Jonathan with Mily and other committee members
In September 2009 New Day member Jonathan Back visited the Girl’s Home in Matara where he met the girls along with Mrs Mily Kulatileke and the other members of the orphanage committee. He was very pleased with the management and development of the home and has established a good connection with Mrs Kulatileke for future communication. Jonathan reported that the most pressing need at Matara was for funding for O level tutoring and extra classes for the girls to attend once they return to the home after school. These classes include English, computer skills, dancing and music. Jonathan gave the following summary of his visit:
‘I visited the Matara Girls Home together with two colleagues from another Sri Lankan children’s charity (Schools Relief Initiative) in October last year. We met with Mily and several other Board members as well as the on-site care givers. The immediate impression was of the dedication of Mily and the other Board members as well as their deep commitment to do the best they can for the girls in their charge. We were shown all the facilities at the Home. The recreation room and classrooms are large and suitable. Equally the dormitories are also spacious although obviously all the girls sleep together grouped by ages. However the dining facility was very small and dingy which is why the most immediate capital project is a new dining facility which is under construction now. Mily also showed us a relatively new building that was built after the tsunami. This has a relatively large auditorium which is not much used although the upper floor has one of the dormitories which is truly useful. Mily noted that sometimes donors are too keen only to fund visible building projects whereas what they really need for the most part is funding for their operational expenses. This is not just food and utilities but the extra teachers for music etc. We were also treated to two music and dance displays by the girls which were very well done and showed the commitment from both girls and staff to ensuring that culture is a key part of their experience at the Home.’
New Day is happy to help in strengthening the education and future possibilities of the girls at Matara and to provide them with activities that will bring joy and interest into their daily lives.
On the 6th of January 2010 New Day gave a grant of USD5,000 to Matara. We look forward to visiting them again this year and hearing about their progress!
The girls at Matara
