THA LIFESTYLE | INTERESTS & HOBBIES
A CHARITY WITH FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE IN VANNI
“SERENDIP TO THE
RESCUE”
Trisha Selvaratnam
An accountant by prfession &
Founder of “Serendib Childrens
Home Charity”
[email protected]
As you are undoubtedly aware
the guns which so recently tore
the beautiful island of Sri Lanka
apart in a bloody civil war have
now gone silent; tens of thousands
of displaced people are at long
last returning to their homes,
attempting to rebuild their lives.
However once there they are
greeted by shattered communities,
lost livelihoods and looted
possessions.
In this context the major concern is
clearly children, particularly those
who have lost both parents. The
inability of relatives to meet the
needs of such orphaned children
who are now in their care not only
highlights the difficult plight of
adults but also points to the large
number of children who remain in
acute distress. Their most basic
needs – clothing, food and shelter
– are not always being provided,
particularly in the northern and
eastern provinces, there is heart
rending evidence of hardship and
suffering.
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Faced by this, and aware
that neither national or local
government authorities were
prepared to do anything to
help, The Serendip Children’s
Home Charity (Reg. Charity No.
1133461),was set up to do what it
could under the inspired leadership
of Ms Trisha Selvaratnam .
As Trisha said at the first meeting
of the charity “To stand by and
do nothing in the face of such
suffering is not an option……Let
us do what we can to make the
children smile once again.”
Over the years Serendip has
involved itself in many grass
roots ventures such as raising
and distributing aid through
an orphaned child sponsorship
scheme which provides these
children with food, clothing and the
equipment needed to continue
their education. It also finances
“fun days” for seriously sick children
whilst helping amputees to be
fitted with artificial limbs and blind
children with essential aids and
equipment. Furthermore it funds
locally based co-operatives where
widowed women manufacture
a range of high quality products
which are then sold and the profits
paid as wages or ploughed back
into the enterprises. Serendip
has also sponsored a number of
nursing students and training for
vocational skills in the North and
East of Sri Lanka.
In the past year Serendip has
moved into yet another field. It
now directly helps some thirty five
nursery schools by training and
paying their teachers, providing
essential educational equipment
and supplying a daily hot meal for
each child. Some 972 children are
benefiting from this initiative but let
me tell you about just one of them.
Her name is Kaviya; she is 4 years
old. Both her parents were killed
in the war, a traumatic experience
which has left its mark on her in the
shape of frequent nightmares and
panic attacks. Despite this Kaviya
loves school and will not miss a
day. Slowly but surely through
the efforts of her teachers and
Serendip – not to mention her
disabled grandmother who walks
a mile every day to bring her to
school - she is doing really well;
it would seem that one little girl’s
nightmare is drawing slowly to a
close.
Serendip has achieved so much
over the years and with your
help this essential work can
be continued and extended. If
you are interested in assisting
the charity in its work or you
simply want to make a donation
please contact them at trisha@
serendipchildrenhome.com.
Together we can heal the wounds
of war and help make the suffering
children of Sri Lank