The Foundation of Goodness is committed to working for rural communities in Sri Lanka. The approach to our work is unique in that it provides a holistic response to community needs while recognizing that throughout the developing world, there are core services that should be essentially rendered in every context.

To this end, the Foundation of Goodness has focused on developing a rural community development model in Seenigama, a village close to Hikkaduwa on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

Its work has also been replicated on a smaller scale in the nearby villages of Udumulla and Rathgama.

As of 2011, the Foundation of Goodness has expanded its development work to the North as well, centred on the Mankulam town where the future North Learning and Empowerment Institute will be established.

Additionally, the work carried out by the Foundation of Goodness extends across the island to provide a compassionate response to the needs of rural poor communities throughout the country.

• Seenigama and the South

Seenigama

Seenigama is located on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka, and embedded in its history is its survival on the sea and the coral gardens of Sri Lanka.  

The main occupation of the people of this village was to harvest the coral to make chunam for construction. But after the Tsunami, this occupation came to a halt as people realized that it was the coral reef that protected them from disasters like the Tsunami.

Today, the main livelihoods in the village are fishing and coir; however, many people are branching into non-traditional areas of work in tourism, retail or as newly trained industrial divers through the Seenigama Diving & Training Centre thanks to new skills learnt at the Foundation of Goodness.

Seenigama is 20km North of Galle, the historic colonial town and administrative centre of the Southern province, and 2km North of Hikkaduwa, the thriving tourist resort popular for its coral and beautiful beaches.

The village is home to approximately 350 families and 2000 people, part of a honeycomb of villages that spreads out from the coast along the Galle Road, forming a complex community caught between the traditions.