Our Mission

The Foundation runs a community centre in Badowita, a purpose built low-income settlement. In 2024 the Sri Lanka Society funded the refurbishment of the centre as well as the purchase of essential equipment including  heat extractor funnels, fans, a water purifier and upgrading IT room equipment. Through funding received from an external fund, the Society also funded the purchase of much needed school shoes for 100 of the poorest children in Badowita.

In 2020, the Society has provided funds for the refurbishment of the centre’s kitchen and IT room, as well as new computers for the After School Club to help children gain essential IT skills. In 2022, at the height of the economic crisis, emergency funding was provided to supply food packs for families unable to afford essentials and to provide transport for children to the centre.

The Peter Weeresekera Foundation runs Child Development Centres established in 1959 in the Western Province. The centres used to provide services including nutrition centre, girls’ home and toddlers’ home for 85 orphans from the poorest communities. Since the Covid pandemic and cutbacks in funding the services today focus on the main orphanage in Gampaha for destitute children sent by the Department of Probation and Childcare Services and Magistrates Courts. The Orphanage approached the Sri Lanka Society for funding to renovate the toilets for the toddlers. The work was completed in March 2024.

Appe Lanka is a rural development project aimed at supporting communities in 6 districts in northern and eastern Sri Lanka beginning w Poonakary. This was a region devastated by many years of war.  Several initiatives are under way including the "Keeping children in school” program. The program has overseen the provision of cycles to school kids, the distribution of English Language programs (Audio Visual) to all schools in Poonakary and the “Equal Chances” initiative which provides schoolbooks to students. In 2022, 900 sets of books were distributed. As part of this initiative, the Sri Lanka Society through funding received from an external fund funded the purchase of 2000 sets of books to be distributed amongst the poorest school children in the district. The Sri Lanka Society also funded the development of Home Gardens in Childrens' centres managed by women, giving them purpose and leadership through solutions for food security, nutrition and income generation.

The Mealcare for Schools project aims to address malnutrition of underprivileged children due to extreme food poverty and the economic crisis by providing balanced and nutritious meals. The project has ensured access to fresh and wholesome ingredients and reaches up to 40 Schools in Colombo. The program has so far provided over 250,000 meals to over 10,000 children. In 2024, the Sri Lanka Society funded the provision of 8,000 meals for distribution across 25+ schools. In addition, through its Techcare program, Mealcare funds the provision of computer labs, providing equipment, software and ongoing support, enabling digital literacy among underprivileged students and their teachers fostering a conducive learning environment. The Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of 24 heavily discounted refurbished computers for several schools benefitting hundreds of children.

The Karuna Trust provides education, eye care and homes for the homeless. During the Covid pandemic, cataract surgeries were halted in government hospitals and with rising costs the health ministry stopped importing lenses. About 35% of the elderly population in Sri Lanka had impaired sight due to cataracts. In 2022, 50 elders many of them poor farmers in the Ratnapura area regained their sight through cataract procedures funded through the Karuna Trust by The Sri Lanka Society and were able to go back to work and earn a living for their families and communities.

The IMS provides a neuro-rehabilitation services at the Green Memorial Hospital in Jaffna. In 2022, the Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of specialist physiotherapy equipment for the neuro rehabilitation centre to support the managememt of and recovery from various conditions and injuries, including spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophies and posture problems.

With the very high inflation rate, many essentials are becoming unaffordable. The Sri Lanka society provided funds to purchase school shoes, exercise books and school bags for 50 children from impoverished backgrounds in the Theldeniya district. 

Child Action Lanka (CAL) through Child Development Centres (CDCs) around the country, supports the needs of diadvantaged children in Sri Lanka that have been deprived of education, traumatized by violence and abuse (mental and physical) or suffer from illness mainly due to poverty, war and conflict. The CDCs provide education, food and medical care and has arts and sports clubs. In 2022, the Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of sewing machines and material for the CDC in Kilinochchi, enabling the mothers to make clothing and generate an income that will help them care for their children independently.

The Sri Lanka Cancer Society is the foremost voluntary organisation which supplements the work of the National Cancer Control.The SLCS provides care and solace to needy cancer patients and works towards increasing awareness of cancer. It runs a hospiice providing palliiative care for terminally ill patients and a transit home providing residential accommodation and nursing care for those seeking treatment at the national cancer hospital. The Sri Lanka Society provided funding for essential equipment and patient bedside furniture.

