For over ten years, Shilpa Children's Trust (Shilpa) has worked in close harmony with social workers, the courts, displaced person camp authorities and other government organisations. The centre provides shelter, support, education and training for girls at risk who require refuge or rehabilitation. Remedial education, training and motivation are given to groups of low-income women in the area, especially to single mothers or family bread-winners, and to young women who would not normally have this opportunity.

The centre's aims are:

• To provide a secure but transitional home to girls orphaned or displaced by the war and to those that have been abandoned or neglected by their families.
• To provide remedial education, training and motivation to groups of low-income women in the area. Especially to single mothers or family breadwinners.
• To provide skills training for employment to young women who would not normally have this opportunity.

ICT began working in partnership with Shilpa in 1998 to help Shilpa reach its potential to help many more girls in need. ICT was able to obtain a three-year grant with the European Community (EC) that would support an extension of Shilpa Development centre, to improve facilities, increase the capacity for the refuge, rehabilitation and educational support of war orphans and for increased vocational training of impoverished, young single mothers in the local community and further afield.

ICT has also built the capacity of Shilpa's Children's Trust by supporting the attendance of one of Shilpa's Trustees at a Local Resource Mobilisation workshop in India and policy conferences in Sri Lanka.

Shilpa has used its expertise on how to make the centre more independent by appealing to corporate sponsors and expanding its Child Sponsorship programme. Shilpa now gets all its food from a local corporate sponsor almost all the rest of its running costs are covered by its Child Sponsorship Programme. There are 8 more girls who need sponsorship and ICT will help Shilpa to identify sponsors. Shilpa also continues to need support for its vocational training programme.