Spreading Kindness, Starting with Collages in Anuradhapura City

It’s been a busy and rewarding time as we’ve extended our helping hands to two more schools in town.

 * SFP 16 – Vivekananda College

 * SFP 19 – K. B. Rathnayaka College

Working in large schools requires a bit more care and planning. To ensure our efforts reached the right students, we first gathered information about those in need by working directly with class teachers at the class level.

With the information collected, we then rallied a fantastic group of volunteers through WhatsApp. Their response was incredible! A few mothers volunteered to cook, and we organized a system where they could prepare and pack the meals into lunch boxes. The students could then pick up the food from the school. This way, their friends would simply assume they brought the meal from home, preserving their dignity.

Today, we don’t have many pictures, just the lunch boxes themselves. There’s a good reason for that: we want to keep the process discreet and focused on the students’ well-being, not on a photo op.

I want to give a special shout-out to the incredible people who made this possible.

For K.B. Rathnayaka College, we had the unwavering support of Shelmini Jayasundara. She’s always the first to jump in and help with everything, even when I complain she’s a pain! I’m constantly amazed by her endless generosity.

At Vivekananda College, we had the support of Rasika Ekanayaka, Sumudu Avanthi Hewage, and Amila Dolawatta, along with Gayan Dilruk. Their help was invaluable. To sustain this project in such large schools for a full year, we need a lot of help. We’ve found that the most successful approach is to divide the work among the team over four weeks.

This project, dated August 30, 2022, is a testament to what we can achieve when we come together to make a difference in our community.

By Dr. Kiloshini Hendawitharana