To support the tea estate communities, particularly the elderly, to get the medication and basic supplies they need whilst unable to work or leave their houses due to curfew and Coronavirus. A huge number of daily workers, including those from the tea estates, are unable to work and are now without the ability to purchase even basic food, this is resulting in vulnerability and increasing incidents of domestic violence. Even in 'normal' times, 90% of our students live off less than $1 a day.
Coronavirus is sweeping the globe and the communities worst hit will be those with poor infrastructure, high population concentration and malfunctioning governments. Sri Lanka has all three of these issues. Tea estate workers are daily wage earners and the global downturn is seeing many of their livelihoods affected. With poor & inaccessible health services, a government that sees them as 3rd class citizens & elders having to work past retirement to survive, C-19 is terrifying this community.
We have the best grassroots network in the tea plantation areas of Sri Lanka through our 1,500 alumni living in over 40 estates. Through identifying those in the most need we will be able to offer communities and individual families support in ensuring they can access essential medicines and basic supplies until their work resumes and/or the government intervenes with social welfare support packages. This project will save lives.
The long-term impact is that people will live rather than die. The community will feel supported by our charity and therefore it will generate higher levels of trust and impact going into the future. Our students and alumni will also be empowered to lead their communities and provide solutions through their actions as we will be able to provide the resources and opportunities for them to help.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
