The Village-to-Village UK concept was created by UK resident Betty Rucker and the Foundation of Goodness (FoG) Founder Kushil Gunasekera as a way to help rural Sri Lankan villages overcome poverty and tsunami damage by linking them with a village in the UK.

Betty and her husband Tom Rucker, together with like-minded residents in their home of Upper Slaughter in Cotsworld, raised funds to rebuild and restore nine homes for families in Udumulla, a remote Sri Lankan village suffering from poverty and tsunami damage.

Through the Village-to-Village concept, Udumulla was linked with one of the villages in Upper Slaughter which intends to address the concerns of underprivileged children and look at developing the area from a holistic view point.

In July 2006 Kushil visited the UK, and was invited to Upper Slaughter to meet the donors that comprise Village-to-Village UK. Hosted by the Ruckers at their home, the meeting was well-attended by a variety of inspirational members of the Upper Slaughter community, discussing ways in which to continue and nurture the Village-to-Village relationship.

This includes establishing a community centre in Udumulla with facilities for computer and English training on land purchased with the help of Sri Lanka's legendary cricketers Muttiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas, from the Muralidaran, Vaas and Gunasekera Foundation (MVGF).

The community centre is now almost complete and represents a major step forward for Udumulla – thanks to the support of Village-to-Village UK. Once it’s complete, it will be the ‘heartbeat’ of the community with a simple and effective design that could easily be replicated in other poverty stricken villages across Sri Lanka and the globe.

Read Kushil’s vision statement for the Udumulla ‘Village Heatbeat Project’
View photos of the Udumulla ‘heatbeat’ village centre under construction

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