FoG Founder/ Chief Trustee Kushil Gunasekera was presented the Commonwealth Point of Light Award by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex in recognition of his exceptional service providing rural communities with access to education and training. One Point of Light is appointed for each Commonwealth Country by Her Majesty the Queen of England.
President of the Marylebone Cricket Club UK, Lord Ian MacLaurin together with MCC Local Trustees Mr. Mano Ponniah and Mr. Ajith Dias (pictured above) visited the Foundation of Goodness to learn more about our work first hand. The MCC has played a crucial role in FoG’s journey since 2007 with the opening of the MCC Centre of Excellence which is our principle project centre in Seenigama.
Special visitors to the MCC Centre of Excellence also included long standing supporters of the Foundation, Dr. Naj Nagendran, Mr. & Mrs. Mohan & Geetha Chandramohan and their daughter Mika.
The soft opening for FoG’s 7th Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Plant which is the 2nd plant to be sponsored by former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain and FoG Trustee Mahela Jayawardena took place in Bakamoona, Polonnaruwa District. This plant will reach 300+ families from surrounding villages. R. O. Plants play a crucial role in providing clean drinking water to these villages who suffer from Chronic Kidney Disease due to contaminated water sources.
The FoG Business Skills Centre, Computer Training Centre and Tamil Language Classes at the MCC Centre of Excellence are now sponsored by Credit Suisse.
The little ones at Lahiru Pre-School were treated to toys and chocolates with the kind sponsorship of long standing FoG supporter Mr. Sapan Nainani and the Elizabeth & Nicholas Nainani Foundation. Sapan has also sponsored Essential School Supply Packs exclusively for the Lahiru Pre-school and provides for the welfare, treatment and nutritional needs of young beneficiary Methmi who is a brain tumor survivor, including installing doors and windows for her semi-built home.
Graduation ceremonies took places for the students from the Women’s Empowerment Centre, IT Centre and Business Skills & Language Training Centre at the MCC Centre of Excellence. We were delighted to have Ms. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, the first Sri Lankan to summit Mt. Everest grace the Women’s Empowerment graduation as the chief guest, inspiring our graduates with her tale of determination to reach success overcoming all odds and special guest former National Table Tennis player Ms. Lilamani De Zoysa. Additionally, the students graduating from the Women’s Empowerment programmes also organized a special bridal fashion show to demonstrate all the skills they had gained (brides pictured above with chief guest Ms. Shazna Muzammil).
50 cricket bags gifted by Mr. Shyam Bhatia from UAE to FoG Trustee Mahela Jayawardena were handed over to 50 rural school cricket teams on the 31st of January with the kind facilitation of the Foundation of Goodness. Mahela Jayawardena was joined by fellow FoG Trustee Muthiah Muralidaran and Roshan Mahanama, as well as FoG Founder/ Chief Trustee Kushil Gunasekera and Trustee Ashan Malalsekera for the hand over kindly hosted by David Cruse at Upali's Restaurant, Colombo.
107 cataract surgeries have now been completed in partnership with Help Age with the sponsorship of the Sri Lankan Association of Geneva as per the kind facilitation of Mr. Chinta Rajap who made it possible for these rural disadvantaged beneficiaries to regain their sight, resulting in a marked improvement in their quality of life.
New vocational training programmes introduced to our beneficiaries this year include an Android Programming Course at the MCC Centre of Excellence Computer Training Centre, CCTV Camera Installation and Repair Course at the Oddusuddan Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre and a Dress Making Class at the Rathgama Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre. We always try to keep the programmes we offer up-to-date and responsive to the needs of our beneficiaries so that they can derive the maximum benefits and remain relevant with new market trends.
Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres:
The Foundation of Goodness Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres are designed to empower rural disadvantaged villagers, especially through English and IT which are essential to reduce the levels of poverty. Other programmes also include life skills & values, educational subjects, vocational training and sports to help them make better progress overcoming the disparity between the urban and rural communities.
Special events at the VHE Centres this month included Thai Pongal celebrations at the Murukandy and Oddusuddan Centres and tree planting activities at Mathagal and Oddusuddan to beautify their surroundings. Additionally the Murukandy VHE Centre organised a National Reading Day Programme for the kids attending classes and an English and IT camp took place at the Moneragala VHE Centre.
We are also delighted to share with you that Australian donor Mr. Scott Walker has pledged to sponsor the Murukandy and Mathagal VHE Centres (North) for the next 5 years. The Moneragala VHE Centre is sponsored by OYOB Property Group - Australia, Oddusuddan VHE by SriLankan AirLines and FoG trustee Padeep Karunagaran sponsors the Udumulla and Rathgama VHE Centres while one of the founding trustees Ashan Malalasekera sponsors the east coast VHE Centres in Ampara and Batticaloa.
The Community Psycho-social Unit conducted a session on domestic violence for the beneficiaries of the Udumulla VHE Centre as well as awareness programmes about fostering good/ healthy attitudes for the Akurala and Kahawa Children’s Good Values Initiative members.
The Medical Centre Team conducted their monthly wellness check-ups at the Hikkaduwa, Madampagama and Wellawatta Elders’ Homes to make sure that the residents remain in good health while the Dental Clinic continues its monthly oral care programmes introduced by American teenager Sonali Ranaweera’s Recycling4Smiles initiative.
The monthly coaching camp by Sri Lanka's National Women's Coach Hemantha Devapriya sponsored by Tokyo Cement was conducted for 37 cricketers and 7 coaches at the Sports Academy in Seenigama (South) while the North Coaching Clinic took place in Mullaitivu with 48 boys and 7 girls in attendance along with 4 coaches in an effort to develop rural cricket all across the island.
Community aid sports tours this month included visits by Barker College (pictured above) and Wenty Leagues Cricket Club from Australia. These friendly matches are a valuable experience for the local and visiting teams because of the opportunity to play and learn from each other.
The Foundation of Goodness is delighted to have 20 volunteers with us this month including the OxAdventure Group from Kuwait and others from Germany, Australia 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. 92.500/- (USD 600/-) 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.