Youth Progressive Foundation takes a holistic approach

Saturday, 14 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Italian born yoga and Reiki master, Barbara Allera, visited Sri Lanka to assist Youth Progressive Foundation (YPF), a local charity founded by Ashan Malalasekera. Allera, who is based in the UK, dedicated a month to reviewing and improving the curriculum at YPF’s Arugam Bay Children’s Resource Centre. Working with both the students and teachers, she was able to integrate her holistic approach to education into YPF’s existing system.

“I am an advocate for healthy living and to have a holistic approach to healing personal issues and traumas,” Barbara said. “My deep desire is to serve and make a difference in bettering the lives of others.” Barbara is passionate about spirituality, personal development and life coaching. Her focus is on uplifting the underprivileged. She has travelled extensively and participated in many voluntary programs to assist disadvantaged people. For the past two years, she has been involved in several projects across Africa and Asia. Barbara’s contribution to YPF was on a voluntary basis with the support of Creatives Against Poverty (CAP) Hong Kong, the main sponsor of the YPF CRC in Arugam Bay. In keeping with YPF’s volunteer policy, Barbara’s visit was funded independently ensuring resources are not diverted from assisting the children. Barbara has already worked with the UK CAP team on various mentoring workshops. CAP is a collective of journalists and creative professionals who donate their skills for social impact, supporting human rights crisis work around the world. Their films document the challenges and achievements of like-minded organisations across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the UK.