Marylebone Cricket Club Centre of Excellence in Retrospect

Today is a day we can rejoice in our hearts, judging each day not by the results we have reaped, but by the seeds that we have been able to plant blessed by the kindness and compassion that have been extended to us by the Marylebone Cricket Club.

After the tsunami struck Sri Lanka in the ghastly early hours of 26th of December 2004 that shattered the world with waves of shock, we as a nation had no choice but to resurrect our humane spirit in the name of lives that were washed away along the waves, in order to rebuild the lives and livelihoods of our mourning nation that was left behind.  It is in this light that the very generous Marylebone Cricket Club came forward with its warm heart, reaching out to us and lending a strong supportive hand to the rebuilding efforts herald by Kushil Gunasekera, Founder and Trustee of The Foundation of Goodness.

Although, the tsunami caused devastation in the village, Kushil’s ancestral home remained intact despite some damages from which, relief co-ordinating secretariat operated. When Kushil donated the property to the Foundation of Goodness it became the focus for clean-up, re-building and development work. Responding to the timely need in the area, the Marylebone Cricket Club keenly supported to build the infrastructure needed for operations. Thereon, they have remained the proud sustainability sponsor of the MCC Centre of Excellence administrative and management functions that overlooks ten other empowerment sectors within this premises providing free of cost services all year through for the betterment of thousands of people.

Today, while marking five years after that first compassionate gesture by the Marylebone Cricket Club that has stood as our pillar of strength, we are proud to look back on the path we have walked acknowledging what we have been able to achieve in the name of ‘building back better’ to continuously uplift over 20,000 lives per annum from up to 40 villages in the region, some as far as from 20km away. 

Equipped with 10 empowerment sectors, the MCC Centre of Excellence acts as the administrative hub for 30 different services run by the Foundation of Goodness by assisting the sustainability of the rural village of Seenigama touching every aspect of wellbeing while, facilitating opportunities for both children and adults to excel in life. Its success has been recognized and endorsed by R.M.I.T. University in Melbourne, Australia as the “best post-tsunami project of all countries affected”.

The medical centre at the MCC Centre stands in the limelight up to date from its inception back in 1999 which had to be completely reinstated following the tsunami in 2004. As of today, more than 16,892 beneficiaries are supported with free of cost medical care that spans across dental, medical and psychosocial services. Other service offerings of the medical centre include GP Surgery, Laboratory and the Pharmacy.

The women’s enterprise and business skills development sectors of the Foundation of Goodness play a key role in rural employment providing training and opportunities to both men and women from which they can gain skills needed to become financially independent. The free of cost courses offered at the MCC Centre for women include dress making, candle making, curtain making, patchwork, beauty culture and cookery. Other business development courses targeted at men include professional photography, plumbing, electrical and home wiring courses although, there is no restriction implemented on women who may want to pursue these vocations. As of today, 1009 men and women benefit from these courses and services, per annum.

The Foundation of Goodness firmly believes that empowering rural women is the key to uplifting livelihoods of rural communities. With the latter timely need in mind, the concept of microfinance (labelled “disciplined giving”) has been introduced allowing opportunities for rural women to start their own businesses as a means of providing momentum to achieve financial independence. 

Having recognized the utmost importance that education plays in everybody’s life, the Foundation of Goodness has always worked with the vision to impart and share knowledge with children and adults in rural communities. The MCC Centre of Excellence is home to regular English and IT training classes from which 986 children and youth are educated each year.

Starting from cultivating goodness and working towards achieving greatness, the Foundation of Goodness journey in IT training that made it possible to initiate a Business process outsourcing (BPO) project bears evidence for its overall development. The BPO model allows rural youth to earn and become successful within their own community making use of the knowledge they have gained through free-of-cost education that is being offered at the MCC Centre of Excellence in Seenigama.

Acknowledging the importance of early childhood learning and the impact it will have on personality development later in life, the Foundation of Goodness conducts the Lahiru pre-school educating to harness the goodness of 65 children all year around, every year.  

