"To give a new future to children that did not have a future after the tsunami of 2004." This was the basis of what has become the Sri Lanka Orphanage Foundation in 2009.

 

The Sri Lanka Orphanage Foundation was raised directly after the Tsunami on 26 December 2004. A cry for help from a friend, a doctor, made Marja van Leeuwen act by bringing medicines to the heavily hit region in the south of Sri Lanka. When back in the Netherlands, Marja decided to contribute to alleviating the pain of children that became victims from the tsunami.

 

The fundraising was started, a board of directors was formed, goods were shipped and a team of 300 volunteers presented themselves to help and provoide professional expertise. In Sri Lanka the Foundation teamed up with a partner organization and 25,000 m2 of land was donated by the wealthy Saparamadu family. A hundred days after the disaster Somawathi Home opened its doors and the first children were allocated by the Children Protection Authority.

 

Today the Sri Lanka Orphanage Foundation has developed into a professional organization with a recognized quality mark. The fact that the Foundation is run by a voluntary Board of Directors and is supported by numerous volunteers, every Euro can be spent on the project itself: shelter, food, clothing, education and medical care for 150 children and a creation of a community centre for the area. All under supervision of local staff and with respect to local culture and values.

Winner Transparancy Award 2010

In the category small charitable institutions the Sri Lanka Orphanage Foundation has won the Transparency Award 2010 for best practice in reporting.

Best Children's Home

The Department of Probation and Child Care Services has elected the Somawathi Home as the best Children's Home of the southern province of Sri Lanka. On the 2nd of October- Children's Day- all children and staff were present at the announcement in Galle..