SRI LANKA PROJECTS
Learn about our current projects in Sri LankaSRI LANKA PROJECTS
Learn about our current projects in Sri Lanka
OUR PROJECTS
Mukti Australia is able to work alongside our Sri Lanka partner Wings of Hope to carry out sustainable development projects.
Our projects focus on increasing our partners capacity to support and empower disadvantaged and vulnerable children and women, both now and well into the future. It is such a privilege to be part of this empowering and transformational work.
All donations $2 and over receive a tax-deductible receipt.
Donate
OUR PROJECTS
Mukti Australia is able to work alongside our Sri Lanka partner Wings of Hope to carry out sustainable development projects.
Our projects focus on increasing our partners capacity to support and empower disadvantaged and vulnerable children and women, both now and well into the future. It is such a privilege to be part of this empowering and transformational work.
All donations $2 and over receive a tax-deductible receipt.
Donate
CURRENT PROJECTS
Single Parent Project
Single parents need to work long hours to provide basic food and cover living expenses, including educational and medical costs for their children.
Caring for their children on top of long work hours, and ensuring safe child care whilst they work is very stressful and tiring. This is especially difficult while the children are young and dependant. It is really tough doing everything on your own!
The Single Parent Project gives these hard-working parents a helping hand. The project also aims to assist and empower single parents with skills development and training, so they are better placed to earn a more reliable income and provide for their children themselves.
Provide hope and a better future for single parents by contributing to this holistic, ongoing project.
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Hatton Education Centre Phase 2
The dream of purchasing a new building for this project is now a reality after several years (see completed projects below). Phase 2 will involve refurbishment of the building to ensure it is a child safe after-school education facility according to government standards. In addition, new teaching aids and materials, student desks and seats and technology equipment need to be purchased to equip the centre to ensure it reaches its full potential in educating as many disadvantaged children as possible.
During school hours and possibly weekends it is hoped the centre will run Women and Men’s empowerment and skills training programmes, such as a Community Garden, Men’s Shed and education programme, plus skills and training for women in such areas as cooking, sewing and craft. This is just the beginning.
Can you help this dream become a reality now?
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Shine Women's Programme
For the mums of the children in our after school programmes, life is very difficult. Many are tea pickers, some live in dilapidated conditions, and most have a difficult family life. The Wings ‘Shine’ programme gives these mums an opportunity to be together, to laugh, to play games, to learn a new skill like cooking something new, or sewing a simple article, or planting and cultivating a small kitchen garden.
They are also advised on health issues and first aid. An inspirational segment is part of this programme to encourage them as they face their daily life.
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Cricket Project
Collection is now open for pre-loved children’s equipment. Any gear can be dropped off at Saxon Sports (Unit 7, 37-51 Lusher Road, Croydon, Victoria).
This project aims to inspire children to stay active and healthy, and opportunity to learn new skills. Families in this project struggle to put food on the table, let alone afford to purchase cricket gear, have lessons or join a club.
We collect new and pre-loved cricket equipment (from Ringwood District Cricket Association, Victoria) which Wings of Hope will distribute to children participating in their projects in Colombo, and tea plantations in Hatton.
We hope to eventually facilitate cricket lessons, coaching clinics, match play and engage the children in Sri Lankan Cricket Clubs. Becoming part of the community through sport may also open up other opportunities which could be beneficial to them and their families and facilitate them to break the poverty cycle.
We welcome new partners interested in donating equipment covering shipping costs, and investing in a cricket sponsorship for the children who are keen to take their cricket to the club level. Sponsorship fees are available on request.
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New Toilets
Clean water and sanitation are an essential part of a healthy community. For families living in the tea estates near Hatton, a toilet has not been part of their little dwelling. With your support, 19 toilets have been added to homes in the ‘lines’, the row of adjoining small homes where the pickers and their families live. More are needed as funds allow. The families help build their own toilet with supervision – even the little ones helping in the venture.
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COMPLETED PROJECTS
Hatton Education Centre Phase 1
163 children squeezed into a converted cow shed high in the mountains of Sri Lanka! The leaks have been fixed, but it is still very squashy as the children try to learn in the classes held each afternoon.
Some funds have been given for this project, but much more is needed to be able to purchase and renovate a suitable building which will be used for education classes, women’s programmes, after school activities, teacher training and so much more.
Gowri's House
Gowri was widowed when her husband was killed in a landslide from a stone cutting quarry where he was working. She was left to provide and care for two small children on her own in a small, dilapidated shanty. Life is very difficult for this young mum who cares greatly for her family and their education. A new house was constructed with some help from the local community, and now she has a safe and secure place to raise her children, high in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. The completion of this project gave great hope and joy to Gowri, her children and the local community!
Wings Colombo Office
A tiny upstairs flat, a family of four, and the Wings of Hope office all cramped in together was not a conducive working or living arrangement. Thanks to the generosity of donors in Australia a Centre was purchased for the work of Wings of Hope. Located in Colombo, it provides office space for the staff, training facilities for the team when they gather from the various centres, much needed storage space and a residence.
Motorcycle
In Sri Lanka, the most economical way for a staff member travelling on their own to get around is a motorbike. Thanks to Hills Riders in Melbourne a bike was provided and this has been a huge help in the work. The road between Colombo and Hatton is windy and the bike and rider manages all those bends safely. The motorbike is now based in the Hatton project where it is needed most and serves well on the muddy uphill climbs.
Raincoats and Umbrellas
What a joy to see the children going to school in their raincoats and umbrellas. These are such necessary items in a country with a monsoon season! When it rains in Sri Lanka, it really rains! The mums are so grateful to see their children arrive dry and able to concentrate on their studies.
Mosquito Nets
In the Monsoon season, not only is it wet but the mozzies come out as well. The tea plantations where many of the children live are also a good breeding ground for these biting insects. Mosquito nets help prevent those itching bites, but they also help in stopping mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever.
Roofing
Many of the little shacks where the tea pickers live high in the mountains of Sri Lanka are little more than bits of roofing iron and plywood. In the rainy season these little huts leak and life is extremely difficult. Donors in Australia contributed sheets of roofing iron to over 100 families so they could mend their homes. The joy of the faces of these families was wonderful as they received such a simple gift. Roofing iron was also given to the families in Bedeganne too in 2019 so they could waterproof their little homes.
Rani's House
For over 15 years, Rani, her husband and large family lived in a mud hut. The walls and floor, made of mud, would always be damp from cold weather and continuous rains. The roof was made of pieces of tin and plastic, held down by heavy rocks to survive strong winds. Due to the cold, throwaway plastic sheets lined the inside mud walls. There were no rooms, sanitation or running water. Meals were cooked over firewood outside the house. Rani worked hard as a tea picker and her husband as a daily wage labourer. Money earned each day was only sufficient to provide family meals. Today, the family live in a safe, dry and secure home, thanks to the generosity of our donors.