LG Ambassador Challenge program hands over completed rural development projects in Sri Lanka

The groundbreaking initiative to uplift rural communities, and help in the development of villages – The LG Ambassador Challenge – recently concluded its four selected community projects. With the partnership of world-renowned electronics giant, LG, and trusted Sri Lankan conglomerate, Abans Group, along with Community Chest of Korea and Korea Friends of Hope International – Sri Lanka (KFHI), this massive program gave Sri Lankan youth the opportunity to bring forward solutions to the issues in their villages.      

The first selected village problem came from the Sasthrikoolankulam village in Vavuniya, which is inhabited by over 600 families. These people were unable to get unpolluted, clean water for their daily needs. They stated that the water currently consumed by them was very unhealthy and poisonous for consumption. This issue had caused serious kidney problems amongst the villagers. This project titled ‘The Drop of Life’ saw the provision of a RO water purification/filtration system plant which was constructed in their village, so they could now get purified, clean water for their daily consumption. 

The second chosen village concern came from the Batticaloa district, where the villagers of Sandiweli (over 8,000 families) faced an extremely life-threatening situation because they couldn’t travel to the next village, forcing them to cross the large river in an electric boat. The boat carried a capacity of 80 persons per trip, on a regular basis. Therefore, school children, teachers, farmers, patients, and the rest of the villagers had to travel to the next village without any safety measures, which placed their lives in great risk on every journey. 

Hence, the villagers requested for life jackets to offer some kind of protection on their daily boating travels, especially during the rainy season when the river floods. They had also requested for safety boards to be put up, in order to create awareness among all the people. This project named ‘Every Life Matters’ saw the provision of life jackets and safety boards put up near the river. 

The Handagiriya village’s public midwife centre in Balangoda was the third selected problem, where the midwife centre was beyond usable. Pregnant mothers and children below five years were unable to attend their check-ups and get the right advice and medicines for themselves and for their unborn children. The current building was highly damaged and the walls were close to falling apart, putting every expecting mother and young child at high risk. 

The toilet facility at this building was also unusable. This building did not have electricity or a proper place to store the supplements provided by the Government for children and mothers. Therefore, most of the products went to waste and had to be discarded. This project named ‘Nurturing the Future Generation’ saw the renovation of the building to include a meeting place for the midwife and mothers with their children, plus safe storage and sanitary facilities. 

The final selected village concern was reported from Ampara. According to the villagers of the Muwangala area in Ampara, students who came home from school and were interested in sports, spent their time in a temporary ground as a way to practice their volleyball skills. Young people who were engaged in agricultural activities also came to play and release their day-to-day pressures and stresses in the sport. These people were forced to play with two temporary headlights on the playground due to lack of resources. Due to the high level of danger during night-time sports, the youth had brought the damaged nets of the fishermen from the Kalmunai area and repaired them to cover the area around the field. 

By initiating this project, titled ‘Uplifting the Youth for a Better Tomorrow’, over 2,000 people in two neighbouring villages were highly benefitted and this was a great opportunity to bring value to the youth of the village, by preventing them from engaging in dangerous and harmful activities such as drug addiction and alcohol abuse, cyber bullying and such. They could turn towards more constructive means of expressing themselves and keeping fit, especially in this time when physical diseases are high amongst young children and youth, and they are more likely to fall prey to mental illnesses. Thereby, a volleyball court and changing room with storage and washroom facilities were constructed in this project. 

The successful conclusion of all these village development projects and the handing over ceremonies of the projects to the different villages were conducted with the participation of noteworthy public officials, representatives from Abans and Korea Friends of Hope International – Sri Lanka (KFHI) Secretary Lasitha Nanayakkara.