July 14th, 2010 Trevor Thevarajah
Children and Youth Programs
Submission by Darshan Ambalavanar, Project Manager
The Church of American Ceylon Mission’s primary focus is on helping children and youth from economically marginalized and war hit communities in the North and East. Poor communities are badly affected by the lack of quality primary education for their children, as a result of which their children fall behind at an early age and that becomes a critical factor in perpetuating the poverty trap.
We build our work around a number of programmes, Early Child Care Programme (ECC), After School Programs, Children’s Homes (Orphanages), and Special Arts Programs for children and youth. As these centres take root in their communities, they become community centres around which other support programs such as community education and livelihood projects are run for the adults.
Early Child Care Centres
The ECC’s provide pre-school education and nutritional programs for children. They also enable poor women who do daily labour to leave the children at the centres. These centres provide the nutritional support needed and the early learning required helping these children have a good start when they enter primary schools.
Funding formula. Rs.14, 500 per child per year. (approx £84)
Centres Needing Support.
Batticaloa District
a) Alankulam. 30 children
b) Kithul. 30 children
c) Koppaveli. 30 children.
d) Morokkodanchenai. 45 children
e) Nagapuram 30 children
f) Omaniyamadu. 30 children
g) Kunjankulam. 30 children
h) Kirimichchai. 30 children
i) Maruthankernikulam. 30 children.
Wanni
a) Poovarasankulam. 30 children
b) Maravankulam. 45 children
c) Murikandy. 30 children
d) Visuvamadu. 30 children
e) Suthanthirapuram 30 children.
f) Bharathipuram. 30 children.
g) Anaivilunthan. 30 children
h) Vannerikulam. 30 children
i) Vaddakatchy. 30 children
j) Mallavi. 30 children
Jaffna District
a) Oori, Karainagar. 50 children.
This is a community historically marginalized on caste grounds, and is economically impoverished. We are currently also working with over 100 children in the after school program as well.
It might only be possible for donors to support say blocks of children, e.g. 10, or 20. If that is the case that can still be helpful as we can put such contributions together and determine which centres to support based on the number of children there.Donors can also indicate their preference to support a centre, though we would like the right to indicate if another centre is currently more urgently in need.
After School Programs.
After school programs at these same centres, provide further support for children and youth from these communities and provide critical support to strengthen their education. Most of them go to schools with limited number of teachers and facilities and the after school supports play a key role in furthering their educational opportunities. At one such program in Kudaththanai, in the Jaffna Peninsula (near Nagercoil), 23 students have entered university in the last several years with the help of this programThese cost Rs.15,000 (£87) a month. We plan to conduct these at most of the centres that we run, and they are particularly needed in the Wanni region.
Children’s Homes (orphanages)
These are homes for children without parents, or from homes that are not safe or healthy spaces for them. The Children’s Homes, in addition to providing a safe place to live, also provide them with access to good schools and an opportunity to lay the foundation for their adult lives. These homes are located in the Wanni and the Batticaloa District.
Costs: Rs.5,000(£29) per child per month.
A current priority is to increase the number of girl children that we can support in the Wanni and Batticaloa region, though there are also boys that we are looking to support as well.
Special Arts Program for Children and Youth
Creativity is central to all learning processes, particularly to that of children. Part of the diminishment in the quality of life and learning of poor children is the lack of access to the creative arts as a part of their school experience. Their schools often do not have such programs and their parents lack the finances to support them participating in such programs where they are available. Most teaching methods also follow rote learning and do not enhance the creative capacity of the children.
In order to provide poor children with access to the creative arts, and to stimulate their learning, we provide regular programs for children in rural communities that integrate theatre, music, painting and creative writing. The programs are run by university trained instructors and merge modern methods with traditional art forms. A particular emphasis is on valuing and stimulating the traditional art forms of the children’s communities, and to help strengthen their sense of self-respect and pride in their community.
Summary of Costs in £
Early Child Care Programme £7 per child per month
Children’s Homes (Orphanages) £29 per child per month
Nutritional feeding Programme £5 per child per month
After School Programmes. £87 a month per centre
Special Arts Program for Children and Youth
Costs per month:
Batticaloa District – £116
Wanni Region - £232
Jaffna District- £116
Cost of Buildings/infrastructure
Orphanage for 30 children Approx. £50,000
Day care centre £5,000 – 10,000
Nutritional feeding centre £5,000 – 10,000
DARSHAN AMBALAVANAR
has taken over from Rev. Jeyanesan as the new Project Manager of the under the Church of the American Ceylon Mission. These projects are in various parts of the island, Nuwara Eliya to Jaffna, Mannar to Batticaloa, ranging from relief to rehabilitation, vocational training to farming, children’s programs to elders homes.Prior to this he was in Toronto as a settlement worker assisting new immigrant families to settle and find work in Toronto. A large part of his time was devoted to youth related programmes.
