This morning, when I turned on my mobile, there was a typical 'Stewart Ritchie' message for me: " Some good news to start the week - the STP 10,000 from Dubai is on the way, and should be in your bank today or tomorrow. Have a good day. Stu".

The Foundation of Goodness first got to know the Ritchie family in the immediate month after the Tsunami. The first visit for the family (Stewart, Heather and their sons Greig and Scott) to Seenigama occurred when they undertook their first project involving the supplying of essential school items, sports equipment, office furniture, library books to the kids of the Thotagamuwa School. Little did we realize at that time the Ritchie family would turn out to be a constant partner in our development work at Seenigama- especially in relation to work for the benefit of children. I distinctly remember another occasion where we were at the Malawanne School, and seated at the welcome reception they normally hold for us, and looking around at the cheering and grateful kids, Stewart turned to me and said in an emotional voice- " You know, we could do this forever.."

Stewart Ritchie handing a child from Thotagamuwa School an essential school items pack

Today, if you ask the kids at the Thotagamuwa or Malawanne schools whether they know Stewart "Mahatmaya", they will smile and nod their head - that is the impact the Ritchie family has made on the lives of these kids.

Yet, these two schools are not the only beneficiaries of the assistance provided through the Ritchie family. Since being first introduced to the Foundation, Stewart and Heather have been instrumental in lobbying for and collecting over STP 30,000 through their network of friends and family in many parts of the world- with much of the funding coming from Dubai and their home- Scotland. Stewart and Heather take special interest in choosing the projects placing special emphasis on the gravity of the requirement as well as matching the project to what the donors would have wanted done with their money. Mentioning all the projects undertaken by them would be quite a task, but some that stand out are the following:

• School essential items, furniture, sports goods to the Thotagamuwa School
• Sunday school uniforms for the children and teachers at the Seenigama Sunday school
• School uniforms to children at Thotagamuwa, Malawanne and Kalupe schools
• Library books to the Malawanne School funded through Greigs and Scotts school in Scotland- The Airyhall School
• Contributions towards the building and furnishing of the Sunday School at Seenigama through the Kings School - Dubai and Aberdeen Lord Provosts Charitable Fund
• Liaising the provision of Christmas hampers for over 350 school kids in the Thotagamuwa and Malawanne schools through the Kings School in Dubai & TNT

Stewart and Heather Ritchie judging over 300 entries in the World Children's Day Art Competition in October 2005

The Ritchie family is so much a part of the Foundation, that they also participate in projects which don't necessarily involve funding, but are still targeted to improve children's welfare. One such project was agreeing to be judges at the Art competition we held to mark World Children's Day last October. On that day, the family walked around for hours in the relentless sun, judging art entries from over 300 kids! They took the responsibility very seriously and they loved every moment of it! On another occasion they organized art classes for the children of two schools as well as for the children of Seenigama by illustrators of the children's book- Eli the Elephant. The book (a story inspired by the tsunami) is written by a friend of the Ritchie family and a prolific children's author, Margaret Donald. All proceeds of the book are to be used for development projects through the Foundation of Goodness.

Another major source of funding has been through the sale proceeds of a cookery book compiled by Liz Mackinnon. These funds are being used by the Foundation to provide alternate livelihood means for 12 villagers who were prior to the Tsunami involved in the transport of coral- an illegal industry that contributed to the tsunami being as devastating as it was in the Seenigama area.

Heather and Stewart with special guests during the Kings School from Dubai visit

Currently, we are working on a number of further projects again funded through the Aberdeen Lord Provosts Charitable Fund. These will include building of a play park for the Thotagamuwa pre-school, building of a well and providing clean water to a rural school in Boosa, providing sports equipment to the Dombagoda School in Ahangama, providing desks and chairs to a Sunday school in a village neighboring Seenigama. The fund will also contribute towards the cost in running a two-week residential workshop for English teachers in Matara in early June. Another ongoing project is the purchase of books for the Thotagamuwa School library through the Airyhall School in Scotland. The STP 10,000 coming from the Kings School Dubai will go towards up lifting the school conditions in yet another rural school in the area.

The Foundation is very grateful to all those who have provided us with funding through the Ritchie family. To view a list of these special donors, please click here. As for the Ritchie family, if the Foundation were to say it were just grateful this would be an understatement - rather, they have become an integral part of our team and we feel very blessed to have their continual support.

Stewart cutting the ribbon with Kushil as part of the opening ceremony for the Siri Kavidhajatissa Daham Pasala

A couple of weeks ago, Stewart wrote to us giving a link to a newspaper article published in Scotland, which spoke of the work done through the Aberdeen Lord Provosts Charitable Fund. This article had mentioned that Stewart had set up the Foundation of Goodness. Stewart apologized for this error, to which Kushil responded, " ...it really does not matter if you have founded the Trust, since you are working on those lines."

Thank you, Stewart, Heather, Greig and Scott. You are indeed true friends of Seenigama!

Rushmi de Silva
HEAD OF CHILDRENS COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES