Mary's way to Chettikulam
SOS Children in Sri Lanka
The tropical island of Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon, lies off the southern tip of India and is home to more than 19 million people. Between 1983 and 2009, there was an on-off civil
war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), a separatist militant organization who fought to create an independent
state named Tamil Eelam in the north and east of the island. On May 19, 2009
the President of Sri Lanka officially proclaimed the end of the insurgency and
the defeat of the LTTE following the death of its leader and much of its senior
leadership. The consequence of these combats was the internal displacement of
tens of thousands of people in the northern and eastern parts of Sri
Lanka.
According to UNICEF, there are nearly 350,000 orphans in Sri Lanka. In addition, hundreds of thousands of children have little or no access to basic services such as health, education and clean water. However, life expectancy in Sri Lanka is 72 (it is 79 in the UK) and over 97% of 15-24 year olds are literate.
SOS Children's Villages provides orphaned and abandoned children in Sri Lanka with a new mother, a family and a home where they can stay until they are ready for independent life. The charity began its work in Sri Lanka in 1980 and currently cares for more than 500 children at its five purpose-built Children's Villages, and a further 192 teenagers at its five SOS Youth Homes. The teenagers live here while they complete their college studies or vocational training, and it is where they are taught the life skills needed for independent living.
SOS Children also runs SOS Schools, Vocational Training Centres, Emergency Relief Programmes and Family Strengthening Programmes (FSPs). FSPs aim to prevent child abandonment and to keep vulnerable families together by providing childcare, counselling, vocational training and medical support. Through all of its Villages, Youth Homes, Schools, Emergency Relief Programmes, Training Centres and FSPs the charity is providing support to over 5,000 people in Sri Lanka.
SOS Children's Villages Sri Lanka
The charity's first community in Sri Lanka opened on the outskirts of Piliyandala, about 12 miles south of the capital, Colombo. It has 16 family houses (each house can give a home to 10 children), an SOS Nursery School for 160 little children, and SOS Youth Homes for adolescent boys and girls, where they can learn woodwork, metalwork, welding and electronics, as well as taking their first guided steps towards independence. The girls also learn how to make gold jewellery, which will form an essential part of their marriage dowry. The Village also runs an SOS Primary and Secondary School for 850 students, of whom approximately 90% come from the neighbourhood. Over 500 people from the local community benefit from the SOS FSP which offers classes in cooking, sewing and English, and provides dental and
medical treatment. SOS mothers and staff also receive continual training at the SOS Vocational Training Centre in the Village.
The charity's second Sri Lankan community opened in 1984 in Nuwara Eliya in the central highlands, about 6,000 feet above sea level. Nuwara Eliya is Sri Lanka’s most famous hill station and is one of the island’s best known holiday resorts, with spectacular views of the hills and tea plantations. The village has 10 family houses, an SOS Nursery School and an SOS Youth Home for boys, with training facilities similar to Piliyandala. An SOS FSP provides health care for local people and runs programmes to improve standards of nutrition, health and education. About 28 miles south of Nuwara Eliya, a hill farm at Malpotha trains SOS boys in organic farming, animal husbandry and conservation, giving them the opportunity to achieve real independence as farmers.
SOS Children's third Village opened in Galle in 1990. Galle, a former Dutch fortress, is the largest city in southern Sri Lanka and is an important tourist centre. The SOS Children's community, which is on the outskirts of the city, has 12 family houses built in natural pink stone, an SOS Nursery School for 130 children, and three SOS Youth Homes.
The charity's fourth Village in Sri Lanka opened in 1994 in the celebrated ancient city of Anuradhapura. The city was founded in the fourth century BC and is famous for its Buddhist shrines. There are 14 family houses for 140 orphaned or abandoned children, an SOS Nursery School and two SOS Youth Homes. Eighteen older boys receive a practical education at the SOS Vocational Training Centre; courses offered include IT and welding. The Village also runs a mothers' club for local mothers, where they receive medical care and training in crafts and home economics.
SOS Children's Village Monaragala opened in 2000. Monaragala, in south-eastern Sri Lanka, has a temperate climate and agriculture is the main industry. The charity’s Village is on the edge of the city, built on land donated by the government. The 12 family houses have views over the mountains. Facilities include an SOS Youth Home for 100 teenagers, an SOS Nursery School, an SOS Vocational Training Centre for 150 youths, and an SOS FSP for over 240 vulnerable children.
Emergency Relief Programmes
Since August 2009, following the climax of the civil war, SOS Children's Villages has been running a childcare centre at the huge Chettikulam refugee camp close to the city of Vavuniya in northern Sri Lanka. The childcare centre provides temporary shelter, education and care to around 200 children orphaned or separated from their families. With the support of Save The Children, we are successfully reuniting children with their families. In 1995, SOS Children also ran an emergency refugee camp in the north of the country for children and families affected by the civil war. In 2003 a permanent SOS community centre was opened in Batticaloa on Sri Lanka's eastern coast; an SOS Nursery School was subsequently added.
Following the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, the Batticaloa centre was integral to the extensive emergency relief programme carried out by SOS Children. In addition, SOS Children set up 10 Child Relief Centres (still in operation) and temporary schools along the southern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka, providing clean water, food, medical care and schooling for thousands of children. One of the Centres was constructed in Peraliya, a coastal village utterly destroyed by the Tsunami. Young people from the SOS Children's Villages in Sri Lanka played an active role in the distribution of food and other essential services. As part of SOS Children’s Rehabilitation Programme on the east coast, 1,143 families received a start-up grant to help them rebuild their lives. The charity provided 600 families with fishing nets and boats so they could start to make a living and be able to provide food for their communities. SOS Children also helped families in three devastated villages on Sri Lanka’s east coast to rebuild their homes. Community centres were built with classrooms, medical posts and cyclone shelters, depending on the needs in each location.
Mali's story
Mali Ranawake, who grew up in SOS Children's Village Piliyandala, recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh, UK, with a degree in Accounting:
"At my graduation ceremony I felt on top of the world with all the well-wishers there. But I was missing my SOS mother, family and everyone back there at SOS Children's Village Piliyandala; if only they could have been around at the graduation ceremony too! When you leave your home country to study abroad, the mere idea of relocating to some spot thousands of kilometres away leaving behind your loved ones makes you sick; on the other hand, it's also like a dream come true. My SOS mother always encouraged me to do my very best and although she misses me a lot, she allowed me to leave home to develop my own future. I have plenty of wonderful memories of SOS Children's Village Piliyandala. The annual holiday camp was real fun and I enjoyed every outing to the fullest. The camp was an opportunity for the children from all SOS Children's Villages in Sri Lanka to meet up and spent time together. I have been very fortunate in my life so far. SOS Children's Villages has been and still is everything to me. I feel that the way my SOS mother brought us up has made us really belong together and support each other. I want to find the time to sit with my family and share my experience. I wish that all my siblings get the right opportunities in life and work to their capacity."
Local Contacts
SOS Children's Villages of Sri Lanka
PO Box 5
Kesbewa
Piliyandala
Sri Lanka
Tel +94/1/270 3890
Fax +94/1/270 2321
E-mail: soslanka@sltnet.lk
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