FAME WITHOUT THE FORTUNE

Dilanjali and Dilini Kaushalya - swimming champions

A good friend of mine recently won a Gold Medal for Backstroke in the 2006 Commonwelth Games in Melbourne. She lives comfortably in a four-bedroom double-storey home with a swimming pool on the Gold Coast, Australia. Sixteen-year old, Dilini, and her fourteen-year old sister, Dilanjali, from Ambalangoda in the South West coast of Sri Lanka aren't quite so fortunate. Like my Australian friend, these girls have had a talent and passion for swimming since an early age. Yet, the two sisters share a small bedroom with their mother, father and two brothers and they often train in the polluted river close to their home.

Dilini and Dilanjali Kaushalya have been swimming competitively and winning medals for as long as they can remember. Dilanjali is a successful long-distance swimmer, whilst Diliji is a talented short-distance swimmer. Apparently, in the last three years the girls have swam in approximately 40 swimming meets and when we visited their home, they proudly showed us pages and pages of newspaper cut-outs highlighting their achievements. Yet there was no couch to sit on and flick through the pages, not even any windows or doors in their humble home - just a few plastic chairs and other random items lying about the place.

The family currently reside in a partly-constructed concrete brick house with an unfinished aluminium roof. A German NGO donated Rs.250,000/- for the family to build a house a while back, yet the father (a mason) is building the house completely by himself and since he has sporadic jobs elsewhere, the construction work has been very slow. Previously, the family was living in a clapboard house with a tin roof, but when the recent monsoon season commenced the house was flooded, spoiling some of their few belongings. So, the family moved into the drier, yet less private and secure, construction site next door. The reason for building here is the sheer urgency of providing the children with a stable home environment, which is essential in order for them to excel in their studies and sports.

The site has three rooms with very little furniture and a few household items. The family uses the main room of the house as their living room, dining room and bedroom. There is only one double bed in the house and as such, the girls don't even have a proper place to sleep. There is a tiny room out the back of the house where the mother cooks the meals. The four children use the remaining room as a place to study. Besides an old metal chest, the family doesn't have a proper place to store their belongings, let alone the numerous trophies the girls have won through swimming competitions.

Inside their previous home before it was washed out by the rain

The girls train in the 50 metre pool at the Ambalangoda school three times a week and two times a week in the nearby river, which many locals use as a dumping ground for waste. The girls cannot afford to swim at the pool every day as it costs Rs. 60/- per person per hour to use the facilities there. Before the tsunami, the girls used to swim frequently in the man-made pool in the nearby river, but the tsunami waves damaged the old concrete slabs that formed the pool boundaries and now swimmers must be very careful to avoid scratching themselves on the rough slabs of concrete that remain underneath the water's surface.

The most pressing need for the family is financial assistance. The father's work is sporadic and on average, he works two to three times per month. The mother does not have a job. The father is currently paid Rs. 500/- (equivalent to US $5) a month out of the Rs. 250,000/- donation so that the family has some sort of income. The purchase of windows, doors and doorframes for the house as well as assistance with building the roof is essential as the current amount of funding is insufficient to complete construction. In addition, the only furniture they own is one bed, a chest, a desk, some plastic chairs and a few other items. Thus, a proper table and chairs, sofa and a few mattresses would be a start to making the family's home more comfortable. Another major priority is food and nutrition - these girls don't even have regular meals and often depend on what their coach or teachers can provide them. Therefore, a weekly or monthly food allowance would greatly assist the family and would provide the children with the necessary nutrients and nourishment.

Coach Janakalal shows us the river where the girls swim and the tiny shed that is the change room and toilet.

With regards to education and skills development, the children are again in great need of assistance. All four children are, in fact, very talented swimmers (although the girls have won the greatest number of medals to date) and they boast impressive academic and character records. Long-term coach and family friend, K. Janakalal, spotted the girls' potential a long time ago and has been assisting and encouraging the family ever since. In particular, he helps the girls as much as he can (when he can) by covering their transport costs, pool fees and other expenses. Other than this and the ad hoc assistance from teachers, these girls don't receive any form of assistance. Their parents worry that they will no longer afford to send the girls to their private tuition classes, particularly English, which will boost their employment propects to no end.

Over the following year, the girls are due to compete in approximately six to seven swimming meets. The next competition will be held on 15th-17th June at the Suganadasa Stadium in Colombo. Despite their circumstances, these girls are very ambitious and one of their goals is to swim in the 2007 Olympics. With the right support, these girls might just make it.

The Foundation of Goodness is currently seeking kind donors and sponsors to help support Dilanjali, Diliji and their family. If you would like to assist this family and help to support our local talent, please contact us as soon as possible.

To view a recent newspaper article about these two sisters and their story, please click here.