The Elizabeth Moir Good Values Initiative organised a ‘Closet Project’ to help collect items such as clothes, books and toys for rural impoverished children as well as gathering funds to donate 62 Essential School Supplies Packs under the motto of ‘What I have, you must have too’ to members of the FoG Children’s Goodness Club who have trouble obtaining the necessary items for the new school year due to financial difficulties.
A second phase of cataract surgeries are underway for rural beneficiaries as sponsored by the Sri Lanka Association of Geneva, with 10 patients from the second batch of beneficiariess successfully recovering their sight following the surgeries, which were carried out in partnership with Help Age.
Ms. Sushila Raja and Sister Canice conducted a Reiki workshop for the Community Psycho-social Unit to introduce the concept of alternative healing methods.
A big congratulations to FoG Sports Academy chess player Sasith Piyamantha who is also the Vice-Captain of the National U14 Chess Team for being a part of the Sri Lankan Team who placed 3rd at the Asian Nations Chess Championship 2016 held in China.
The little ones at Lahiru Pre-school impressed teachers, staff and parents with their creativity and talent at the annual year-end concert.
The Akurala Children's Goodness Club members participated in a 'Parent Appreciation' programme to show love and gratitude to their parents for everything they do and to strengthen the bond between them.
The FoG Community Psycho-social Unit had a busy month conducting awareness programmes on child abuse and protection for the Kids Computer Class students and the Children’s Goodness Clubs. They also conducted a mental health programme for the MCC IT students in addition to attending regular training workshops with Sr. Canice.
The FoG Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres have also been doing a lot of work with beneficiaries this month including the Udumulla and Seenigama Children's Goodness Clubs organising children’s fairs, a special nutrition programme taking place in Akurala and the parents at the Monaragala Centre conducting a community clean-up programme.
Special training for the Sports Academy this month includes the monthly coaching camp by Sri Lanka's National Women's Coach Hemantha Devapriya sponsored by Tokyo Cement for 26 cricketers and 7 coaches while daily fitness training was conducted by Victor Celestine from Nigeria for all FoG sports squads to help improve their performance.
Community aid sports tours this month included a visit by Chiang Mai Lanna Cricket Club from Thailand. These friendly matches are a valuable experience for the local and visiting teams because of the opportunity to play and learn from each other.
Special Beneficiary programmes conducted this month included the monthly wellness clinics at the Wellawatta and Madampagama Elders’ Homes by the FoG Medical Clinic Team and weekly beach cleaning programmes conducted by the Diving Students.
Ongoing monthly projects include Recycling4Smiles bi-weekly oral hygiene programmes made possible by Sonali Ranaweera- the remarkable teenager from USA who has now sponsored over 2,500 rural kids to enhance oral care and hygiene, which is a great achievement and an example for us all and the sponsorship towards the Navodaya Centre for Special Children by FoG Trustee Muthiah Muralidaran. Such projects provide ongoing care to ensure the continued well-being of a wide cross section of beneficiaries.
FoG donors have gifted various items to benefit rural kids and youth including 33 boxes of clothing as well as furniture and recreational items from the World Ship to improve the lives of rural beneficiaries.
The Foundation of Goodness is delighted to have 3 volunteers with us this month from UK, Australia and USA all of whom are adding value to our work.
19 Village Welfare projects (which are in addition to the monthly ongoing sector programmes) amounting to Rs. 1,145,798.48 (USD 7,700/-) divided among areas such as healthcare, education, 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.
To learn about our activities in the North and East this month, please visit our North Journey So Far Update (Click for more).
This family lives in their makeshift home in the middle of a marsh. The Foundation of Goodness is supporting a community effort to build them a home on a newly purchased plot of land. We still need Rs. 500,000/- (approx. USD 3,400/-) to complete the home. Any donation, large or small towards making this a reality is welcome. Please donate towards this most worthy cause and help this family move to the safety of a new home in the New Year!
TOTAL BENEFICIARIES
16+ years in the South : 300,000+
5+ years in the North and East: 28,000+
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Major Upcoming Events:
Fundraising for the FoG Essential School Supplies Programme for the 2017 school year has now begun. 1 school pack containing everything from uniform material, shoes, books, stationery, mathematical equipment, lunch box, water bottle and a school bag costs only USD 30/-. Click here to DONATE.
The Goodness Rhythm Dance Troupe will be performing for the public at the 'Dance for Good Charity Show' every Saturday at 8.30 pm in Hikkaduwa at the Bansei Hotel. This is a sustainable income generation venture for the Foundation of Goodness.
The Harrow School (UK) Cricket Team will visit the FoG Sports Academy in December for a friendly match ahead of their Fundraiser and Community Aid Sports Tour in 2017.
Micro-Finance grants to be presented to 5 rural villagers by Givers League International- USA.
Graduation ceremonies across all FoG sectors to take place in December and January.
Decathlon beach games to be introduced in Seenigama.
FoG partnership with 'Spirit of Soccer' for Mine Risk Education.
FoG’s 7th Village Heartbeat Centre to be introduced in Mathagal (North) in early 2017 while plans for more centres in Oddusuddan and Bandarawela are in discussion.
Magic Bus, India year long programme in collaboration with FoG on 'Leadership through Sports' (2017).
Rural pre-school development & expansion in Ambanpula, Anuradhapura and pre-school renovation in Welikanda.
New and innovative enterprise avenues for sustainable income generation underway to attain self-sustainability by the year 2020.
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