From 1991 to 2006 he gained various educational qualifications from Princeton Theological Seminary to a Doctorate with Harvard University. His original degree was gained from the University of Reading in the UK. He authored a number of publications during this period. Over the years he has gained much experience which he will find valuable working with the projects he is involved with now.
E-mail: darshan.ambalavanar@gmail.com
Please consider contributing to one of these projects. How to donate
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June 30th, 2009 Trevor Thevarajah
Lisa Thevarajah, my Daughter-in-Law (the one in the middle) recently completed the Bath Half Marathon. She was sponsored to raise money for the Widows Empowerment Project. She managed to raise £165, this money has already been sent to Sri Lanka where it will be used to buy two sewing machines . This would help to sustain two families by enabling them to earn a living.
A big thanks & well done to Lisa.
9th August 2009
Two families have now been given sewing machies. Well done Lisa.
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June 28th, 2009 Trevor Thevarajah
Photogrpahs of the children in the Nutritional Feeding Centre we support
Latest email received from Rev. Jeyanesan
From: Rev.Dr. S. Jeyanesan [mailto:jnesan@sltnet.lk]
Sent: 24 June 2009 12:33
To: ‘Trevor Thevarajah’
Subject: RE: IDPs
My dearest Trevor,
Greetings from St. Johns Center, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Thank you for your mail.
We are really happy that you have recovered from your operation and back in action. We thank God for same.
Herewith I give you some updates of our relief activities and Kiran NFC.
Kiran NFC :
At present there are 36 Children in the Nutritional Feeding Center. Two teachers and a cook are looking after the children. Children who are under the age of 5 years are fed with nutritious food along with play and education.
As you are aware most of our Children are from war affected and very poor families, so they all were under- nourished. After they have joined our NFC they are healthy and very active. Our medical team visits them twice a month and assesses their health condition and provide needed medicines and vitamins. By leaving the Children in the NFC the mothers get some free time to do some work and earn money to look after their families.
We thank you and all who supports to these poor families and their Children. Few pictures of the NFC is attached for your information.
Other Relief Work:
We are happy that the war is over. But the tragedies of the IDPs are continuing. We are very busy with the relief activities to the IDPs.
For the last 3 weeks we have been moving to Vavunia and Batticaloa to obtain permission to send our medical team to work in Manik farm camp in Zone 4 where there is no any assistance provided to IDPs. We have obtained permission from the GA and the camp in-charge authorities for our medical team to conduct clinic for Children and pregnant mothers. This decision was taken after our team visited the camp and analyzed the needs.
On the 18th we have transported a lorry load of medicines, clothes and dresses to the IDPs. 3200 packs of Clothes and dresses were distributed on the same day to the IDPs.
Our Trauma counseling unit and the medical team will work jointly in the camps and provide assistance. Rev. Anukoolan and the other pastors who were in the camp have directly experienced the suffering of the IDPs so they are working tirelessly in the IDP camps in providing assistance to the suffering and needy.
Thank you for all your prayers and guidance to continue our work.
May God bless you and all the members of Shrewsbury Lions Club for their support and assistance.
Thanks
With kind regards
Rev. Dr. S. Jeyanesan
Chairman/ Director Project
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September 17th, 2008 Trevor Thevarajah
The response to the latest appeal to help the Internally Displaced People in the Vanni area has been extremely positive. So fare we have received £1745, this is over and above the usual donations towards the Nutritional Feeding Centre project. The Treasurer of the Shrewsbury Lions club is arranging to send the donations to the Lions club in Batticaloa who will ensure that the money is handed over to St. John’s mission.
Extract from the latest email from Rev. Jeyanesan September 2008
My dear Trevor,
Greetings from St. Johns Centre, Batticaloa
Thank you for your mail. We have received the original copy up the audited statement. I am posting it today by surface mail.
I am so busy in organizing relief to Vanni IDPs. After the recent attack of LTTE, Government has asked all the humanitarian organizations to vacate Vanni. All of them have left Vanni, Only UN organizations are talking with government to continue their activities. But, there is no hope in obtaining permission.
We are doing relief in two ways, we organize relief from Colombo and transport same or we send money to our pastors and ask them to do the relief work.
I thank you for all your efforts to support our affected community. We also thank the members of Thamil Association, Shrewsbury Lions club and other donors for their generous support and assistance.
