The Foundation of Goodness was established in 1999 and has worked extensively following the 2004 tsunami that devastated the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans to develop a one of a kind holistic rural community development model which today delivers a wide range of programmes to over 15,000 beneficiaries every month from 200+ villagers in the South, North and East of Sri Lanka, free of charge, via our 30 empowerment activity sectors which include Arts & Multimedia, Children, Enterprise & Empowerment, Environment, Housing, Dental, Medical & Psycho-social support, Scholarships, Sports Development & Management, Sustainable Income Generation, Village Heartbeat Empowerment Project, Village Welfare & Development and Volunteer Management.
When the years of conflict came to an end, the Foundation of Goodness extended its development activities to the post-war North and East of Sri Lanka and have been working in the North since January 2011, reaching over 35,000 beneficiaries to date, with uninterrupted monthly visits to introduce, maintain and expand a variety of programmes including village infrastructure development, sports development, libraries, IT centres, schools development, water and sanitation projects, livelihood and vocational programmes, micro finance projects and have distributed over 4,040 bicycles to needy beneficiaries in partnership with Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara and his ‘Sanga’s Bikes for Life’ programme.
The Foundation of Goodness has also branched out to offer its key courses and resources to distant rural villages via Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres. These centres strive to empower disadvantaged communities so that they may have equal opportunities to excel in life. As the nerve centre of the village, the Village Heartbeat concept works to give under privileged villagers access to skills that will enable then to develop to their full potential and offer courses in areas such as IT, children’s educational classes, women’s empowerment, life values and life skills development. The Foundation of Goodness has already established 9 Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres in the South, Southeast, North and East of the island, with plans currently underway to construct more Centres.
Before the tsunami: 1999-2004
In the early days, it provided English and Computer classes, Sports Training to village children, upgrades to villagers’ dwellings (including water, sanitation and electricity supply) and a simple medical clinic.
Rebuilding lives: 2005-2007
When the Tsunami struck in 2004, Kushil gifted what was left of his ancestral home and garden to the village, setting up firstly an emergency centre and then, with sponsorship from the Marylebone Cricket Club, developing the MCC Centre of Excellence, which is now the hub of the Foundation of Goodness' work.
The Post-Tsunami international funding has provided facilities and opportunities which have been open to all for free of charge and have benefitted around 20,000 villagers in about 25 villages.
Holistic Community Development: 2007 onwards
With most Tsunami disaster response work drawing to a close, the focus is now on ensuring long term sustainability of the model that was originally envisaged when the Foundation was set up in 1999. The work continues to target improving the lives of rural communities across 50+ villages. Special emphasis is placed on developing children through the provision of Pre-School, English and Computer Classes and a significant Sports Programme in Seenigama. Adult learning is supported through training in computer and business skills and English classes and for the women, classes in industrial and domestic sewing and cookery to enable them to support their families and in some cases to go into business. Medical and dental cares are extending from tending the sick into preventative health care programmes.
Expanding North
Since 2011, the Foundation of Goodness has expanded its development activities to the post-war North. The FoG plans to emulate the Seenigama MCC Centre of holistic development model in the North through establishing the North Learning and Empowerment Institute. While work is underway in establishing the Centre, the FoG carries out development and humanitarian activities in the North including the Neethipuram Water and Sanitation Project, sports camps, development of school grounds and libraries, micro-finance, developing a pre-school, distribution of solar power bulbs and livelihood projects.
