Sarasavi Suva Gama with the Sabaragamuwa University

This is an innovative program where the Sabaragamuwa University has engaged the help the Foundation of Goodness to create a holistic approach to community medicine and public health.

Medical students from the University of Sabaragamuwa are engaged in a unique immersive experience in the rural village of Kahangama off Wellambarawatta in the Ratnapura District.

‘Sarasavi Suwa Gama’, is a program introduced to develop a close relationship between medical students and their patients, whereby the students will gain first-hand experience of the problems faced by rural communities. The medical students will practice preventive public health, community medicine, health promotion and disease prevention activities, under the guidance of the University community medicine department.

The villagers will have the unique opportunity to have access to personal physicians who will conduct screenings for non-communicable diseases, instruct them on maintaining a clean environment to prevent or reduce the spread of Dengue, Rabies and diarrheal diseases, and occupational illness, advise them on improving their nutrition and develop healthy lifestyles including reducing smoking, alcoholism and drug use as well as addressing a number of psychosocial concerns such as domestic violence, and spousal abuse.

The realities and obstacles of the village with limited access to a number of facilities will become apparent to future medical practitioners, so that can have insight to the medical and psycho-social needs of their rural patients.

The program hopes to improve the overall health and well-being of the entire community by identifying existing problems and facilitating user-friendly health care.

Community Centre pre-renovation

Renovation of the Community Centre

The renovated Community Centre is now open for all village events and gatherings.

The Foundation of Goodness who have been actively engaged in bridging the urban-rural divide in Sri Lanka since 1999 and have a proven track record of uplifting communities through their 15 Empowerment Centers located island-wide, having served over 800,000 beneficiaries from 900+ villages since its inception in 1999.

Through this partnership, the residents of Wellambarawatta will benefit not only from the medical attention they receive, but also empowerment programs that the Foundation offers free of charge. To date, the foundation has rehabilitated the community centre, hired a village coordinator to implement these programs and facilitate the activities of the medical students.

Multiple activities have been conducted including a health camp, elders day, health promotion on sexual diseases , workshops – soap and candle-wick making and the gifting of Essential School Supply Packs to children returning to school. Future activities will focus -on children, malnutrition and elder health.