The Foundation of Goodness (FOG), in partnership with the famous
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), is developing a Centre of
Excellence in Seenigama to provide village youth with the
opportunity to make the best of their own future through
education, sport and health.
The MCC Centre of Excellence
comprises of a medical centre, women’s enterprise
division, environment office, business skills
development centre, modern computer lab, pre-school,
handicraft boutique, Re-building Lives Programme,
English training school, MCC gallery, tsunami gallery,
administration office and accommodation for volunteers,
donors and trainers.
With the support of sustainable funding and affiliated
educational professional bodies, the MCC Centre of
Excellence aims to help more than 500 students per year
complete a workshop or short course, free of charge. It
also provides free medical support to upwards of 1500
people per month, including general medical assessments,
medicine dispensing and psycho-social support.
The MCC
Centre of Excellence is located in the heart of Seenigama on a
property inherited by FoG’s Founder and Trustee Kushil
Gunasekera. For six years prior to the tsunami, the ‘Lahiru’
villa provided both a holiday respite and a village experience
for visitors, who were often inspired to assist the
disadvantaged villagers.
The tsunami devastated the villa’s contents, but left the walls
standing and it was quickly turned into a relief coordinating
secretariat and village activity centre. From this centre,
thousands of villages were assisted to rebuild their lives.
Kushil decided that it would be a great idea to convert the
former villa into a Higher Learning Institute for the good of
the village children and youth, and so made the decision to
donate the property for this cause, launching a campaign to
secure donors to assist with making this goal a reality.
FoG friend Miloš Stanković raised the initial funds and
awareness for the Centre through a sponsored solo 315 mile
marathon race against time in the Cumbrian Mountains called the
Greystoke Mountain Marathon. He achieved this amazing feat in
record time, raising enough funds to set plans for the Centre in
motion.
Since then, a myriad of supporters have joined in from across
the globe – including the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) whose
sponsorship has played a major part in making this project come
to fruition. Thanks to this generous support, the MCC Centre of
Excellence can make a real difference to the lives of rural
inhabitants.
Centre of
Excellence – sponsored by the Marylebone Cricket Club, Lords, UK
• Computer /
IT Training Facility – co-sponsored by Ranjan De Costa
• English Language School – co-sponsored by Miloš Stanković MBE
• Women’s Enterprise Division (handicraft and sewing projects) –
co-sponsored by International Youth Foundation, USA and Help Sri
Lanka, Melbourne, Australia
• Business Leadership Studies– co-sponsored by International
Youth Foundation
• Office Block
• Public toilets
Medical Centre - sponsored by Marylebone Cricket Club &
Co-sponsored by VU Medisch Centrum, The Netherlands
• General medical & consulting specialists – co-sponsored VU
Medisch Centrum, The Netherlands
• Dental Clinic – co-sponsored by AVIVA
• Rebuilding Lives mental health project – sponsored by UNICEF &
Direct Relief International, USA
• Paediatric clinic – co-sponsored by Sri Lankan Tsunami
Children’s Appeal, Townsville, Australia
• Pharmacy – co-sponsored by Direct Relief International, USA
Pre-school - sponsored by Stafford International School,
Colombo, Sri lanka
Lahiru accommodation for trainers, volunteers and donors
– sponsored by Marylebone Cricket Club, co-sponsored by Highgate
School, UK.
Sponsorship opportunities
We are currently looking for additional partners who would like
to be involved in various long term aspects of this
ground-breaking project. If you would like more information,
please contact Kushil Gunasekera at kushil@sltnet.lk or phone
+94 (0)11 2577 021 / +94 (0)11 777 322 323.
