Love in the time of Crisis: The ‘All You Need is Love’ fundraiser by the B P de Silva Group and Singapore Red Cross supports Sri Lankan rural families in strife.

2022 was a rough year for many Sri Lankans, having just recovered from the pandemic, this little island was in economic turmoil which brought the country to a standstill. The economic crisis had a much bigger impact on the already struggling rural villages. Decreased agricultural output, business closures, and limited access to the most essential services resulted in dwindling incomes, lack of food and essentials, and increased poverty. 

The ‘All You Need is Love’ fundraiser by the B P de Silva Group together with Singapore Red Cross was a response to Sri Lankas Humanitarian Crisis. The Foundation of Goodness was the privilege of being names the deliver partner to ensure that the funds were properly utilised and reached those who are most in need in the rural villages of Sri Lanka. 

The funds received were distributed under 3 main areas: Grocery Distribution, School Meals Program and Agri-Entrepreneurship Projects. 

The Grocery Distribution project saw 4,000 Grocery packs reaching 108 villages across the country in the Galle, Mulaitivu, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Ampara, Kilinochchi, Puttalam, Hambantota, Ratnapura and Colombo Districts. This provided rural families with much needed dry rations to see them through. 

The School Meal Programme was put in place because parents were facing difficulties in providing meals to their children due to the growing food crisis. We selected four schools for the project, which took place over a period of 64 school days in 4 schools, reaching 496 students in total. 161 students from TK/Uranai Saraswathy Maha vidyalayam in Ampara, 152 students from  J/ Mallakam Maha Vidyalayam in Jaffna, 83 students from the B/ Watagamuwa Maha Vidyalaya in Badulla and 100 students from the Mu/ Olumadu Tamil Vidyalayam in Mullaitivu. 

Here’s what the Principal of Olumadu Tamil Vidyalayam had to say “The current economic crisis of the country has greatly affected the many low-income students studying in this school. The Singapore Red Cross providing meals program through the Foundation of Goodness to 100 students of Olumadu Tamil Vidyalayam for 64 days makes us very happy and we would like to say thank you to the Singapore Red Cross and the Foundation of Goodness.”

The Agri-Entrepreneurship Project had a more long-term impact on the lives of the villagers. The project titled “Sustainable Livelihood Development Project for Women Headed Families in Ampara ” helped the village women, who worked as labourers in the district, create a means of sustainable income through Agriculture. The determined and hardworking women from 7 female headed families in Komapakkarachchi started the cultivation process on 3 acres of land. Some of the plant types that were grown by the women were Chili, Brinjal, Bitter Gourd & Snake Gourd, Ora, Long Beans and peanuts. The ladies were also joined by some of their children who wanted to support their mothers and involving them in the process also helps all the women tend to their children collectively when childcare is unavailable to them. 

Women tended to the harvest and sold the vegetables and peanuts to the local market to generate a sustainable income. This project truly gave these women a whole new sense of purpose and self-worth as seen in the Komathys’ testimonial below. 

“I am a widow with four children and my husband died 15 years ago. I express my heartfelt thanks for allowing me to stand on my own two feet. For 15 years, I have earned an income as a day labourer in other people’s farms, I didn’t have my own enterprise like this. Because of the ‘All You Need Is Love’ project, I became an owner of the farm, and with the help of this project, I have earned money for my children’s education and even been able to save some for an emergency. It is a fantastic programme”