Sri Lanka

Letter from Compassion Sri Lanka Director Sharonsundar

Dear Sponsor,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am Sharonsundar and I have been the Interim Program Implementation Director of Sri Lanka office for the last 12 months. I have two children (a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son) and I live in the capital city of Sri Lanka. I love sports and I used to play basketball during my college days.

After nearly three decades of civil conflict, Sri Lanka is now on the road to long term peace and stability pursuing human development. Yet in many deprived areas, and in terms of more advanced measures of human development, disparities persist across the country. Compassion has worked in Sri Lanka for the last seven years. Currently, our ministry works with 63 local partners in the south, east, west and central parts of Sri Lanka, and helps more than 12,000 registered children who are part of this blessed program.

On behalf of the staff, I would like to thank you for your contribution towards your sponsored child in Sri Lanka. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support for the children in Sri Lanka. Your generous contribution goes a long way to helping us to release children from poverty.

I know sponsorship works well because the children feel loved and protected. The children in the program get nutritious meals, time to show their God-given gifts, activity-based education, and, more than that, they get to know God’s unconditional love. They see it through the child workers in the project. They also know that there is someone other than their caregivers who cares for them and loves them. They do love you, too, and really value your support and relationship.

Compassion through the local partners and the support of gracious sponsors have been able to impact many lives on this little island. Here is just one story out of many: In the northwestern province of Sri Lanka, Compassion met a family of two—a grandfather and his grand-daughter, aged three years, living in a dried palmyra hut. Neither rooms nor partitions, just sand, a mat, a shoddy roof and four walls, all made out of dried old palmyra leaves. The roof had a huge burnt opening, created by a fire, which originated from an old kerosene lamp. Lucky to be alive, this little girl seemed oblivious to the near-death experience they had. The sad plight of this small family didn’t end there.

Grandfather, already blind in one eye as a result of cataract and losing sight in the other, cared for himself and the grand-daughter by selling a few fish or vegetables in the community. He was also almost completely lame. He used a crooked heavy stick to help keep balance and a small shabby white makeshift bicycle to take him around. He would take the little girl on the makeshift bicycle to the local centre to attend the Child Sponsorship Program. The little one had a small basket in which she would stand in as he struggled with all his might to get to the centre and back. They never missed a class. Not one!

They didn’t have a lot to eat. All they survived on was stale rice and one vegetable, sufficient to feed just one. “I want a better life for her,” the grandfather shared many a times.

The local partner supported the little one by providing her with a good nutritional meal each time she came to the project. They did not exclude her grandfather. He too had a chance to share a meal. Our partner, together with a few concerned individuals, provided colours and books to the little one. They also provided this little family with much needed clothing. One astonishing day a gracious sponsor, who visited the project on another sponsor visit, witnessed the dire straits of the little girl and she was irresistibly picked up for sponsorship. Since then, life began to change for the little one. The local partner, along with the sponsor, heard the need that resounded in this little girl’s life.

The first gift, and major change in the little child’s life, was being sponsored through Compassion. The second was the grandfather, the one she loved the most in this world, regaining his eye sight. Her grandfather was in danger of going completely blind in his remaining eye. Through the intervention of Compassion Korea, he was given the gift of sight through a cataract operation. Though one of his eyes was too far gone to save, the other was operable. After three days in a hospital in the central province, he returned to his home to lay eyes on his granddaughter. Tears ran down his cheeks as she ran in to his arms and he was able to see her smiling face. “I can see her now. I cannot express my thanks,” he shared.

Then the third gift was a home. Through the contributions of the sponsor, the local partner and Compassion’s Critical Interventions, a solid stone house was built for the family of two. Gone was the old rickety dried palmyra hut. Leaving it behind, this little girl moved into their dream house, hand in hand with her grandfather. Sadly though, two days after moving into their new home, her grandfather suffered a heart attack and passed away. She didn’t seem to understand what had taken place.

Today this little girl is four years old, going on five. Her mother, who left her at the age of one, has returned with her new father and new brother. The family now lives in the home that her grandfather envisioned for her, in the home that, through Compassion, is now hers. From coming into Compassion’s program, to gaining a wonderful sponsor, to restored eyesight for her dear grandfather, to getting a roof over her head, the little girl stands upright today because of the love of many—and, moreover, because of the hand of God working through Compassion, the local partner, and the gracious, loving and caring sponsor. Sooner or later we will hear the great testimony of change from the little child.

The Sri Lanka team has enabled the local partners to reach the poorest and most vulnerable children. We have identified the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka as the growth area since these provinces were affected by civil war for more than 30 years, resulting in many vulnerable children in need, and also the central and southern parts of Sri Lanka where the poverty level is high. Not only is there a high poverty level, but also malnutrition is widespread and educational outcomes are low. Key health issues include poor nutrition and the need to improve good quality and comprehensive health services in deprived locations. On the education front, access to basic primary education for the most deprived population groups needs to increase. High unemployment prevails among young people and women. The Sri Lanka team has started preparation work in these areas and is planning to start new partnerships in mid-2017. Please keep this in your prayers, as we are planning to help many children in Sri Lanka in the coming years.

All the local partners in Sri Lanka have the vision for holistic child development. They all believe in the spiritual, physical, socio-emotional and cognitive dimensions of human nature and the importance of development in all four aspects to release children from poverty. Promoting social and spiritual wellbeing are equally important, and interdependent, aspects of the program. Meeting social needs opens doors to sharing faith, and spiritual nurture enhances the outcomes of social interventions.

Many local partners do many other activities to share God’s love. They do not only do Compassion supported programs, but also involved in local governance work, reconciliation work, disaster response, working with widows and more. They play a huge role in uniting communities in Sri Lanka.

On another note, receiving a letter makes the children feel cared for and reminds them they have a person in another country who loves them. Our children in Sri Lanka like to share how much their sponsor letters mean to them. Children love to write back and tell the sponsors about themselves, their families, their schools and friends, their house duties, their activities, and everything they consider important about their lives.

Many children don’t have the opportunity to tell someone how they are doing or about their personal lives and the sponsor letters give them the chance to share and express what they are feeling. Some of these children have never had anyone tell them that they are special, loved and being prayed for. So receiving a wonderful treasure, a letter from you, is what makes them special and loved. So, please continue to write letters to your sponsored children and be part of their holistic development.

Please continue to pray for the ministry in Sri Lanka. We do have many challenges in working in our limited context. Our local partners face many challenges in the communities. I would also like you to pray for our expansion to new communities.

Without the support of people like you, we will not be able to reach our mission. Thank you once again for your generous support for the children in Sri Lanka.

May God continue to richly bless you.

Sincerely,

Sharonsundar

Interim Program Implementation Director Compassion Sri Lanka