IRONMAN and IRONKIDS
- IRONKIDS took place on the 24th of February in Partnership with the Foundation of Goodness in the form of a fun run at the Galle Face Green in Colombo with the kind sponsorship of Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. This was the 2nd such event in Sri Lanka, following the IRONKIDS Aquathlon which took place in Seenigama last year (at the Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy) with the participation of 135 rural kids. Among the 500 international kids participating this year were 10 rural students from the Foundation of Goodness, which was a great opportunity for kids from a village background to gain exposure to an event of such international renown.
- IRONMAN 70.3 Colombo took place on the 25th of September and 4 Unity Teams (made up of contestants from the North, South, East and West of Sri Lanka) from the Foundation of Goodness had the opportunity to participate along with two individual athletes, one of whom was FoG triathlete Lakruwan Wijesiri.
- We are delighted to announce that Lakruwan placed 4th in his age category and one of the Unity Teams were runners up in the team event.
- FoG supporter Shazna Muzammil donated her personal racing bike to FoG Unity Team contestant Dinoraj from Sittandy, Batticaloa (East) following the event.
195 brand new ladies shoes donated by FoG supporter Shelma Jayasinghe from Australia were donated to students attending the Women’s Empowerment courses at the Mathagal, Moneragala and Kilinochchi Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres and the Beauty Culture students at the MCC Centre of Excellence.
410 vouchers for the purchase of new school shoes were handed over to students at the Moneragala Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre as an extension of the 2018 Essential School Supplies Programme.
We were delighted to welcome students from Elizabeth Moir School- Colombo to the MCC Centre of Excellence in Seenigama where they toured the Centre and learned about our holistic approach to development. The group also had a great time painting some of the buildings at our Centre.
The Foundation of Goodness Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres and students at the Lahiru Pre-school had special programmes to celebrate Sri Lanka’s 70th Independence Day which fell on the 4th of February.
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.
- The Mathagal Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre in Jaffna which is FoG’s 7th VHE Centre celebrated its 1st Anniversary this month. The Mathagal Centre currently has 431 students from 6 villages enrolled in its programmes.
- An IT and English camp took place at the Moneragala VHE Centre while the students at the Mathagal VHE Centre participated in a special IT workshop.
- A new course on Mobile Phone Repair has been introduced at the Oddusuddan Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre at the request of the attending students.
- A ‘Parent Appreciation Programme’ was organised for the students and their parents at the Gandara VHE Centre in Matara. These events take place to strengthen familial bonds and create stronger relationships between the children and adults.
- Financial Consultant Mr. Prithiviraj De Silva conducted informative session on financial management at the Mathagal (Jaffna) and Oddusuddan (Mullaithivu) VHE Centres.
- The children and youth at the Eravur (Batticaloa) and Thirukkovil (Ampara) VHE Centres took part in a sports meet while the kids at the Murukkandy VHE Centre in Kilinochchi had the opportunity host the Navanthurai RCV Soccer Team and enjoy a game with them.
- The beneficiaries at the various VHE Centres always put in extra effort to keep the centres clean and beautiful. In February, the Children’s Good Values Initiative members in Rathgama (Galle) and Oddusuddan (Mullaitivu) had a cleaning campaign at their respective premises while the beneficiaries at the Mathagal VHE Centre (Jaffna) planted new trees and flowering plants in the outdoor areas.
Community Psycho-social Unit
- The Community Psycho-social Unit conducted a variety of awareness programmes on subjects such as family relationships for students from various FoG sectors including the Women’s Enterprise & Empowerment Centre, the Computer Class and parents of the Lahiru Pre-school students.
- The team also conducted a Life Skills Awareness programme at the nearby Kuleegoda Sumana School for the benefit of their students.
Workshops
- 68 students attended a Leadership & Good Values Workshop at the FoG Business Skills Centre including a session by special guest Ms. Hashi Peiris from the University of Kelaniya.
- Lanka Social Ventures conducted a Youth Social Enterprise Incubator programme for 30 youth from around the island at the MCC Centre of Excellence premises and took the time to tour our facilities and learn more about the work carried out by the Foundation of Goodness.
- A special workshop on Sports Medicine was conducted at the FoG Sports Academy by Dr. Seevali Jayawikrama.
