Newsletter June 2019

On behalf of the Foundation Kalapuwa Theo Mosch and Paul Davenport were back in Sri Lanka from the 25th.June until the 5th.July 2019.

A short trip this time but during our last visit and because of the bombings we were unable to complete a number of items in the planning. It was necessary to make an extra visit to round everything off. We wanted to give our support in these difficult times and to make sure that plans made previously had been properly executed.

Group micro-credits

One of the new initiatives is to arrange micro-credits in group form under the auspices of Mr. Mangale Asoka, a local social worker. Previously we had announced that we intended to set up 12 groups, each group with a collective group-credit of Euro 1250. We are delighted to be able to rapport that 6 groups were up and running by June 1st. 2019. Worth noting is the fact that all the groups have only female participants which gives women’s emancipation in Sri Lanka a helping hand.

Proper agreements have been made with all the ladies and every month there is an obligatory meeting for all the participants to make the required collective payments.

The initiatives of these women are varied and include candle making, clothing manufacture and baking. One of the women has purchased an oven to bake snacks and cookies for special events and an other has now the ability to purchase material for her sewing business. Other women have started small shops at home or buy and sell small packets of herbs and spices. Great initiatives and we are proud of these women.

Our aim is to have the next 6 groups up and running by November 1st.2109. At the moment we have raised sufficient funds for 10.5 groups and are looking for sponsors for the remaining 1.5 groups.

Working together with the AGIO school

Following on from a meeting with Jaap Plugge we have been in contact with the Director of the AGIO Training centre in Kalutara. Jaap has been working for a number of years in Colombo and knows the Dutch sponsor and director of this project. The centre focusses on the proffessional trades such as welder, electrician, plumber and a/c tecnicician. The students study for one year and achieve the Certificate 3, then are placed in a work-experience job and finally another 6 months training. At the end of this the students have a Certificate 4 which is comparable with a MBO trade diploma in the Netherlands. We were informed that the number of potential students for the AGIO was insufficient . By working together we have now been able to introduce boys from the Orphanage and suitable boys from the Peninsula who are known to us, to the school intake procedure. The boys receive not only an education but also regular meals, books and school requirements, a uniform and RS 1300 ( euro 6.50) per month pocket money. When they are placed in a work-experience job they receive RS 12,500 per month. We are delighted to be able to have this coperation and it proves the point that by working together amazing things can happen and to put the right people in the right place.

These three boys have already been admitted to the AGIO school via the Foundation Kalapuwa.

All three have been given a bicycle by the Foundation to help them get to school.

School in the jungle

Sometimes your path takes you to a place where it is immediately obvious that a little help will go a very long way. We were shown the way to this small (20 children) school in the back of beyond. Nilantha took us there as he had been aware of it’s existence for some time and wanted to show us the desperate situation there.

After our first visit we arranged the purchase of books, school writing materials, chairs, games apparatus, the Singhalese board game ‘Garam’ and shoes and socksfor the children.
On our next visit we we will see if anything on a more permanent basis can be done do help the school. There were a lot of happy faces this time and not only the children but also the teaching staff.

Violin

This young girl came with her father to the hotel to ask us if we could purchase a violine for her. Our first reaction was that this was outside our normal remit but talking to them we realised that this was a very special little girl who was the only girl in her music class without her own violine. She is not only highly inteligent but also musically gifted. A violine would cost euro 45, we immediately arranged a visit to a musical instrument maker. She has had only ten lessons but we were impressed with her aptitude. This was one of those ‘feel good ‘moments and we, jokingly, told her that when she becomes a famous violinist she can pay us back. Who knows?

Special thanks

This time our special thanks are directed to the Matthijsen family from the Edel Collection in Bunschoten. Your help has resulted in a new computer location, new furniture and educational materials for the Koshena School in Payagale. This one of the poorest schools in the area and this help has had an enormous impact for the students and their education, especially with computer studies.

Everyones’ appreciation is now evident with the addition of a new plaque on the school wall.
We will be back in Sri Lanka in November 2019. If you have any questions or suggestions or would like to help the Foundation in any way, please get in touch with us.

Our sincerest best wishes and thanks,

On behalf of Foundation Kalapuwa
Theo Mosch and Paul Davenport

Stichting Kalapuwa Sri-Lanka
website: www.kalapuwa.nl
Mail: info@kalapuwa.nl
KvK: 61002550
ANBI: 8541.59.861
IBAN: NL04RABO0190466855
Veenestraat 21, 3751 GE  Bunschoten Spakenburg