Trustee Report 2022
2022 was a year of great activity and increased commitment to the deployment of Computer Centres across the disadvantaged areas of Sri Lanka.
We disbursed £10,322 on seven projects and incurred only £73 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 paid their costs.
Our donations totalled £6,392, a significant increase on 2021, but leaving us again in a deficit position. The contributions came from a core of regular and faithful supporters with whom we communicate regularly. We did not have any new drive to increase our donations from new donors in 2022.
Beneficiaries
2022 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.
The major initiative was the creation of two computer centres near Kandy, Tech for Kids coding program initiated with a non–profit organisation a, national chamber for the knowledge and innovation industry in Sri Lanka.
We funded seven projects in 2022 and at the end of the year, we had 10 Computer Centres opened across Sri Lanka.
We had £73 in expenses, all spent with Sri Lankan suppliers in Sri Lanka.
All UK Trustees pay for all their costs.
The overall split of our disbursements between Beneficiaries and Expenses was as follows.
27 Lindfield Gardens ● London ● NW3 6PX
' 07986175415 ● * enquiries@srilankanchildrenfoundation.org ●8 www.srilankanchildrenfoundation.org Charity Number:1160297
Distribution of Payments to Beneficiaries 100% =£10,322
Detail of Projects
Details of projects undertaken are described briefly below.
Kandy Tedeniya – Donations £4,558 (for two projects)
Both primary schools are situated in the Kandy district. As per the latest poverty index, Kandy district remains in 17[th] position in the Poverty Headcount Index amongst the 25 identified districts in Sri Lanka. The school names are Dumbara Adarsha Primary School and Mahinda Adarsha Primary School.
SLCF partnered this digital initiative with Tech For Kids coding program providers to encourage future generations to be equipped with the right skills and requirements to be programmers.
The key objective is to bridge the digital disparity between the developed and the developing cities in Sri Lanka. These centres will benefit about 500 primary children annually.
TechKids Certification Curriculum engages industry resources to review the TechKids syllabus and provide continuous updates to the TechKids Certification Curriculum. Provide curriculum content for Scratch, Microbit, HTML and CSS, Python, cyber security, IoT, etc.
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We purchased a range of hardware so that the children in these two schools could access online material and online courses.
The material we purchased was: Desk computers (x10), keyboards (x10), with WIFI connectivity, Multimedia Projectors (x2), Printers (X2)
We only made this capital contribution with local volunteers to support both centres by cleaning them, installing computers, and ensuring their ongoing functioning.
This will enable the spread of the benefits of the worldwide demand for technically competent people beyond Colombo. It will aid primary school student’s digital learning and minimise digital gaps in education, and business.
These two centres will ensure access to online study materials and syllabi and support the students with their scholarship exams in Grade 5 coding skills to equip them for the future. Hence SLCF sponsored this initiative to invest in the present generation to proposer in future.
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Anthony Primary School – Donations £1,700
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St Anthony Primary School which has around 100 students is situated in China Bay in the Trincomalee district. As per the latest poverty index, Trincomalee holds the 9[th] position in the Poverty Headcount Index among the 25 identified districts in Sri Lanka. Last year was the peak of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka due to the economic calamity in 2021.
The cost-of-living crisis impacted many disadvantaged families and many children missed going to school due to this very reason. Essential goods such as milk, eggs, bread, fuel, and energy prices tripled in 2022.
We Invested in the computer centre that was created and developed by SLCF in 2018/2019. In addition, we provided support to local families of the children who were desperately in need via the school.
Our donations covered two purposes:
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The maintenance of desktop computers and the local Centre as a whole, which is now under the management of the Primary School but serves the community as a whole
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Essential goods for 30 families (Grams, Eggs, Sugar, Tea, Rice, Dhal).
After a few years of successful use of the facilities that benefited several hundred local students and families, the Computer Facilities needed updating to aid local students to have access to digital learning and thereby minimise digital gaps in education and supporting children’s families to survive day to day living and encourage children to go to school without giving up on their studies.
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St Mary’s College Trincomalee – Donations £1,424
St Mary’s College is situated in Trincomalee. As per the latest poverty index. Trincomalee district remains in 9[th] position in the Poverty Headcount Index amongst the 25 identified districts in Sri Lanka.
