Essential School Supplies deliveries ahead of the 2016 School Year
The Foundation of Goodness 2015 Essential School Supplies Programme delivered 3,236 school packs this year to rural impoverished children ahead of the 2016 school year to encourage them to stay in school as well as to give them the ability to make the most of their education. This brings the total number of packs delivered by us since 1999 to over 25,000.
With a state funded free education system at all levels up to tertiary education, there is little wonder that Sri Lanka can boast a literacy rate of 98%. Unfortunately, beyond the free tuition and textbooks, the poorest of children need other essentials to make the most of this opportunity, such as school books, bags, pens pencils, mathematical instruments and other items which help them excel at their studies.
Even with the opportunity for free education, the loss of these essential school items often leads to many children dropping out of school without completing their studies, or simply marking their presence in school unable to take down notes because they don’t have a book or failing mathematics because they don’t have a box of mathematical instruments. This results in a lot of lost potential and often leads the children to continue their lives locked into a cycle of poverty and hardship.
Therefore, the main goal of our ESSP deliveries is to encourage kids to stay in school and study hard, making the most of their education and thereby creating a path which can lead them out of poverty. Over the years, we are very pleased that our distributions have slowly spread all across the island, reaching the children who are most in need of help, regardless of where they live. Our dedicated team travelled through storms and floods this year, travelling all across the island (with one very long and notable round trip covering 2,040 km over 10 days) and often working all through the night to make these deliveries happen and ensure that we put a smile on countless young faces.
This year, the excessive number of requests we received also meant we had a long and hard struggle to collect sufficient funds, and we had help from some very special donors along the way including the Michael Jackson’s Legacy organisation, Children Action, the HopeSong concert organised by volunteer Sanjay Pathmanathan & friends, Mr. Skandakumar and the Oru Paanai Trust who donated funds to coincide with the visit to Seenigama by Northern Province Minister for Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports, Kishani Alanki & Friends, 10 year old Amali Weerasooriya who organised a pop-up shop selling homegrown herbs near her local supermarket to raise funds, Dr. Naj Nagendran & Friends (Sri Lanka Golf Association, Sember Trust), Mr. George Hettiarachchi & Friends who have been longstanding donors to this cause.
A big thank you also to our trustees Muthiah Muralidaran and Mahela Jayawardena as well as all our donors who have helped us reach our goal with each individual donation, no matter how big or small. This includes trustee Pradeep Karunagaran, the Elizabeth & Nicholas Nainani Foundation, Shaktha Amaratunga, Heather & Stewart Ritchie, Sriyan Senadhira and Liaden Cotter, Dhanesh Kellapatha, Amaarah Kellapatha & Friends, Sarah Kellapatha, Ranee Beer, Thorsten Broese, Milan Fernando, David Cruse, Bantierra Group, Alison Hodgson, Prof. Rick Oliver, Barista Coffee, Chandra Fernando, Udani, Rohantha De Silva, Rani Gunasekera, John Rudra, Himani Welivitavithane, Russell Raymond, Subway Sri Lanka, Jillian Lowes, Bryan Peiris, James Barrett, Chinthaka Pothupitiya and many others.
Deliveries this year were to the following areas: South: North East: North Central Province: West: Central Province: Uva Province: Other: These kids received bags that were specialized for their needs, as per age category, which included the following: Grade 1 Grades 2-5 Grades 6-12
We leave you with a big thank you for all that you have contributed towards this noble endeavor to help rural kids succeed and put a big happy smile on their faces!
26th January 2016  |
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