ABDF

ABDF and ABDF-Lanka are sister organizations, with ABDF acting in the United States as support for ABDF Lanka. ABDF Lanka was formally registered with the Government of Sri Lanka in 2010, and will register with the Ministry of Social Services in early 2011.

ABDF Lanka was formed in response to concerns by the Government of Sri Lanka with the way the business side of aid is carried out, particularly with decision-making and finance. Thus ABDF in the US is taking a back seat with regards to project activity.

ABDF Lanka currently has a Council of Directors (the equivalent to a Board of Directors in the US) comprised of five Sri Lankans and one American, ABDF Project Director Bennett Hinkley. The Council represents the ethnic and religious diversity of Sri Lanka, with both Sinhalese and Tamils represented, amongst them Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims. Two of the five Sri Lankans are women.

Bennett Hinkley will continue in his role as Project Director and all-round man-on-the-scene in Sri Lanka; in that sense nothing will change. Bennett will consult the ABDF Lanka Council of Directors in the same way he did with the US Board. Monies for projects will be funneled through ABDF Lanka from the United States, thus making our work Sri Lankan projects, rather than American ones. ABDF in the United States will continue to act as the main source of fundraising for our efforts in Sri Lanka, as well as offer technical expertise, and fund operations.

This arrangement will best serve the needs of our operations in Sri Lanka without burdening interests on either continent, as well as address the desires of the Sri Lankan Government regarding local control over projects.