Kushil’s Update - January 2010

May I start by wishing you all 2010 Blessings.

Once again without much realisation my update has gone beyond six months, which shouldn’t have been the case but the workload has been pretty hard to describe, with hardly any time left in the day to complete many tasks, especially in pursuing the highest standards and trying to set the benchmark.
When I actually reflect on this model that we were blessed with, it is in fact like managing an entire village by way of a holistic approach, from which nearly 40 neighbouring communities are empowered to make better progress to excel in life and 20,000 beneficiaries per year make use of these facilities free of cost.

This being the case, sustainability, especially under the economic hardships experienced globally has been pretty tough going. But then again, humaneness coupled with compassion and purity of intentions has attracted donors in inspiring us to keep moving forward. This is a huge relief since building a facility is one thing but maintaining it is what matters at the end. The determination to uphold the highest standards is what sets apart our passionate and purposeful undertaking.

In this period of six months that have passed I would like to present some of the highlights from which you can comprehend the magnitude of our efforts, over and above implementing superior standards of management and good governance. We have ongoing training in every sector to establish and continue the unique operation that it is and not wanting to compromise otherwise, further empowering local staff who run the Seenigama operation from the village, making this another unique aspect of our work for staff who only 4 years ago had no idea what would be in store.

The scale of our work cannot be measured from my update alone but by looking at the weekly update on our homepage (www.unconditionalcompassion.org). Every week for almost five years we have displayed stories highlighting events and activities, experiences and successes which I hope you will enjoy reading.

The last few months have included quite a lot of travel, having had the opportunity to attend the International Youth Foundation evaluation workshops in Phuket, Thailand. This was a great opportunity to share experiences with the other tsunami reconstruction projects funded by IYF- Nokia, and to discuss our findings for improving impact on youth entrepreneurship for the uplifting of rural disaster-affected youth.

I also had the great honour of being invited as a key note speaker to the Pathways to Reconciliation international conference in Jordon, where I talked about our holistic rural community model development and the spiritual path to peace through first a reconciliation of our own personal conflicts as a crucial step towards community development and nation building whilst inculcating the noble ideals & values amongst youngsters in promoting goodwill and harmony to pave the path of non conflict.

In terms of peace in Sri Lanka, I am really excited to be able to say that our plans for ‘Learning & Empowerment Institute for North Sri Lanka’ are making good progress. Thanks to the great work of British architect volunteer Kim Wright, who singlehandedly produced a wonderful design for the Institute, which has already generated support at the higher levels of government as well as from donors and supporters around the world. The project has also been a catalyst for furthering links with peace focused organisations in Sri Lanka such as Sri Lanka Unites and Reconcile & Rebuild in the USA.

The collaboration with Sri Lanka Unites- a youth led movement for peace in Sri Lanka- has enabled us to hold the biggest-yet donation of essential school supplies and for the first time has opened the doors to schools in previous LTTE territory in Mannar and Batticaloa. This was an amazing program this year, benefiting 615 children with packs of school equipment, shoes, socks, pens and specially printed exercise books with inspiring messages, printed in Tamil and Sinhala.

Also presented to the children were bookmarks which had a 2010 calendar on one side, but more importantly a Goodness Curriculum on the front, which contains the values necessary for a happy life, and which is part of the efforts to inculcate the spirit of goodness in our children as the leaders of tomorrow- helping them to find the peace in themselves so that they can better help others. This is a key message delivered through practical activities and daily diaries in our Children’s Goodness Clubs which currently operate in three villages, with about 150 children participating in the Seenigama region.

Back in Seenigama, so much has happened over the last six months. One real success story is the Seenigama Diving & Training Centre. Re training the local youth to be professional divers has really paid off, with 100% of graduates to date gaining employment, in Galle, Colombo and abroad. In addition, the affiliated company, Dive Seenigama Lanka, has won a sub-contract for underwater and dry excavation in Ambalantota, which will go some way towards helping with sustainability of the Diving School over the coming months.

We were also privileged to have Mr. Steve Jones, of Volleyball England, spend a week in the village training our rural volleyball coaches in their Level 1 Coaching Certificate. As well as Steve, I must pay tribute to the many volunteers who have worked with us in various sectors over the last six months, including Kendall in the Medical Centre, Sonia and Alba in the environment sector and Rebecca who came from Laureus to spend Christmas with the sports children, teaching them new skills and sharing her expertise not forgetting our long service communication specialist Quen whose ability to perform multitasks has enabled the Foundation of Goodness to make speedy progress in numerous areas of activity.

The sports coaching at Seenigama Sports Academy is producing many triumphs- our Seenigama Ladies Cricket team, which formed in July, reached the finals of the national Sri Lanka Cricket Division 2 Tournament. Our Foundation of Goodness Regional Schools u15 team had their first ever international tour, and came home as champions of the KAF Challenge Cup in Malaysia. Our u12 volleyball team from Thotagamua and u14 Seenigama school team came to the finals of the all Island DSI Supersport Schools Volleyball Tournament, winning first place and second place in their respective matches. Dilanjali of our Seenigama swimming squad came 3rd in the India Swimming Meet against stiff competition in December. Our netball team is doing well and school cricket teams continue to compete strongly. Given the disadvantaged backgrounds of these children and youth every single achievement is hugely praiseworthy and a great reminder that with a little support and the right opportunities our rural youth can reach great heights.  Success arise from opportunities and training no doubt.

With all these sporting successes it was fitting to finish the year on another high- with the visit of England cricket superstar and Laureus Sport for Good academy member, Sir Ian Botham. We were privileged to have this visit by Ian, Laureus and the International Watch Foundation, who came to the village to see our sports work in action, and to present the prize to local school boy and swimmer at the Bryan Adams Swimming Pool, Sriyan Chamod, winner of the IWC International Drawing Competition 2008, which he won against 400 other entries from around the world for his striking depiction of ‘Team work’.

Ian first came to Seenigama and the Foundation of Goodness in January 2005, and was amazed by how much has been done to rebuild since then. He remembers vividly the shocking scenes of destruction but was very gratified this time round to see the amazing facilities in use and the children making such great progress.
Of course, the end of December is a hard time for everyone in the villages along the Sri Lankan coast as memories of the tsunami rise to the surface. This year was particularly marked, as the 5th anniversary. To commemorate the event, Reuters/ International Red Cross, and the Discovery Channel both came to Seenigama to make films about the impact of the tsunami, and the progress made by the Foundation of Goodness five years on.

The Reuters/ International Red Cross film can be found at http://tsunami.trust.org/

The year was signed off in style by the Pre School children in their annual concert, held in Aviva Community Centre, and the Village Heartbeat Children’s Goodness Club concert held at the VHB Centre in Udumulla, much to the enjoyment of all. It is lovely to see the level of English also improving amongst the participants as they gain confidence and realise the importance of this vital skill.

It gives me great pleasure to reflect on all this work and the achievements that now extend to 25 villages and beyond. This short briefing is not enough to show the variety of activities being delivered at ever increasingly high standards. I extend a personal thanks to our donors, village team, head office personnel, volunteers and trustees for making it all happen.

I hope that the next six months will bring new progress on our North project plans as well as some security in terms of sustainability, which is ever the biggest struggle.

It is heartening to note that a village in the wake of a wave have constructed the kind of facilities required for villagers to harness their talent and skill in different avenues of specialisation which is the key to bridge the gap between the urban & the rural sectors via productive activities. 

Given the opportunities with professional training the village children & youth as per their vast potential will make Sri Lanka truly proud.

“The good we do for others is the
good we do for ourselves”

- Kushil
1 Jan 2010

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