As with many of our projects, the key objective is to bridge the digital disparity between the developed and the developing cities in Sri Lanka. This centre will benefit about 2,000 primary and secondary children a year. The school was also provided with a projector to cover many classes, which will also benefit from access to digital resources and better teaching.
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The equipment purchased consisted of Desk computers (x5), keyboards (x5), with WIFI connectivity, and a Projector (x1); local volunteers supported this donation to clean the centre, install the computers and ensure the ongoing functioning of the centre.
This donation aims to aid primary and secondary students’ learning and minimise digital gaps in education and business between Colombo and the more remote parts of Sri Lanka. The primary goal of the schools is to ensure access to online study materials and syllabus and support students with their scholarship exams in Grade 5, O/Ls in Grade 11 and A/Ls in Grade 12, as well as English and Computer skills.
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Apostolic Carmel Academy, Atchuvely – Donation £1,139
The Apostolic Carmel Academy school is situated in Jaffna. As per the latest poverty index, the Jaffna district remains in 10[th] position in the Poverty Headcount Index amongst the 25 identified districts in Sri Lanka. A 30-year war and tsunami heavily impacted Jaffna. Due to these reasons, many children lost their parents and relatives and became either displaced or orphans.
The key objective of this donation is to morally and emotionally look after the displaced children and provide them with hope. We are doing this by enabling access to Digital resources and enabling children to develop increasingly essential digital skills.
The curriculum consists of basic societal skills, basic knowledge of Maths and English and a digital centre to encourage children to learn essential MS Office so that after their A/Ls they can either attend university or enter basic job level entry in nursing, teaching, or agriculture.
The equipment purchased included desk computers (x5), keyboards (x5) with WIFI connectivity, and a projector (x1). This was done in partnership with local volunteers' support for cleaning the centre, installing the computers, and ensuring the centre's functionality, as well as monthly hostel charges for basic food and maintenance costs.
The benefits are an improvement in the mental health of these children, providing them hope and the basic skills required to look after themselves in the future without relying on anyone else and increasing the chances for them to lead successful, independent lives. This is done by helping them develop self-confidence, morale, and communication skills.
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Lawris Children Hostel – Donations £524
Every year SLCF hosts a fun Christmas celebration for disadvantaged children. In 2022, SLCF chose Lawis Children Hostel, an orphanage for 30 children with their extended families.
The Orphanage requested funding for essential items and gifts during the Christmas celebration.
The items purchased included: Bed sheets, Pillowcases, Pyjama suits, slippers, soap, shampoo, and Sanitary items.
In the evening there was a celebration providing a nice meal for the children, butter cakes, sandwiches and pudding.
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FUN! and Mental happiness and a feeling of not being lonely, especially during special festivals.
University Students Support – Donations £475
SLCF tried a new initiative in 2022 by targeting University scholars and providing digital support by providing laptops to the scholars directly to use for their university studies and to lend to their fellow students in the same year. Two students, one from ATI University Anuradhapura representing the Science faculty and another from the University of Ruhuna representing the Engineering faculty, were selected from many applicants.
- Description of needs
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The key objective is to support the disadvantaged, intelligent/educated students who do not have the financial capability to purchase laptops to support their higher studies for research and access to online materials.
The students were selected for their social consciousness and their commitment to share their resources with other disadvantaged students
We purchased Laptops (x2)
Students obtain access to online study materials relevant to their fields of study. Our selected students committed to making the computer available to others without a computer, spreading the benefit.
Tissamaharama– Donations £427
This is a group of 30 farmers living in Tissamaharama town in Sri Lanka who have invested in their lands and promoted their produce by selling them to local markets and vendors.
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In 2022, the challenges faced by farmers in Sri Lanka increased due to the current economic crisis; prices tripled, and they could only afford one meal a day.
This was mainly due to the economic calamity that occurred in 2021, a lack of water, increased prices of fertilisers, and fuel costs. To continue their Phase 3 harvesting farmers needed some additional support from SLCF.
We purchased fertilisers, provided funds to buy fuel for the generator, and supported the farmers’ families with one-month dry rations for their daily living.
This allowed them to survive this period without making an emergency sale of their land. It also enabled them to continue farming and generated more sales in all seasons. Their continued supply of vegetables and spices helped them to strengthen their relationships with the local vendors and communities. It supported the farmers in creating a circular economy (to purchase what they needed and reinvest the savings into harvesting).
This will enable them to grow their business and enrich the local economy.
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Thank you. Page 12