Sri Lanka News

The charity has been running projects in Sri Lanka for the past 18 years to give nourishment and extra education to the children and financially supporting those children who now go to university. The charity also takes special care of women-led families who survive on next to nothing, and they support the elders who have no surviving children to take care of them as well as the adults with special needs.

In the north of Sri Lanka at Padma Lokah, our village project, we are currently running a scholarship programme for 26 children in grades 5 & 6. The children receive nutritious snacks, milk and vitamins and extra tuition to help them pass exams which will enable them to go to a higher school and potentially to university when the time comes. The higher school is nearby and the government pays the parents a small monthly amount to cover extra expenses like uniforms, books, etc. so it is a real possibility for these village children. This project has been running successfully in the same school for 2 years now and is proposed to continue each year. The headmaster of the school is working with us to introduce a small farm at the school where the children can learn how to grow food.

Here is the little video of the 70 families chanting for the world as they receive their food for the next month at Padma Lokah in the north of Sri Lanka.

Special Blessing at Padma Lokah, Sri Lanka

During the Covid emergency we needed to support 98 children’s families with food as they lost all sources of income, and that food aid project has been needed to continue until now. Since the beginning of 2024 the numbers of people in need have fallen and we are now supporting 28 elders and 10 women-led families who have children with special needs. Those children now attend a special needs unit within the local school which requires the mothers to attend school with their children. This means the mothers are unable to work and earn an income. The elders have no surviving children to support them as they were killed during the end of the civil war.

We are planning to ask for sponsors to support each special child and each elder. Stay tuned for more information about this beautiful opportunity to help directly. At our land at Padma Loka the farming food security project is going well. Harvests of coconuts, lentils, beans and other vegetables continue to be shared amongst the gardeners and the whole community. The village is enthusiastic about the project and working well together, which is a consequence of how much healing of trauma has happened since Padma’s first visit to this area in 2011, thanks to the generous support of you all and the children’s nutrition has been improved.

Celebrating the Light at Padma Lokah

We have recently begun a new 6 month pilot project in the Trincomalee district for 22 young children who are suffering malnutrition. This project is headed by Sri Kaliyuga, Dr. Arul and Mr. Sivapalan. Dr. Arul has secured government assistance for the project in the giving of vitamins for the children and we are providing improved nutrition. They are monitoring the progress of the children and after 6 months, if there has been improvement in the children’s condition they will begin an educational improvement plan for the children. As we know, it is impossible to learn with malnutrition, so the children are behind with their learning.

We support 10 university students with grants to enable them to buy text books, stationery etc. We have received requests for laptops for them as they are doing all their work on their phones at the moment. Imagine writing a university essay on your phone. If anyone would like to hold fund-raising events for this, we would be grateful as the total amount is £4,750.

Our beloved Mr. Kaliyugavarathan (Swamiji) meeting one of the children with special needs.