Will you be there?

By Roshenka de Mel

Perhaps you’ve received a chunky white envelope in the mail of late, within lies what appears to be a child’s brown paper exercise book, but on closer inspection it is an invitation from the Educate A Child Trust (EACT).  

This creatively crafted invitation with its poignant visual appeal captures much of what EACT stands for; it is simply a project created to help make an education a reality to those who may feel that it is a luxury they cannot afford. The invitation was not dispersed across the masses of Colombo’s social or corporate elite.  Dr. Pramilla Senenayake, founder of EACT, carefully selected individuals who she believed would assist her in efforts to raise an endowment fund to help sustain the project she started decades ago in 1984.  If you were selected, you have the opportunity to alter the course of a child’s life and help give stability to a project which has reached hundreds of children who without it would never have received an inkling of an education.

Dr. Senanayake, the woman behind this project is remarkable in the manner in which she runs it. From the very inception stages of the project, she has without much hesitation, given her time and money to simply give help where it is most needed. Her stately demeanor reflects the wisdom and joy of a person who encounters little inner conflict in the process of giving and giving big. Her approach is one that sees helping others not as a nuisance but as a privilege. Smiling and nodding at my request to find out more about how her project started, Dr. Pramilla explained a personal story that turned one act of kindness on her part, into a thriving project that reaches up to 850 children every year in the Kalutara district.

One day on a beach in 1984

“It began many years ago in 1984,” recollected Dr. Pramilla, “We had come to Sri Lanka and we were on holiday at the beach in Kaluthara. Two young 8 year old village boys had befriended my son and they were all playing together in the sand. When it was time for lunch, we invited them to join us at the hotel for lunch, but they declined saying “Apita enne denne na – we are not allowed” Dr. Pramilla disappointed that the two boys were unable to join, reached for her purse and gave them money for lunch, but in what she describes as a turning point for her, the two young boys declined it saying “Apita salli oney na, api babath ekka sellang, kera eyata adera hinda – we don’t want money, we played with your son because we love him.”

“Here were two boys” continued Dr. Pramilla, “They have very little, yet when given money, they declined it and said they loved my son, that’s why they played with him. I realized then that these boys were very special, they had shown some high values, and when I got talking to them more, I was saddened to find that they weren’t in school.” She then met the boys’ parents who said that although primary schooling was free, they just could not afford school supplies which amounted to Rs. 3000 a year on their father’s income as fisherman and the profits from their mother’s trinket sales to tourists. Dr. Pramilla, went and bought the necessary supplies and, EACT unofficially started the day those two little boys first went to school.

From 2, to 15, to 24, to 850

The next year, Dr. Senenayake and her family returned to the beach to find 15 boys playing instead of being enlisted in schools. Worried by the sight of young boys playing without anyone to watch them on the beach and not attending school at all, Dr. Senanayake urged their mothers to get them into school. “I knew there were great risks for these young boys,” she explained. “The first HIV/AIDS case reached Sri Lanka in 1986, but I knew it was coming long before. These children were in a vulnerable position on their own in the beach and I desperately urged their mothers to get them to school, not just to enhance their learning but also for their safety.”  And so, from a single act of kindness towards two young children, the blossoming of a project reaching hundreds took off.  Following the tragedy of the tsunami, Dr. Senanayke found 98 students under her sponsorship with no homes. She worked with foreign donors to rebuild 48 houses and community centre which at present house’s a sewing business for mothers in the area to benefit financially from.

Funding needs

EACT currently functions through the funding of individuals in Sri Lanka, the US and UK. Many personal contributions continue to help meet the operational cost requirements of the project which reach Rs. 650,000 each month.  Describing current funding as erratic, Dr. Senanayake on 3 August  will attempt to raise Rs. 100 million through the launch of an endowment fund.

With a variety of one time or lifetime sponsorships available in Gold, Silver and Platinum levels, from Rs. 100, 000, to 200,000 to 500,000 respectively, Dr. Senanayake is hoping to gain the support of various CSR programmes, individuals and families in establishing this fund. It will provide the finances required for the project to run for years to come, without the instability of inconsistent funding.

Will you be there?

The project currently supports primary school children along with university level students, some of who have already passed out as Chartered Accountants and some of whom are presently en-route to complete qualifications in medicine.  

Future plans are in place to build a health facility and continue the school supplies programme more extensively throughout the Kalutara District.

Welcoming any other members of the community who are interested to give to this project, Dr. Senanayke has invited them to e-mail her on [email protected] to receive an invitation. Her philosophy in a nutshell can be conveyed in the simple statement she shared with me, “You see, we are all going to meet that big wooden box someday, you will meet the box, your parents will as will your children, I believe that we should do whatever good we can before our time to leave this world comes.”  So when Dr. Senanayake attempts to raise the necessary funds on 3 August, to ensure the preservation and expansion of her EACT project that has changed the lives of so many children in Sri Lanka, a simple question meets all potential donors who are asked for their kind support…will you be there?

Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera