For us at Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka, this day was an opportunity to reach out to more Sri Lankans in several different ways. Activities that were organized were not only conducted on the 1st of October but extending throughout the week, including the weekend before and after.

..with volunteers from local

schools We had a unique chance to partner with Sri Lanka Unites - a youth movement for hope and reconciliation, and involved 3 schools to participate in builds across the country. On the 29th of September, 2012, Methodist Girls College went to assist a family in Minnuwangoda, Gampaha District. 10 girls and 2 teachers worked on Ranjith & Sheela Fernando’s house the entire day. Sheela works at Brandix, who sponsored the construction of a decent house for them. The family has been in dire need, as Ranjith is paralyzed from the waist down and they currently live with their two children Dilini 14 and Iroshan 12 in a makeshift shack that has polythene film sheets for walls. Sheela said “Habitat and Brandix are God sent. My children will soon have a safe and dry place to study in the evenings and can do well in school. I am extremely happy and grateful

..by reaching out to more

people

Otara Gunawardene - the owner of ODEL, is the Goodwill Ambassador of Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka. She joined habitat on this day in advocating for decent housing and released a statement. She also invited the staff of HFHSL to have a stall at the ODEL mega department store to raise awareness. This stall not only displayed Habitat Activities in videos, attractive pennants and brochures; but also displayed Otara’s Message and our Solar Cooker in action. ODEL customers could taste the food cooked by solar power as well as judge for themselves the reality of our Soil Blocks. The positive response that Habitat received from many ODEL customers was contagious bringing more and more people to inquire about our activities and their participation.

...with international

volunteers

Getting International Volunteers involved physically by providing hands on assistance is something quite unique to habitat and the same week saw volunteers from Shanghai American School, China, volunteering in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.. The home-owners together with HFHSL staff also organized a religious service in a Buddhist Temple on the 3rd of October in view of World Habitat Day. ..with Leo Club, Negombo To finish off the exciting week, the Leo Club Negombo donated and planted 24 budded mango trees in Pattayamwate Village, Negombo. These 24 houses had been built in August 2012 by Habitat, for the Rebuild Sri Lanka 2012 program. The tree planting occasion was graced with the presence of Lakshan Madurasinghe a Habitat board member, 5 Leos and 2 Lions.

September - December 2012

Page 2

Volunteers

Speak...

September - December 2012

Natasha Worthington, 17 year old Student at Methodist College Colombo 03 says... “From my school is where I first heard about HFHSL. I decided to volunteer because I had always wanted to help people in any way that I can and this seemed like the perfect op-portunity. I like volunteering for charity events like this mainly because I know I’ve been the reason to put a smile on another person’s face and to make another person’s life bet-ter!

We were able to raise money through the school where our sisters and friends are very keen on donating for such causes. We collected money as a class and also from the other classes. When I told my parents about it, they thought it was an excellent project and they were very keen to know more about the family that we were going to help.

It was an amazing experience. An experience I’ve never had before. It was a wonderful experience to work beside my friends and HFHSL. The part where we gave our donations to the family, to see them happy and smiling, that was the most memorable part of the day for me.

It was worth the time and effort. And I ask everyone to take some time off to be a part of such a wonderful event and I know my friends will agree with me when I say we would love to help any family in need at any time!”

Aruni Arulananthan, 17 year old Student at Methodist College Colombo 03 says... “I first heard about Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka through school when we were asked to do a project as a class. I chose to support HFHSL be-cause it gives me happiness and satisfaction to know that I helped a fam-ily build a house where they would be living in, a place that would shel-ter them from unpleasant weather and other dangerous things.

I volunteered because I wanted to see the condition of this family who needed our help and I also wanted to experience the hardships of build-ing a house and to be alongside them and help them build the house. We went as a group from school. We were able to raise money with the sup-port of my school. We collected money from each student in our class and took any donations that the other students were able to give. My family and friends were very supportive. Without them, this would not have been possible.

The family we helped was very loving and caring and they even gave us food. We were able to interact with the family and spend time with them. They showed us around the village and we got to even drink Thambili (King Coconut)! We had a lot of fun there. We climbed trees to our teacher’s utmost horror!

I would like to urge everyone who is willing to and able to, to join this wonderful cause and to contribute something towards HFHSL.”

Students from the Hill Country’s most

prominent school—Trinity School

volunteer too!!!

Page 3 September - December 2012

Saradamani (House no. 15) “We had to pay for basic facilities like water. Now, it’s a relief not to have to do that anymore. Before we moved into the Habitat house, we lived in a rented house sharing with the land lord, so it always used to be crowded. This is the reason it feels good to have our own place. All my life I have rented. And now, to think that I have a house I can call my own is wonderful. The repayment system that Habitat fol-

lows does not cause any hardships to us.

It’s a small amount and it hasn’t made a

difference in my life because I am used to

paying a monthly rent anyway.”

