This project will help: 150 children
Child development centre: Living Child Development Centre (LK0317)
Location: Eralodai, Sri Lanka
In Eralodai, Sri Lanka, children face a bleak future. Some caregivers make a living as fishers or day labourers, but many are unemployed. Many children are being raised by single mothers who can barely provide for their basic needs. Children commonly drop out of school to get low-paying jobs to help their families, but they still don’t earn enough to eat three meals a day.
Health is also a major issue here. Most children suffer chronic malnutrition and get sick often. The nearest health centre is 13 kilometres away and is difficult to access. Many babies are born underweight, as their mothers could not access proper nutrition or care during pregnancy. Many residents of Eralodai settled here after being displaced from war-torn areas and are struggling to restart their lives. Without help, children here will grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty.
But the local church in Eralodai has a deep desire to reach out to their community with God’s love and respond to some of the most pressing needs of children.
By opening a child development centre, children will have access to health care and will receive supplementary food as needed. Through your support they will also have the opportunity to go to school and receive vocational training, as well as education on important topics like health, hygiene and how to form healthy relationships. Along the way, they will also receive personal attention, guidance and love from caring members of the Christian community and have the opportunity to hear about Jesus in the context of a local church.
Real and lasting change happens when children are developed to become the adults who will create change in their community. In Compassion’s program, children learn they are loved, develop hope for their future and realize that God wants to use them to help others. These children grow up to be givers and leaders in their community.
Help children build a new future free from poverty and full of promise by launching a holistic children’s ministry!
Children’s ministry launch
Help a church in Sri Lanka open a holistic child development ministry.
Church name: Living Christian Assembly Church, Eralodai
Community information: Eralodai is a rural fishing community in Sri Lanka of 550 people. The closest major city is Valaichenai, a coastal town on the Indian Ocean. Most people in Eralodai work as fishers or day labourers and earn about $36 a month, but 65 per cent of the population is unemployed. Homes are made of tin or corrugated metal roofs, brick or cement block walls and cement floors. The staple diet is rice. Most people in the community are Hindu; Christians are a minority.
What is provided through this gift:
- Centre staffing
- Staff training
- Child registration and caregiver orientation
- Initial caregiver meeting
- Registration day items
- Camera
- Administrative equipment and supplies
- Office computer and printer
- Office supplies
- Office desk and chair
- Office supplies
- Staff uniforms and backpacks
- Classroom furnishings and supplies
- Tables and chairs
- Toys, games and minor sports equipment
- Teaching resources and supplies
- Curriculum printing
- Kitchen furnishings and supplies
- Tables and chairs
- Cooking pots, pans and cooking utensils
- Cups, bowls and cutlery
- Gas tank and cooking fuel
- Storage cabinets and closets
- Health checkups and supplies
- Initial health screenings
- Height and weight measurement tools
- First-aid kits