******* PROJECT APPEAL *******

Community Empowerment and Development, Galewala

We're now reached our target – we're hoping to commit to the new project in early October!

With your help, Shining Life Children’s Trust has been working to improve the lives of young people in the most impoverished areas of Sri Lanka. A comprehensive educational and development programme in three villages in the Galewala area is now coming to a close. The standard of living, education, confidence and atmosphere in the villages is unrecognisable compared to three years ago when we started working with these communities. Now they have the knowledge and resources to continue the activities without our support.

Tangible benefits that will have a lasting effect include:

• Improved pre-school and library facilities.
• Trained teachers and library staff.
• Raised healthcare and dental hygiene awareness.
• Ability to improve nutrition through local crop growing and animal husbandry.
• Training in vocational skills, to widen sources of family income.

The summary from the sustainability report that was produced at the end of the project, along with a case study of one woman whose life has been transformed, are given below.

Such has been the success of this project, that the local communities are desperate for us to start work in three more villages urgently needing help.

Mirroring the national economic situation, Shining Life Children’s Trust is running out of resources. We appreciate that times are hard for everyone, and as far as possible we shy away from specific appeals, but without your additional help we will not be able to continue. I am therefore writing to ask if you can help us raise the funding we need to embark on the next stage of our important work. If we are to support these villages, and continue with the two communities with whom we are already working, we need to raise a further £17 000 in the coming months.

Your donation will play a direct part in changing the lives of children by giving them a healthier, better educated and more positive start in life.

If you can help us, please send your donation by cheque (made payable to Shining Life Children’s Trust) to
1 Chestnut Lane
Amersham
Buckinghamshire HP6 6EN
or by credit or debit card through the Charities Trust website or BT My Donate
or by bank transfer.

Thank you

Case study: Sewing Programme

29 year old Mrs P.P.D.G.M Thakshila Priyadanshini Jayasooriya residing at 154/A in the Ibbankatuwa Division, has studied up to the GCE Ordinary Level. Although she was keen on sewing she did not have any technical knowledge about it. In 2009, Shining Life Children‟s Trust (SLCT) with the support of the Human Development Foundation (HDF) started a project in the Ibbankatuwa Division. This was of great service to her.

Mrs Thakshila, who was unemployed, was able to follow a course in sewing in the same district. She was able to master this subject and subsequently commenced cutting and sewing in her own home. The machine that she purchased from Singer Company on an easy payment scheme was a great boon to her. She has now started to sew for the market. Daily, she sews five garments and sews children‟s, ladies, school uniforms and even undertakes sewing orders.

Her financial position is gradually increasing. She is indebted to HDF and SLCT for helping her to improve her sewing skills, she extends her heartfelt gratitude for their support.

Summary from sustainability report of previous Galewala project

The Galewala Development Project has been very successful with a high rate of interest from the community and local government. All of the projects objectives have been met with one exception – unfortunately the objective to provide access for youths and children to computer facilities and IT training was not completed. Relationships with the local government officials were also maintained at a healthy level which improved the projects implementation. Furthermore, the use of local resource people form the A.G.A office also legitimised the project and SLCT and HDFs activities and programmes in the Galewala Division.

The educational objectives were met with pre-school facilities improved and the pre-school teachers receiving improved training. While it is hard to empirically prove that school attendances have improved, as an NGO we are unable to get access to that government data, anecdotal evidence from the community hints that school attendance has improved due to the increased interest from the Children‟s Clubs. Awareness programmes to improve the attitudes to education among parents and children were also successful. The PRA had identified that attitudes to schooling were poor in the community however, after the implementation of HDFs and SLCTs programmes there was a marked improvement in the need for education. SLCTs and HDFs programme objectives to make sports equipment and recreational activities accessible and in providing library facilities in every village was particularly successful. Children in the area use the sports equipment and library equipment frequently improving their extra curricular activities and willingness to learn outside and in school.

The health objectives to give basic first aid and family health to women and children and; to raise awareness of the importance of healthcare and dental hygiene and the local availability of healthcare facilities were successfully met. Family health programmes that improved the health and sanitation of the area were very successful. In particular, the programme to reduce the spread of dengue and malaria by reducing the areas where mosquitos could breed was very successful. Due to reducing the area where mosquitos could breed, HDF and SLCT have improved the health of the community and potentially saved lives. The Dental Clinics were also very beneficial for the community as they raised the awareness of good dental hygiene and ways to combat oral diseases. Furthermore, CC members were educated about the local resources available to them and children were given toothbrushes to maintain good dental hygiene.

The environmental objects to raise awareness of environmental concerns and to improve environmentally responsible food production, which are closely linked to the health objectives, were also very successful. The food programmes educated the community in how to be more environmentally responsible in their food production (such as reduction in uses of organic fertiliser and environmentally responsible ways of reducing soil erosion) which will have long lasting benefits to the community. Animal husbandry classes were also implemented to improve local women's income and how to be environmentally responsible in looking after them.

The loan and self employment training have also been very successful with local women learning income generation skills which can be exploited through financial loans. The lack of defaults on loan, substantial savings through the Women‟s Societies and skills learned will have a long lasting benefit to women and children in the community. Furthermore, the wide variety of income generation programmes also allowed WS members to choose from a range of vocational skills to earn an additional household income from. Data collected so far indicates that women have been able to earn substantially increased incomes with all three societies demonstrating their ability to use the vocational training programmes for their own and their families benefit.