I will send you a report on our relief activities as early as possible.
Thanks,
With peace and prayers,
Rev. Dr. S. Jeyanesan
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September 9th, 2008 Trevor Thevarajah
My dear Trevor,
Greetings from St. Johns Center CACM, Batticaloa
I am very happy to inform you that this morning the treasurer Lions Club of Batticaloa handed over us a cheque for Rs. 430565/=. Here with I am enclosing the official receipt (scanned copy) for the same.
I take this opportunity to thank you and the Lions Club of Shrewsbury.
We have asked our official auditors to give us a separate audited statement for the money we received from you in the year 2007. I am sure we will receive the statement this week. As soon as we receive it we will forward the same to you.
Here with I am enclosing some pictures of the Day Care/nutritional feeding Center Kiran. Last week they had their annual sports meet and parents and community get together. At present we have 74 children. We do provide breakfast and lunch. Periodical medical test are conducted by our medical team.We also give the children nutrition’s and vitamins. Earlier they have detected vitamin “D” deficiency among few children. We are happy that has improved satisfactorily after treatment.
I am sure you are aware the army offensive in Vanni area. At present there are about 200,000 IDP’s staying under very hard conditions. We are doing our very best to support at least few of them with emergency food and medicine. (Please see latest appeal)
I am also attaching a copy of the acknowledgement given to Lions Club Batticaloa
Thank you and your club for your continuous tireless support.
May God bless you, bless your family and bless your Lions Club
Thank you
Yours very sincerely
Rev. Jeyanesan
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September 9th, 2008 Trevor Thevarajah
Please find an attachment to an email recently from Rev. Jeyanesan which is self explanatory. This has been sent to all the regular donors with the hope that it would be brought to the attention of relatives, friends and acquaintances with a view to collecting as much as we can to help Rev. Jeyanesan with his humanitarian efforts. To date, 2nd of September 2008, we have had pledges for about £1500 which is quite heartening. Please donate generously and persuade others to do so. Thank you.
Please click the following links
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August 2nd, 2007 Trevor Thevarajah
Email Sent Trevor Thevarajah from Dr. Rev. Jeynesan
My Dearest Trevor,
Greetings from St. Johns Center Batticaloa Sri Lanka. I am happy to inform you that I have been elected as the Chairman of the Church of the American Ceylon Mission. 93% of the congregation and 95% of the Pastors voted and insisted that I should accept this position.
After much thought and prayers I have accepted this position. I need all of your support and prayers to perform duties to the lord and the humanity. I will be stationed in Batticaloa and operate from there.We also have accepted to have congregational form of administration. That means the Chairman can continue for 2 years and he can be elected for 1 more term. Then he will get back to a parish.We are planning to have a celebration on the 16th Sunday in Batticaloa. Read the rest of this entry »
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November 1st, 2006 Trevor Thevarajah
Correspodance from Dr. Rev. Jeynesan Nov. 2006
St. John’s Mission, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Love and greetings from St. Johns centre Batticaloa from me and other friends. Thank you for sending me the mail regarding the changes of your addresses. I have taken note of those.
Situation in Batticaloa is not very good. War effected Internally Displaced Persons have become a major issue in the North and East of Sri Lanka today. Daily shelling and fighting is going on in many places in the East and more and more refugees are coming out of the battle areas. Read the rest of this entry »
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June 19th, 2006 Trevor Thevarajah
Correspodance from Dr. Rev. Jeynesan June 2006Dear Trevor,
Greetings from St. John’s Centre.
I have come back to Batticaloa after my trips to Canada and USA. I am grateful to our Lord for all his mercies.
I am thankful to David and the team for all their good work even in my absence.
I thought it is proper that I send you a mail about the present political situation of our region.
After the pressure mine exploitation which killed 67 people in Kepitipolawa in Trincomalee district all the INGO’s and local NGO’s have stopped all their relief works and have vacated the places and gone to Colombo because of fear and the advice of their own Governments. Read the rest of this entry »
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May 1st, 2006 Trevor Thevarajah
Dear Trevor,
I am sorry that I haven’t been able to write to you before. Due to the fact that I was hosting my friend Herman with his friend and was showing him the orphanage that he is supporting, we were busy every day and all my time went into that, so that I could allow Rev. Jeyanesan to attend to urgent matters concerning the running of all the projects under his care. Rev. Jeyanesan had been away for about a month, visiting the US and Canada, so upon his return he had many things to attend to. Rev. Jeyanesan shared with me about his contacts with you and asked me to help him with keeping in contact with you while I am here in Sri Lanka. Read the rest of this entry »
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