British High Commission Runs for FoG

In 2010 British High Commission Sri Lanka chose the Foundation of Goodness to be their sponsored charity to benefit from the proceeds of a sponsored Sport Relief Mile to raise funds for sports development in rural communities.


On a blisteringly hot morning on 20th March, High Commission staff and the Foundation of Goodness team joined thousands of people all over the world to take part in the Sport Relief challenge. The event was organised thanks to the hard work of Nadeesha and the team at the High Commission, and the race was opened by Sri Lanka Cricket Legend Aravinda De Silva. Some of the more competitive participants decided to run the 3km loop around the leafy avenues of Colombo 7, while the heat beat others of us into a brisk walk.

This is the first year that the British High Commission, Sri Lanka has taken part in Sport Relief, a biennial charity event from Comic Relief (a British charity organisation which was founded in the United Kingdom in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to famine in Ethiopia) in association with BBC Sport, brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries.

At the heart of the campaign is the Sport Relief Mile. The Sport Relief Mile was created to give the campaign a focus with an event that was open to anyone to run, walk, jog, wheel, bounce or crawl, regardless of ability or age. 81,000 people took part in the first Sport Relief Mile, sponsored by Fitness First, in 2004. In 2008 over a half a million people took part. There were 23 Flagship mile events in the UK and 235 local mile events spanning the UK.

Nadeesha commented that “I am pleased that this year the British High Commission in Sri Lanka as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will participate in the Sports Relief Mile to raise money for the Foundation for Goodness. We recognise the important work the Foundation has done for the community in Seenigama. Therefore, we would like to ask the Foundation use the monies raised by the High Commission towards a sport development project in the local community.” Following the race, participants were able to relax and enjoy a BBQ lunch in the beautiful grounds of the Richard Murphy designed High Commission. A raffle ensued with amazing prizes secured from some corporate sponsors from hotels, airlines, resorts and other businesses, presided over by High Commissioner Dr. Peter Hayes and Aravinda.

The event was a great success, raising 300,000/- for essential equipment for the Seenigama Sports Academy. The Academy is run by the Foundation of Goodness from the beautiful Seenigama Oval, near Hikkaduwa. Facilities, such as the 25m Bryan Adams Swimming Pool in Seenigama, coaching and regular training camps have produced champions in volleyball, cricket, swimming and netball for school children and at club level. 1400 children and youth benefit from the life skills and personal development through sports projects currently supported by Surrey County Cricket Club, Marylebone Cricket Club, Australian Sports Outreach Project and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

We will use the donation to fund gym equipment that sports children have needed for many years. As malnutrition is a problem in the rural communities, gym equipment is essential to build strength and stamina of sports players for their physical fitness and ongoing success. This will help teams such as the Foundation of Goodness u15 regional schools team, which will be defending their title of KAF Champions in the Malaysia based tournament this year following their huge win at their first ever international tour in 2009.



Kushil commented that “it was a great honour to be chosen by the British High Commission as their recipient charity for this event. Our thanks go to everybody involved for their great work in supporting us to uplift the lives of the rural children and youth through the holistic model developed in Seenigama that currently helps 20,000 people from over 25 villages in the Seenigama region free of cost.”

2010.05.17