Helping Hands Ceylon recently carried out a meaningful empowerment initiative for the children of a deeply rural school located far away from Anuradhapura town. Reaching this school itself is a difficult journey, as it is situated nearly 70 kilometers away from the city, surrounded by hardship, isolation, and danger.
This small rural junior college provides education for nursery students and children from Grade 1 to Grade 5. Despite the challenges, the school continues to function with only five teachers and a principal, who work tirelessly to educate and protect these innocent children.
Most of the families in this area are struggling daily for survival. Many parents work as domestic laborers and have been severely affected by kidney diseases caused by the long-term use of contaminated and poisonous water. During our visit, one little child quietly shared that their daily meal sometimes consists only of a few spoons of rice with green chilies. Hearing these words was heartbreaking.
The environment surrounding the school is equally difficult and dangerous. Wild elephants often wander near the school premises and even strike the walls while children are learning inside classrooms. The road leading to the school has also been destroyed following the impact of Cyclone Ditwa. Children and villagers now face immense risks when traveling, as they are forced to cross unsafe areas near the lake while living under the fear of crocodiles.
What touched our hearts the most was the innocence and hope carried by these children. Many of them have never traveled outside Anuradhapura in their entire lives. They dream of one day visiting Kandy, seeing the city, and experiencing the beauty of Sri Lanka’s heritage sites through a school field trip. Such simple dreams remind us how precious and deserving these children truly are.
As part of this initiative, Helping Hands Ceylon provided every child with a complete stationery pack to support their studies throughout the year, along with good quality school bags to encourage and strengthen their educational journey. We were also able to extend financial assistance to all students struggling families in order to ease a small part of their burden during these difficult times.
At Helping Hands Ceylon, we strongly believe that every child deserves proper education, safety, and nutritious food. Our next mission is to provide dry ration packs for each family connected to this school, helping them overcome at least a part of their daily struggles.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to every donor, supporter, volunteer, and well-wisher who stood beside us in making this initiative possible. Your kindness has brought hope and comfort to children who are often forgotten by society. Every contribution, no matter the size, became a reason for these children to smile.
Together, we can continue creating meaningful change.