Knowing that sports is a safe avenue of uniting individuals while, harnessing discipline and noble qualities, the Foundation of Goodness facilitates training for village children and youth at their state-of-the-art sports facility equipped with two beautiful grounds, out of which the MCC Sri Sumangala Lord’s Cricket Ground houses a cricket pitch, spectator seating and a club house. Thanks to the facilities provided by the Marylebone Cricket Club, the very talented children and youth now have an opportunity to excel in Cricket as much as in other areas.

Imparting the virtue of being considerate towards fellow human beings and highlighting the importance of safeguarding the world we live in, the environment management project operates through various avenues. Recycling, beach cleaning, establishing home gardens for sustainability, providing community education, encouraging tree-plantation and use of bio-gas are some of the main activities promoted by the sector supporting and empowering 250 families from 15 villages, each year.

The work carried out by the MCC Centre of Excellence has also made it possible for a children’s movement by the name of Children’s Goodness Club through which children benefit. Every year over 250 village children take part in various team and skill building, personal development and community aid programs organized by the Children’s Goodness Club.

Apart from the above sectors, the Lahiru Villa accommodation supported by the Marylebone Cricket Club acts as a convenient facility for trainers, volunteers and visitors who extend their support for various activities at the MCC Centre of Excellence. Additionally, includes a resource centre and a prayer room that can be used by visitors.

The Handicraft Boutique located in the premises of MCC Centre of Excellence not only provides opportunities for village women to sell their items but also, acts as a starting point for developing their businesses.

Statistics of sectors in operation from MCC Centre of Excellence:

IApart from operations related to the empowerment sectors attached to the MCC Centre of Excellence, it also acts as the commanding hub from which administrative work for 30 different sectors run by the Foundation of Goodness is carried out.

Drawing courage from the success of the MCC Centre of Excellence, two more small-scale operational venues by the name of Village HeartBeat were established to replicate the MCC Centre of Excellence at Seenigama with the idea of taking rural development to another superior level.

As the civil war drew to a close in Sri Lanka, many more areas have come in to our vision as needing urgent attention and action. These include providing basic needs such as food, shelter and education. Responding to this apt need,   the Foundation of Goodness is determined to replicate the success of the MCC Centre in the South to the North of Sri Lanka. From January 2011, the Foundation of Goodness has been making monthly visits to Mankulum, where the northern development site is located. During these visits, essential school supplies, household items such as kerosene lamps, mosquito nets, torches, bicycles and agriculture farming, sports development and training have been distributed among the poorest of families in the area to impact 1000+ families. 

There is no other form of pure happiness that could be experienced than from the act of selfless giving. We, at the Foundation of Goodness always believe in ripples of kindness that multiply endlessly for, we have witnessed the worst of devastations and the best of those unaffected who have gone through heaps and bounds - over & above selfless giving in the name of uplifting a life of another human being, be it through rendering effort, by means of generous contributions or simply by sharing blessings.

In retrospect of our journey so far, it goes without saying that we are unquestionably grateful for all those who joined hands with us in this road of spreading goodness and uplifting lives. Our salutations extend to the Marylebone Cricket Club for supporting our causes throughout the years, by way of providing strength, courage, funding and blessings to uplift and touch more and more human lives.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

-  Dalai Lama

2011.06.06

Proud Sustainability Sponsor for Administration and Management of the MCC Centre of Excellence 

Marylebone Cricket Club, Lords, UK

Proud Sector Sponsors:

• Computer / IT Training Facility – Planet Wheeler Foundation
• English Language School – Leeds Grammar School
• Women’s Enterprise Division– Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• Business Leadership Studies– Planet Wheeler Foundation and Cooper Investors
• Environment Management - Planet Wheeler Foundation
• Children’s Goodness Club - Planet Wheeler Foundation
• Medical and Dental Centre - Dave and Kerry,  Australia 
• Rebuilding Lives Mental Health Project – Dave and Kerry, Australia
• Lahiru Pre-school – Rohan Hattotuwa, Australia
• Lahiru accommodation for trainers, volunteers and donors – Marylebone Cricket Club