Give2Lanka supports Jaffna families

Saturday, 7 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ashraff A. Samad

Give2Lanka with assistance of Jaffna based Hudec gave a life changing Christmas present of bicycles to children primarily of widows, enabling them to go to school and tuition with ease.

This phase of the intervention benefits a total of 30 families/beneficiaries in Jaffna District. Many children of these families face transport difficulties and experience deterrents to education resulting in dropouts. These bicycles, as small as they may sound, will provide a new lease of hope to their livelihoods.

Following the end of the 26-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka, the displaced population in the North began the staggered process of return and resettlement in their places of origin in 2009. From 2012 onwards the Northern Province faced new challenges.

Humanitarian aid funding slowly diminished and actors moved towards development-oriented interventions, particularly as Sri Lanka graduated to “middle income” status as a country. During the last few years as aid purviews shift to driving development, the immediate needs and interests resettling in the north remain unmet. Vulnerable individuals struggle the most to gain footing in the midst of the broader struggle for survival. Even though female breadwinners, the disabled, orphans and elderly, among others, remain key components to the totality of any community, they are often marginalised in this struggle for survival.

Give2Lanka is a registered fundraising initiative actively assisting well-governed social institutions to mobilise aid to deserving causes. With a strong affluent and disciplined board, Give2Lanka strives to give smarter and impact more!

This support phase is extended to children of those families, who have “fallen through the cracks”, through provision of bicycles. This complements the already existing integrated approach applied in current programming, linking livelihoods and education support programs. Only when marginalised people feel secure can such families build resilient base to become self-sufficient and fully integrated.