There was an urgent need to provide life saving medical equiipment during the worst stages of the Covid pandemic and in 2021 the Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of Pulse Oximeters, Multi Parameter Monitors and other items for the Intermediate Care Centre at Baddegama District Hospital arranged through Medical Aid Sri Lanka.

The CFS Prithipura Home is a residential facility for 67 differently abled young people and adults, most of whom have no families to go to. The Home provides them with an environment to learn and live together as one family. In 2018, Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of physiotherapy equipment, wheelchairs and a computer for teaching and administrative purposes. In 2021, the Society funded hospital beds, furniture and other much needed equipment. In 2022, additional funds were donated as emergency relief to purchase essential drugs for the residents, as government clinics had run out of supplies.

The centre, located in Dehiwela, provides medical and dental healthcare on a not for profit basis through clinics and community work. Its services are accessible to all, with special consideration for vulnerable members of society from all ethnic backgrounds. In 2021, the Society funded new blood pressure monitors and ophthalmoscopes.

The Foundation established its 194-bed transit home, CCC House, to enable cancer sufferers from all over Sri Lanka to access the treatment provided by the National Cancer Institute in Maharagama on an outpatient basis. The facility provides dormitory accommodatio n for adults and separate shared rooms for children with carers, providing a safe and comfortable environment for recovery. In 2017, The Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of kitchen/cooking equipment, water pumps, a PA system and a generator, to help CCC House provide the best possible service to those in need. In 2021, the Society funded the purchase of new mattresses and covers for their beds.

Educate, Advocate, Support and Empower (E.A.S.E) was co-founded by an individual with autism supported by his mother and was set up to help those with autism and learning disabilities to fulfil their potential. It works to educate parents and to change people’s attitudes regarding autism. The Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of a computer to support administrative activities and  kitchen, sewing and household equipment to help teach life skills to children and young adults.

The school works to empower and educate children with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities arising from Autism, Down’s syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and other conditions. In 2016, the Society supported the purchase of a new organ for music sessions, Montessori apparatus for teaching purposes and new furniture for the School.

Some of the students at the Ide School are shown here with the Montessori apparatus that they use for learning. The School supports 20 students in total, many of whom face severe difficulties in performing even the most basic day-to-day activities. 

After the tsunami that affected Sri Lanka, the Senehasa Association focused its effort on supporting the Karapitiya and Mahamodera Hospitals in Galle. In November 2015, the Society supported a project to refurbish the neo-natal unit at Karapitya by providing the funds for the purchase of an infant resuscitator. Within the same month, it was used to support the care of 3 of the 8 babies in the Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). One of the doctors who leads the neo-natal unit at Karapitiya Hospital is shown here with a sister in the ICU and the infant resuscitator.

Based in Wellawatte,  the Home provides a haven for orphaned boys and those who need to live away from their family environment for a variety of reasons. In 2015, the Society supported the purchase of much needed kitchen and laundry appliances which will improve the care provided to the boys.

The Foundation is dedicated to advocating and addressing the needs of people diagnosed with cognitive impairment and dementia. In 2015, the Society supported the purchase of an air-conditioning unit for the comfort of people who use their centre.

Apeksha Hospital is a 300 bed hospital formerly known as the National Cancer Institute. In July 2018, the Sri Lanka Society funded two infusion pumps which are used to accurately administer regular doses of important medications over a long period of time to cancer patients.

CSDB operates three residential schools in Sri Lanka supporting approximately 450 students. In addition to accommodation and meals, they receive an education,  speech therapy and vocational training is provided to help them become independent. One example of this is a bakery and pastry making course provided at the School for the Deaf where they opened a small outlet to give students more chances to practice their skills and bring in funds to reinvest in their support. In 2019, the Sri Lanka Society funded the purchase of a chilled display unit for the outlet.

The Society supported the purchase of 13 hearing aids for 8 students in the 5-10 year age group at the school. These were fitted in July 2015. The use of the hearing aids was hoped would enable the children to improve their oral communication skills rather than rely on sign language. In March 2016, the Principal of the School reported “a remarkable improvement” in the children’s class room work..

Community Concern works with families that live below the poverty line in Sri Lanka. It has a variety of projects including an Outreach Centre, children’s homes and a drug rehabilitation centre. In 2017, the Society supported the purchase of office equipment to help support the smooth running of the organisation.