- Students at the Computer Training Centre participated in an online lecture about the importance of IT and the opportunities available today in the field, so that the students are more aware of the various avenues that they can pursue.
Sports Academy
- The FoG Table Tennis players participated in the 3rd Southern Province Open Ranking Table Tennis Championship with amazing results: Sanduni Prabusshika: U21 Girls' Singles Champion and Open Women's Singles Champion, Naviru Nethsith: U8 Boys' Singles Champion, Nilshi Sanjana: U10 Girls' Singles Champion, Sachintha Charulochana U12 Boys' Singles Runner Up, Diwya Darani: U12 Girls' Singles Runner Up and Himalsha Savindi: U15 Girls' Singles Runner Up.
- Swimmers from the FoG Sports Academy participated in the All Island Novices Swimming Championship where senior swimmer Sayuri Kawya placed first at the U19 50m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly and 200m Individual Medley events and swimmer Lehansa Ranathilake placed first at the U13 30m Butterfly event.
- Kaveesha Dilhari from the FoG Ladies Cricket programme was selected for the upcoming National Ladies’ Squad 3 day international tour to Pakistan.
- The monthly coaching camp by Sri Lanka's National Women's Coach Hemantha Devapriya sponsored by Tokyo Cement was conducted for 42 cricketers and 9 coaches at the Sports Academy in Seenigama.
- Daily fitness training was conducted for all FoG sports squads to help improve their performance. In addition to fitness training the members of the FoG Elite Squad also attended IT and English classes to give them a more well-rounded approach to success.
- Community aid sports tours this month included visits by Kai Tak Cricket Club- Hong Kong, X Training Camp- China, UWC Campus- Singapore, Gateway International School- Sri Lanka, Emersys Group- Europe, Somerset Ladies School- UK and Brentwood School- 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.
Community Aid
- The Club Seenigama Cricket Team cleaned the outdoor areas at the FoG Sports Academy while the students from the Computer Class collected funds to help two local beneficiaries with medical needs.
- The Medical Centre Team conducted their monthly wellness check-ups at the Hikkaduwa, Madampagama and Wellawatta Elders’ Homes to ensure that the residents remain in good health.
The Foundation of Goodness is delighted to have 3 volunteers with us this month from Germany and UK, 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. 110,000/- (USD 700/-) 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.
 FoG's 3 Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres in the North carry out a variety of programmes every month. For more of our activities in the North and East, please visit the North Journey So Far Update (Click for more).
TOTAL BENEFICIARIES
18+ years in the South : 335,000+
7+ years in the North and East: 37,000+
4 international teams are scheduled to visit the FoG Sports Academy in March for community aid sports tours.
The 4th monthly cricket coaching camp in the North to be held in Vavuniya with the sponsorship of Tokyo Cement.
A Shop Goodness stall will be introduced at the Galle Fort Market on 17th March 2018.
The Shelton Gunasekera Memorial Relay Carnival to take place on 20th March at the Bryan Adams Swimming Pool Complex with the participation of 16 schools.
FoG's 10th VHE Centre has been earmarked in Bandarawela at a property gifted for this purpose by the caring Wijesooriya family in UK and the sponsorship for 3 years has been pledged by Mr. & Mrs. Mohan and Geetha Chandramohan from LA. Establishing the 11th and 12th Centres are also in discussion with Tokyo Cement.
FoG's 8th Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Plant to be established in Anuradhapura with the kind sponsorship of the Australian High Commission Direct Aid Programme.
Foundation of Goodness will be assisting other organisations supporting Special Needs Children's programmes in the North and South. With leadership from Dr. Naj Nagendran we will be liaising with Serendip Children's Home in building a programme in the North with the Ministry of Education and similarly, in the South we will be working with Methsewa Foundation in Moneragala as well as the CIMA Students Society and Schools Relief Initiative in the UK at a school in Ambalanthota, developing a fully equipped modern classroom.
Children Action (Switzerland) to host a group of European medical specialists in Sri Lanka over a 10 day period to 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.
New and innovative enterprise avenues for sustainable income generation underway to attain proposed self-sustainability by the year 2020.
|