Annama (House no. 5) “We had a lot of issues with the house

owners since we were renting a house

before. But now, we are masters in our

own house. The fact that we have our

freedom and privacy is a very important

thing. We have got the chance to live in

a peaceful and better environment and

are now hoping to finish building the 2

rooms. Luckily, I have even got a job

offer nearby and the repayment system

is not an issue because we used to pay

rent anyway.”

Shiromi (House no. 7) “We got a letter from the volunteers and some photographs and we were very excited about it. We have written a reply and we are waiting to send it. Thanks to Habitat and the volunteers, we have the freedom to do anything we want in our own house. My grown up sons did not want to come to this house at first and now, they are refusing to leave the place. That is how much they like this house and the environment! One son Ashen, got married on the 15th of

October this year. This was possible only

because we have our own place, freedom

and privacy.”

Rupika (House no. 3) “We used to live in my parents’ house. There used to be several families living together and due to this, we used to have a lot of problems. But now, since we have a house of our own and the privacy, our lives have become much less complicated and my children, husband and I, are living very happily. Although it is a bit far to school from

here, we don’t feel the distance because,

it’s a very minor disadvantage when

compared to the many advantages.

Thanks to Habitat and the volunteers,

we are able to live a very positively

different life in a very good environ-

ment.”

Sandanam (Test Build

House No. 16) They have made drastic improvements to the house. They have completed the two rooms and extend-ed the kitchen. And all these improve-ments have been made by taking loans. Nevertheless, they are happy that they have their own complete house now. They are proud to have a house of their own and very grateful to the volunteers for helping them and giving them something to start with. “Building a house of our own is some-

thing we hadn’t even thought about.

Even during the times that we dared

to dream, we had to put the thought

away because we had no idea where to

start. This is the reason why we are so

thankful to Habitat and the volunteers

for helping us start something we

couldn’t even think about before” said

Sandanam Retnawathi

Above: Basic House Scheme for all Rebuild Home-owners.

Page 4

Mannar Oddusuddan

Batticaloa Habitat

Delivers

September - December 2012

Gampaha

In the wake of the floods that swept the Eastern and North Central Provinces in Sri Lanka from late December 2010 to early February 2011, Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka part-nered with Coca Cola to assist in the cleaning of wells in the affected areas. As the affect-ed areas depend almost exclusively on wells for their daily supply of water, be it for wash-ing, cooking, drinking or any other use, it was very critical that the polluted wells were cleaned immediately. The cleaning of wells was also vital to prevent the spread of water borne diseases.

Other than cleaning of wells, HFHSL in collaboration with Coca Cola conducted awareness sessions and distributed posters to homes, schools and government institutions on the ways of water filtration and conservation in order to ensure non-contaminated consumption of water.

The project was deemed extremely successful, due to the fact that more wells were cleaned and more people were educated than was originally planned.

We can firmly say that in the event of flooding ever recurring in the areas that we reached out to, the villagers will not be at loss at what to do but will be able to deal with the disas-ter the correct way while waiting for more technical help to arrive.

To conclude the project, Coca-Cola went a step further and build 4 pre-schools which were opened in October 2012. The opening ceremony was attended by a representative of Coca-Cola Ms. Rushika Perera- Assistant Manager, Public Affairs and Communications, Coke Sri Lanka and representatives from Habitat: Mr. Haroon Cassiere, Mr. Tony Senewiratne, Mr. Thavarajah (NBOD) and HRC East Staff.

3836 people aware of water conservation and sanitation

1,783 wells cleaned

1,750 Posters fixed in homes

500 Posters displayed in Institutions

63 Community Trainings conducted

4 pre-schools build

Durable posters on water filtration fixed in beneficiaries’ kitchens

A meeting place for the new community at Oddusuddan The community centre that was being built by HFHSL with the fund-ing of MillennuimIT was completed in the 2nd week of

December and is intended to be handed over to the Rural Development Society (RDS) through the Divisional Secretary of Oddusuddan.

This community centre is 850sq.ft and comprises of a reception hall, a computer room and visitors’ toilets. The centre will be used for the events and ceremonies held by the villagers such as wedding receptions, birthday parties, meetings etc.

Two computers are to be donated to this centre; one by the army and the other by MIT. Computer lessons are to be held in the computer rooms and computer literacy will be given by a computer instructor.

A maintenance fund is to be created by the RDS with the assistance of the DS. Income generation will be from fees from the Com-puter Literacy classes, rents from hiring of the Community Hall, and periodical events.

Happy beneficiaries drawing water from their clean wells

Villagers receiving training on water conservation and sanitation. Left: Opening ceremony at Meena

pre-school in Batticaloa. More Pics

May-Agust 2012 Page 5

September - December 2012

241 toilets and 24 tube wells for Sannar Village, Mannar District

With the funding of Japan Platform, HFHSL and HFHJ continue with assisting the community in Sannar Village by providing water and sanitation facilities to encourage re-

turnees to reintegrate and resettle on permanent land. By the end of December 2012, 7 wells had been built and 150 toilets had been constructed.

