We are a small, dynamic nonprofit that works in partnership with local organisations in
Africa and Asia to give some of the world’s most vulnerable children back their childhood

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is still recovering from a recent civil war and a natural disaster that wiped out hundreds of coastal communities. These two events have had a profound impact on children; many have been orphaned or displaced; others, due to poverty, have suffered neglect, abandonment and abuse.

Makandura Rural Projects (MRP)
MRP is a local grassroots NGO based in Sri Lanka’s North Western Province, which was established in 1985 to provide support and rehabilitation to children displaced by the civil war. MRP set up Dikkelle Children’s Centre as a transitional centre for displaced and/or orphaned children and for children who have suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment. Dikkelle offers an opportunity for children to reclaim their childhood, rebuild their self-esteem, and recover from trauma and abuse. Children usually stay at the centre for up to a year, by which time Dikkelle has helped reintegrate them into school and either reunited them with their families or referred them to trusted and well-vetted long-term residential care centres.

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Shilpa Children’s Trust
Shilpa Children's Trust was set up in 1987 by a group of teachers and social workers to provide refuge to children displaced by the civil war. Shilpa established a Child Protection Centre in Colombo, which provides transitional shelter and support to up to 50 girls who have been displaced, abandoned or orphaned with the aim of rehabilitating them and, if appropriate, reuniting them with family members. Shilpa also provides a range of invaluable vocational training courses to unemployed women, particularly single mothers, living in slum communities, as well as older girls at the Centre. Following the 2004 Asian Tsunami, Shilpa started providing skills training to some of the worst affected coastal communities, enabling them to establish alternative livelihoods.

"We were asked to draw what we saw when the tsunami struck..."

Click here to read Shanthi's story

Partner Contacts:

R.S. Patebendigai	Niranjala Perera
Makandura Rural Projects	Shilpa Children's Trust
Gonawila 60170	45/92 Nawala Road
North West Province	Narahenpita, Colombo 5
Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka
Tel: (+94) 312 299 698	Tel: (+94) 1 5344613
Email: mrp@sltnet.lk	Email: shilpatr@sltnet.lk
	Web: http://shilpa.org/