Tourists see sun-drenched beaches and luxury hotels. But just along Dehiwela beach, you’ll find a different side of Sri Lanka – the experience of children in poverty. This beach slum is full of squalid, ramshackle huts. Families here experience high unemployment, frequent alcoholism and domestic violence. Children are vulnerable to foreign ‘sex tourists’.
When seven-year-old *Hart’s alcoholic father abandoned his family, her mother had little choice but to put her and three of her sibilings into a children’s home, where they were bitterly unhappy. Their mother worked hard to save until she could afford to bring her children home – but with the daily battle for survival, education was no-one’s priority. Our partners heard about the family coming back together, and invited Hart and one of her siblings to learn at MSCC. They have their train fare paid, and they get breakfast and lunch – a huge weight off their mother’s shoulders. Hart is now 13, and has caught up with her peers despite nearly two years of lost education. Her future is looking so much brighter.
When seven-year-old *Hart’s alcoholic father abandoned his family, her mother had little choice but to put her and three of her sibilings into a children’s home, where they were bitterly unhappy. Their mother worked hard to save until she could afford to bring her children home – but with the daily battle for survival, education was no-one’s priority. Our partners heard about the family coming back together, and invited Hart and one of her siblings to learn at MSCC. They have their train fare paid, and they get breakfast and lunch – a huge weight off their mother’s shoulders. Hart is now 13, and has caught up with her peers despite nearly two years of lost education. Her future is looking so much brighter.What are the challenges?
Acute poverty, domestic violence, sex tourism. When families live a hand-to-mouth existence like this, little value is attached to gaining an education. Yet we know that educating children in poverty in Sri Lanka is the best way to break the poverty cycle.
How is Global Care helping children in poverty in Sri Lanka?
Our local partners, Community Concern, started a school for the children of the Dehiwela beach slum. Pupils stayed for two or three years before filtering into mainstream schools – therefore opening up places for more deprived children. We helped to establish the school – the Morning Star Care Centre – and have supported this initiative for more than 20 years. As a result, Morning Star has helped thousands of children in poverty in Sri Lanka to access education and to build a brighter future..
Our children receive basic education, vocational training, counselling, medical and social care and some extra feeding. The centre also offers vital homework support and extra tuition to local children attending government schools. They often have nowhere to study and receive limited parental support.
Today the Morning Star Care Centre continues to support disadvantaged children in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka, with education, vocational training and welfare care. The team are totally committed to educating children in poverty in Sri Lanka, as they know that education changes lives for good.
We also support initiatives by our partners to care for women and children who have suffered domestic violence and abuse, and children and families living with HIV/AIDS.
What can you do to help?
Why not sponsor a child at the Morning Star Care Centre? Our partners have seen the transformational impact of sponsorship for many children over the years. Sponsorship enables education, which ultimately releases whole families from the poverty cycle. £25 a month gives a child all they need to enable them to learn and succeed.
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