Trustee Report 2021
2021 was a year of more modest disbursements and reduced receipts.
We disbursed £6,572.30 on six projects and incurred £654 in out-of-pocket expenses as all our staff are Trustees or volunteers. Peritempo Limited subsidises our IT and Web presence, and the UK trustees pay their costs.
Our donations totalled £2,120, leaving us again in a deficit. The contributions came from a core of regular and faithful supporters, as we did not do any donation drive in 2021.
Beneficiaries
2021 was a busy year in terms of activity across Sri Lanka. Our focus has been to continue our support of existing beneficiaries and, most importantly, develop our Computer Centres across the country.
Towards the end of 2021, we funded and supported 8 Computer Centres across Sri Lanka.
We had £654 in expenses, all spent in Sri Lanka with Sri Lankan suppliers.
All UK Trustees pay for all their costs.
The overall split of our disbursements between Beneficiaries and Expenses was as follows.
020 7193 1917 ● enquiries@srilankanchildrenfoundation.org ● www.srilankanchildrenfoundation.org
27 Lindfield Gardens ● London ● NW3 6PX
Distribution of Payments to Beneficiaries 100% =£6,785
Detail of Projects
Details of projects undertaken are given below in brief.
Lindula School
The School is situated in Lindula in the district of Nuwara Eliya in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya district is the 8[th] poorest district in Sri Lanka, with a mean household income of £229 a month (2019).
This Centre will benefit about 2,000 primary and secondary grades and the local community. We also bought a projector to enable the School to use digital media in their lessons.
The total purchases were £1,670, for which we obtained five desk computers, five keyboards, comprehensive WIFI connectivity and one Projector. As part of this project, we also recruited local volunteers to clean the Centre, install the computers and support the Centre in the future.
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Creating a Computer Centre at this School will aid primary and secondary students learning and minimise digital gaps in education and business. Ensuring access to online study materials and syllabus and supporting students with their scholarship exams in Grade 5, O/Ls in Grade 11 and A/Ls in Grade 12
Mannar School
Mannar St Joseph's School is located in Mannar, Sri Lanka Mannar is the 3[rd] poorest region in Sri Lanka, with a median household income of £217 a month (2019). We have supported the development of this Primary School's new building and facilities for many years, and the Computer Centre is the last component.
Access to the internet in this region is minimal, with very few computers available and not a single community computer centre. This increases the disadvantage to the inhabitants of this region and pushes them further into poverty.
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We transferred £1,781 for the complete fit-out of a five computer Computer Centre. The Centre was finally built in mid-2023. These unfortunate delays were due to the instability created in the country due to the cost-of-living crisis.
This Computer Centre will significantly assist primary students learning and minimise digital gaps in education by ensuring access to online study material and syllabus and supporting students with their scholarship exams in Grade 5.
Access to the Computer Centre will also be provided to the parents and the community, enabling the whole region to benefit.
Sigiriya School
Sigiriya School is a small primary school in northern Matale district, Sri Lanka. Matale is also an impoverished district with a similar household income level of about £234 a month (2019).
The principal requested SLCF to fund the new equipment for the children's play area. Before the installation of the new equipment, due to the rusty and broken-down state of the equipment, the outside play was both dangerous and highly restricted.
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We paid a tiny amount of £198 for which the whole equipment was repaired and repainted.
This made the school life of these children richer and much more fun.
Tissamaharama Community Farm
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This community is a poor community of subsistence farmers living in Hambantota District in the Southern Province. The median household income in this region is higher at £290 a month (2019), but this community is much poorer than this.
Thirty farmers in Tissamaharama town in Sri Lanka have invested in land and promoted their produce by selling it to local markets and vendors.
The lack of irrigation and irregular rains substantially reduced the yield of their land and their ability to grow more profitable crops such as watermelons, green chillies, cucumber etc.
We funded a new petrol-powered irrigation system as well as the initial seeds and labour to the tune of £929
After the installation of the irrigation system, yields more than doubled, and they could move to 4 harvests a year from 2. This significantly increased their earnings and started to take these families out of poverty.
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St. Anthony Primary School
St. Anthony primary school is in China Bay in Trincomalee district just South of Trincomalee. Trincomaleéis the poorest district in Sri Lanka, with a household income of £195 a month (2019).
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The children are below six years old and need musical instrument for their band
We bought a full Musical Band Set (Drums, Flutes and Musical instruments) for £502
This is mainly to improve children's interest in music and for the School to have a proper band, as is customary for most schools in Sri Lanka.
Pedro Estate
Pedro Estate is a community located in the town of Nuwara Eliya. This, as mentioned before, is an impoverished part of Sri Lanka, with a median household income of £229 a month (2019)
We spent £1,050 to purchase five Desk computers, five keyboards, full WIFI connectivity support and a Projector. Like in all our projects, this project also had the
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support of local volunteers in cleaning the Centre, installing the computers, and ensuring the functionality of the Centre.
In addition, the funding also enabled us and create a mini library with many reading books.
This was a community project to give the whole community access to the internet, digital resources, and education, as well as encourage the local children to improve their reading skills.
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