February 2015
February 04, 2015

Dear All,

Trust this finds all of you and your loved ones well. It gives us immense pleasure to bring you up-to-date with the following news:

News in Brief:

Educational Assistance Program- (EAP):

  1. The 1st stage of the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) will be implemented this week. The attached spread sheet (personal details have been deleted for privacy and child protection reasons) will give you an idea of how broad, deep and comprehensive the entire process has been. The delay in implementing this program was primarily due to the inconsistency of critical information about the child, the parents and household income etc. being provided by parents and guardians to the VACD leadership team.  The leadership team along with the mothers’ group spent many days and hours painstakingly collating all the information and then applying strict guidelines to ensure that there was no abuse of the program and that only those who deserved to be assisted would be given this opportunity on a needs and priority basis.
  2. The attached detailed spread sheet highlights that there are more deserving children for whom the program should be extended. However, given that some who initially pledged their support are yet to fulfil their obligations, we would look to implement the next stage once we have sufficient sponsors for this program.
  3. We wish to place on record our deep appreciation and thanks to the regional manager, manager and staff at the National Savings Bank, Bandarawela Branch who provided our leadership team with vital professional guidance and assistance to plan and implement this program.
  4. TOP PRIORITY: We need more sponsors for our Educational Assistance Program (EAP) to meet the significant demand for education related financial assistance as per above, requiring a monthly donation of A$20 or equivalent Rs.2,000 per child.

Fixed Term Deposit Program – (FTD):

  • The information required to implement this program is now at hand. The attached spread sheet details the beneficiaries under this program. However, we are in touch with the senior management of the National Savings Bank awaiting their final approval for this joint project to go ahead as early as possible.

Other Activities & Observations:

  1. The VACD Centre in Bandarawela continues to provide children with education, life skills training, dancing and music training while the parents are given sewing, knitting, craft and other similar income generating training. The parents and the local community along with local businesses, medical and administrative authorities are gradually beginning to play a visible role in most VACD activities in the UVA province, which is precisely the “core” of the VACD model.
  2. While the VACD Centre in Bandarawela continues to be the key administrative hub, the charity has since expanded across the entire province prompting the leadership to establish a unit of the Mothers’ Union in Badulla with the likelihood of two more units being established, one in Hali-Ela and the other in Welimada.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENT FACILITIES: Please visit our webpage to make your donation.

Our next newsletter will be upon our return to Sydney from Sri Lanka in late March.

We thank you all for your continued support, advice, guidance and generosity and for being part of our family who have embarked on this incredible and rewarding journey to reach out and help those who are less fortunate than us. 

Thank you, best wishes and warm regards…Felix & Yasmin

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