One of the villagers Denushan said, "My family has been observing the procedure of setting the Tube Well from the beginning and we are so happy to see the brand-new Well. We had to walk 1 km to fetch water before, but it's not neces-sary anymore. This Well is utilized by everyone, so we want to take care and maintain this in a proper way." The villagers were also provided with toilet brushes and buckets for the cleaning of their new toilets and training on how to wash hands properly.

As seen in the picture to the left, the children were most delighted with the well.

Right: A family in front of their newly installed pre-cast toilet

Brandix donates a house for disabled Ranjith

48 year old Sheela Rajapakse works at the Brandix Garment Factory in Seeduwa and lives with her family in Minuwangoda, Gampaha, Western Sri Lanka. Her husband Ranjith Fernando has been paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a terrible accident where a tree that he was trying to cut down fell on him. Their two children: Dilini and Iroshan aged 14 and 12 years respectively attend school and have to walk a quarter mile every day. The dwelling that they have been residing in can hardly be called a home. The ‘house’ has polythene Film sheets for walls and a tin roof. There is no toilet in the vicinity and no water supply. There is also no electricity and as a result, the chil-dren find it difficult to study in the evenings when it gets dark. Furthermore, when the rainy season arrives, it makes almost no difference if they are in their ‘house’ or not, as their dwell-ing place gets flooded and all their belongings, as well as the family members, get soaked. Sheela could not stop smiling at the thought that she would soon have a proper home. She said “Habitat and Brandix were God sent. My children will now have a safe and dry place to study in the evenings and can do well in school. I am extreme-ly happy and grateful!”

The house is set to be dedicated in January 2013

Sheela and Ranjith’s current dwelling

Their new house under construction

Page 6

Sri Lankan family from USA donates to Habitat Sri Lanka

Mr. Dilum and his family are Sri Lankan’s who are living in Austin, Texas in the USA. They were very generous to donate to the revolving fund of Habitat Sri Lanka. 15 lower income families from Matale, Central Region of Sri Lanka received small loans of about 250-300$ to improve the living conditions of their homes and they will need to save about 15$ a month to be able to repay the loan within 2 years. The beneficiaries selected are mostly farmers who plan to make improvements to their house by adding a room, plastering the walls or adding walls to a foundation. Once their loans are repaid in full, they can request for anoth-er loan to continue improvements.

Mr. Dilum & family also donated funds to support Welgamwewa School (a local rural school in the region) to improve its standards.

September - December 2012

Lakshman Perera—HRC West Coordinator Felix Ratnesekara—HRC South Coordinator

It is with heavy hearts that HFHSL bids farewell to its two extremely valued colleagues. We wish them success in life as they move on and say, “Thank you Lakshman and Felix for your dedication to HFHSL!

We will truly miss you!!”

Meeting with the donor Visiting a beneficiary Visit to the school in Walgamwewa

Page 7

Direct Online Donations to HFH Sri Lanka.

1. You could directly donate to HabitatSri Lanka through our web site:

Go to http://www.hfhsl.org & click on the |DONATE| tab.

3. Use the pre-defined values or enteryour preferred donation amount in the text box.

4. You could use the currency converterwith in the web site to convert your preferred currency into Sri Lankan Rupees.

5. Fill out the donation form with yourdetails to complete the donation & obtain a receipt by email.

September - December 2012

Your donations go a long way. Donate!

So that more families can have safe, decent and

affordable homes; Because everyone deserves

such a home, Especially the smallest ones!

Volunteers this quarter

Methodist Girls College Basilica College Trinity College Volunteers from China under Robert Burke Volunteers from Australia under Alison Causebrook Volunteers from USA under Holly Carter

New Donors this quarter

AUSAID Snohomish County Greater Green Bay Habitat ODEL Brandix Wye Yee Yong from Malaysia

Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka

No.22/5 Station Road

Dehiwala, Sri Lanka.

Phone: +94 (011) 2714274, +94 (011) 2714275

info@hfhsl.org

http://www.hfhsl.org

Fax: +94 (011) 4202788

Families served in

(Qtr 2) Oct—Dec. 2012

Regular program

HRC West -

HRC South 13

HRC Central 77

HRC East 20

Total 143

DRP (Disaster Response Program)

Mannar

(Toilets) 61

(Wells) 7

Oddusuddan

(Community Centre) 1

(Wells) 10 (Solar Cookers) 50

Volunteer hours:

HRC West 945 HRC South 429 Total 1374

Page 8

Brick by Brick, we have now served:

17,582 Families,

And counting...

Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka wishes all Season’s Greetings and a meaningful New

Year 2013!

September - December 2012