Picnic with Lahiru and Muditha in Sinharaja

Students from Horawala and Dharmaraja Vidyalaya Bentota were joined by Lahiru Mudalige and Muditha Wijesundera from Swaranavahini accompanied by teachers and volunteers from Helplanka on a special sponsored programme to Sinharaja Rain Forest organised by Helplanka a UK based charity helping children in Sri Lanka.

Teachers and pupils from Barry Comprehensive School ,their UK twinned school ,also joined the Sri Lankan children who were shown around the forest and were able to ask questions about the Forest and afterwards were joined by Lahiru and Muditha who organized a series of educational games for them .

Sam Goonetillake Chief Executive of Helplanka who was present said “ I want to thank Lahiru and Muditha for really making a difference and devoting their time to helping rural school children who were thrilled with their involvement and were really excited and responsive to the programme .”

Lahiru Mudalige said : “ We really enjoyed our time with the kids and this was my first time at Sinharaja too- Muditha and I look forward to working with Helplanka again soon .”

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IRAJ continues to support Helplanka’s work for rural Children in Sri Lanka - July 2009

Superstar and Pop icon Iraj Weeraratne visited Horawala Vidyalaya in Bentota recently . The surprise visit was organized by UK based charity Helplanka active in Sri Lanka and who also brought 10 students from a school in Wales who have twinned with Horawala school and together with Iraj donated books and held a special music and quiz programme for the children of local schools.

Commenting on Iraj’s visit, Sam Goonetillake, Chief Executive of Helplanka who also attended , said “ this is the third time Iraj has actively supported Helplanka and we are very grateful once again for his support and for taking time out of his busy schedule to connect with rural children in Sri Lanka. “

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Helplanka comes to the aid of a destitute rural family in Southern Sri Lanka -11/05/2009

Responding to an appeal in the Daily Mirror Sri Lanka Helplanka - a UK registered charity - has come to the aid of a poor family in Rathgama who lost their home and all their possessions in a house fire. The 3 school going children were given clothes, shoes and books and the family were also given dry rations distributed by local Helplanka coordinator- Lahiru De Silva - himself a resident of Rathgama. The youngest child of the family is profoundly deaf and Helplanka will be making arrangements for her to be seen by an audiologist and will provide for her basic needs and a hearing aid.

Helplanka has appealed to donors to help raise the £500 required to repair the damaged home and has asked local Rathgama Pradeshiya Sabha to assist in possibly relocating the family if necessary.

Sam Goonetillake Helplanka Chief Executive said: “ We were shocked to hear of this tragedy in a village where Helplanka has been actively assisting school children . We would like to help further once we can raise finances to cover the costs but we are committed to helping the 3 children in their studies longer term.”

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Fashion aid for tsunami victims - BBC - 27th April 2009

Helplanka marking the Sinhala and Tamil New Year with the Young helping the Old…

Helplanka UK registered charity organised a group of children from Sir Ernest De Silva Vidyalaya Rathgama to visit the Wijayarathna Elders Home also in Rathgama close to Galle. Taking with them traditional betel leaves and new clothing, Cakes and biscuits for all the 150 residents. Chief Guest at the occasion was Mr Ariyawansa the Chairman of Rathgama Pradeshiya Sabha.

Commenting on the programme Sam Goonetillake Chief Executive said: “Showing respect to our elders is a very important tradition in our culture and we thought this was a good way of young children making a real difference to elderly people in their community several of whom would have had no visitors or gifts at New Year. Our thanks to all the children teachers and coordinators for arranging a very memorable event.”

HelpLanka Project - A Big Thank you for St James

At the Headmaster's assembly on Wednesday 11th March, Mr Sam Goonetillake, the Chief executive of the Helplanka Project, addressed the whole school to report on the progress of the rebuilding programme following the destructive power of the Tsunami on December 26th 2004. It left 40,000 dead and 2.5 million displaced...

...St James Senior Boys School was among many thousands of schools in the UK to render financial and, in some cases, actual physical assistance and support. Mrs Jan Hockley of St James was the architect of the fund-raising operation and the scheme to send 6th formers to distribute funds and witness the destruction at first hand. The Senior Boys raised £15,000 and £5000 of this was sent to HelpLanka. Mr Goonetillake thanked the tremendous efforts of the school and marked the occasion by presenting a carved statuette of the Buddha and a certificate marking the gratitude of the children and families in Sri Lanka for the support received.
Mr Goonetillake's powerpoint presentation showed images of the actual improvements to the life of the pupils of St Anthony's School for Boys in Panadura, which is now officially twinned with St James Senior Boys School. Nearly 300 boys at St Anthony's were directly affected by the killer Tsunami, either losing family or becoming homeless.
After the presentation, Mr Boddy invited 6th Formers to volunteer to spend time in Sri lanka to directly support the Helplanka project. About a dozen students came forward and discussed the idea with Mr Boddy and Mr Goonetillake in the Headmaster's study.

Date added : 24th March 2009

FOREST SCHOOL HELPS SRI LANKAN COMMUNITY ON TOUR

Sri Lankan School welcomes Forest SchoolWhilst on tour in Sri Lanka, Forest School’s U14s and U15s cricket teams helped a local school, after seeing what a difference they could make.

Forest School, which is in Epping Forest, London, organised the April tour with Gullivers Sports Travel and it wasn’t just an amazing sporting experience but a cultural one too. Knowing that a little help would go a long way in Sri Lanka, which is still struggling to recover from the 2004 tsunami, the school wanted to get involved in some charitable work.

Helplanka, a charity which helps schools and communities in Sri Lanka affected by the tsunami, twinned Forest School up with a small village primary school. Forest School raised some money in the UK for the school and also donated stationery and everyday items to it.

Saul Foulds, Forest School’s cricket coach describes the visit to the Sri Lankan school: “The school treated us like visiting dignitaries, we even had our own welcoming ceremony – dances and plays performed by each class. We handed out items to everyone and the smiles on the children were so fantastic and humbling. It was a real eye-open er for us all.”

Other highlights of Forest School’s tour, where each team played cricket five matches, included visiting an elephant orphanage, white water rafting and playing at international grounds Sinhalese Sports Club and Premadasa Stadium.