1. BE0001 Vindya Vindya is 12 years old and lives in Kudagahapitiya, Hendala. She goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and is now in grade 7. Her studies are average. She lives with 3 other siblings. Her mother Mangala earns a living by washing bottles for a small business nearby. She’s had the job for about 1 ½ years and earns about Rs300-350 a day if she is called for work. Her father Roshantha does labour work but the job is not permanent. He would earn about Rs800 if he is called in for work. Vindya’s house gets flooded in rainy seasons. This time round it has been slightly less. Parents are trying very hard to keep the household expenses going but it is proving difficult for them. The money we are donating her every month is going towards her educational needs and household expenses for the family. They are doing just a little bit better than they were before as they can cover expenses for school. It was mentioned that she needs a bag for school. March 2013

2. BE0002 Madhuri Madhuri is 12 years old and lives in Balagaawatta, Hendala. She goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and is now in grade 7. Her studies are average. She has a brother who is 7 yrs. old. Her brother is very talented and can cook and sew. Her mother Niranjala earns a living by helping out with cooking at nearby houses. Her father works as a labourer and the job is permanent. He earns about Rs8000 per month. They live in a small house made of brick and have the basic things to get going. With the money we are donating, they have bought shoes and other things needed for school. March 2013

3. Mayoshi is 13 years old and lives in Karunagama, Hendala. She goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and is now in grade 8. Her studies are outstanding. She was the second in class in 2012 examinations. She is also a prefect at school and is loved by teachers and students. She lives with her parents and older brother. Her father Abeyratne, had two road traffic accidents and is suffering from a mental disorder. He is unable to work due to his medications. Her mother Somilawathie had very bad eye sight due to cataract/glaucoma. They live in a house made of wooden planks. They have electricity and a tap for water. Their house gets flooded and last time it was up to 2 feet. She has been receiving monthly donations from the charity for a year now. With the money given, the mother was able to her eye sight back to normal after operations. Now she is able to work and has a job looking after a baby earning Rs250 a day. The money from the charity is used for Mayoshi’s education and she continues to do well. Mayoshi has a specific donor who helps her every month. March 2013 BE0003 Mayoshi

4. Ruby is a 71 year old woman who lives in Ragama. She has three children but none of them help her out. She lives with one son who has a psychiatric illness. He is often admitted to hospital and becomes violent at times. Ruby is unable to work and struggles to meet daily needs for living. We were unable to meet her during visits as her son was unwell at hospital. With the money the charity is donating every month, she is able to cover some of her expenses for food and travel. BE0004 Ruby

5. Hasika is 9 years old and lives in Hendala. She goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and is in grade 5. Her studies are average. She has a younger sister who is 7 years old and lives with her aunt Rupawathi. Her mother committed suicide 3 years ago and her father had left the kids and rarely comes to visit. He had recently gone abroad but has not sent any money for the kids. Her aunt is their legal guardian and takes care of their needs. She gets a monthly donation from the charity and they have used it for their day to day expenses. It was observed that her aunty and her family take care of them well. March 2013 BE0005 Hasika

6. BE0006 Imesha Imesha (left) is 8 years old and lives in Matagoda Hendala. He goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and his studies are average. He is now in grade 2. Imesha has two older brothers and one of them was sent to the temple as they couldn’t afford to keep him. He has now come back. His mother Swarnamali doesn’t work and his step father works as a labourer. He doesn’t have regular work though. Their house is small and is attached to her sister’s house. They have some support from her sister too. Imesha was found with no food at times during school times and needed school equipment and went to school with no shoes. With the money they are getting from the charity, Imesha attends school more and has all the things they need for school. Imesha has a specific donor. March 2013

7. BE0007 Gihan Gihan is 10 years old and lives in Balagalawatta, Hendala. He goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya in grade 4 but his studies are weak. He has 2 brothers, the older one (one on the left) suffers from leukaemia. His mother Anoja doesn’t work but his father gets mason work from time to time. He would earn about Rs1000 a day if he gets work. His grandmother also lives with them but she has no income either. The grandmother looks after Gihan most of the time because the mother would be away at hospital with his brother who is ill. His brother’s medication (Zeffix) costs Rs5992 per month and needs to be on this medication for another 3 years at least. This is for his liver problem. They don’t always get the medication from the hospital and they have to cover the cost themselves. So Gihan’s mother would go and buy a few tablets at a time from the pharmacy. Gihan has also had an operation for a urinary tract problem. He also needs to be taken to the Children’s Hospital. During 2012, Gihan received regular donations from the charity and they used the money for their education, medication & travel. It has been a great help for them. However, as they are still struggling, they have applied for President’s grants recently but not heard anything from them so far. Gihan has a specific donor. March 2013

8. BE0008 Dickson Dickson (on far left) is 9 years old and lives in Galagaduwa, Hendala. He goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya and is in grade 4 now. His studies are average. Dickson’s mother Nisami was working in a paper factory but is now unable to work due to aggravated asthma. His father is in prison and he was a drug addict. Dickson has a step father who lives with them and also has two brothers. His father’s drug problem left them in a lot of debt. So they are still struggling with it all. Their house is subject to flooding and they even had snakes in the house when it’s flooded. The house is at special risk due to it being located in a corner. With the money they are getting from the charity, the mother is able to cover the kids school expenses. Previously they were in need of clothes, books, pens & other things for school. March 2013

9. Mahesh is 10 years old and goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya. He is in grade 3 and his studies are average. His father had left the family and the mother worked at a factory as an assistant. They were living in a rented house but were unable to afford the rent and school and other expenses with her salary. Mahesh received monthly donations for nearly a year and also received books and school equipment from the charity. In February we heard that his mother had gone abroad. Therefore, we have decided to cancel the donations from March 2013. BE0009 Mahesh

10. BE0010 Tharushi Tharushi is 12 years old and goes to Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya. She is in grade 6 and her studies are average. Tharushi has two sisters (5yrs/14 yrs old)and her mother Chamila works as a domestic helper from time to time. When she works, she earns about Rs450 a day. Her father has no permanent job and does not support the children. The grand father is also living at home and he goes fishing and brings fish to eat. They had problems getting their daily meals and also buying books shoes and clothes. Their house is in a very poor state. The wooden planks are breaking up and they desperately need to get them fixed. They have no electricity. With the money they are getting from the charity they have been using it for house expenses and the mother is now buying milk for the children which they could not afford before. They have also bought shoes for the older sister an books for the others. They use up all the money they receive every month. March 2013