Projects
Proposed
Vantharumoolai School Playground Project
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Coming in 2010!
- Location: Vantharumoolai, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:About 150 kindergartners
- Objective:Repair a playground
- Estimated cost:$1,325 US
The school was used to house refugees fleeing from the 2007 military offensive in the east. The place took quite a beating, physically, and neither the government nor the organizations caring for the refugees has offered to make any repairs or replace destroyed property. This has left the school with a whole list of repair and replacement needed just to bring the place up to pre-2007 status, which to be honest, wasn’t at that high of a level to begin with.
Thirruper Water Tank Project
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Coming in 2010!
- Location: Thirruperruntharai, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:About 1,000 families
- Objective:Provide water distribution
- Estimated cost:$1,200 US
As with much of the District, the 8 month long dry season means severe water shortage. The local District Secretary does provide potable water to Thirrupers’ residents; the 6,000 liter truck visits Thirruper three times a day. The problem is one of storage and distribution.
Peace Village Preschool Project
January 1st, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Location: Ollikulam, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:100 Households
- Objective:Giving tsunami refugee children a head start
- Estimated cost:To Be Determined
Peace Village, a tsunami resettlement in the village of Ollikulam, consists of 100 families displaced by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. It is a mixed settlement of Muslims and Tamils mostly from the Kattankudy area, about 5 km away on the coast. It is also the site of our road building project.
Current
Education Incentive Association Fund
March 29th, 2010 by Bennett Hinkley- Happening now!
- Location: Eastern University (Chenkallady, Sri Lanka)
- Recipients:250 members, approximately 200 high school students/weekend
- Objective:Encourage high school students to study math and science.
- Estimated cost:$680 US
The Education Incentive Association (EIA) consists of a group of medical and engineering students from Eastern University, which serves Batticaloa District, located about 12 miles north of Batticaloa. In existence for 15 years, membership is made up of around 50 active student members and 200 University alumni. The purpose of the Association is to promote math and science among Batticaloa high school students with the aim of increasing the number of medical and engineering undergrads.
Ongoing
Navatkadu Testing Project
May 6th, 2010 by Bennett Hinkley- Happening now!
- Location: Navatkadu, Batticaloa
- Recipients:49 fifth grade students
- Objective:Prepare disadvantaged kids for a scholarship exam
- Estimated cost:$750 US
The result is that, at our project site, Navatkadu Vidyalayam (School), no child has passed the exam in over 12 years. This has an unfortunate snowball effect; since no one has passed in more than a decade, parents don’t think it’s possible and so don’t encourage their kids. It only reinforces the lack of education in the area. This project seeks to help change that.
Mary Bernadad Family Project
August 26th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Location: Dutch Bar, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipient:1 Household
- Objective:Help a family get a leg up
- Estimated cost:$500 US/yr
Mary and her husband had a love marriage, meaning it was not arranged. She is Roman Catholic, he was Hindu. As a result, the new couple was ostracized by both families, and disowned by both her parish church and his kovil (Hindu temple). This is a common and extremely unfortunate occurrence in Sri Lanka, and effectively cuts both people off from their communities. He eventually went to work in Saudi Arabia where in 2003 he was murdered under mysterious circumstances, leaving Mary a widow with six children. The kids range from the eldest daughter, Kavitha, to the youngest daughter, Abinaya (Abi) who was only two when the tsunami hit.
Peace Village Road Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Ollikulam, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:100 Households
- Objective:Provide transport for rubble to create a gravel road
- Estimated cost:$1,000 US
Peace Village is a tsunami resettlement village of 100 households, which officially opened in October 2007, almost three years after the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunamis. Most of the refugees hail from the Kattankudy area, a predominately Muslim enclave 7 km south of Batticaloa. Before the current civil conflict, Christians, Hindus and Muslims lived side-by-side in harmony. In an effort to reintegrate the various religious groups, the main sponsors of Peace Village, Muslim Aid UK, mandated that at least 25% of the households be reserved for non-Muslims. As of October 2007, all households have been filled.
Selwenthiran Family Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! May 6, 2009
- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipient:1 Household
- Objective:Funds for preschool and medication
- Estimated cost:$216 US/yr
Selwenthiran (pronounced Sell-ven-tee-ran) married Janthi (Jan-tee) some years ago, and has one daughter, Panvithra (Pan-vitra), who is three years old. Selwenthiran is an Upcountry Tamil from Nuwara Eliya and works as a day laborer, which is the hardest, lowest paying, and financially unstable work a man can do in Sri Lanka. His wife, Janthi, suffers from severe mental disease; she regularly has fainting fits, and even more regularly grand-mal types of seizures. She has never been diagnosed. For days after her seizures, Janthi wanders about with a vacant, haunted stare on her face. (The Program Director can attest to this himself; he has seen her walking the neighborhood.) As a result, she can not work. To be honest, she looks very sick and one has to wonder how much longer she’ll be around.
Eastern University Medical Student Scholarship
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! June 6, 2009
- Location: Eastern University, Chenkallady, Sri Lanka
- Recipient:1 student
- Objective:1 year stipend and books
- Estimated cost:$414/yr US
Eastern University is located about 18km north of Batticaloa, and serves as the only University for the District’s residents. The University itself opened in 1981, and is still under construction, which proceeds off and on, very, very slowly.
The University only admits five medical undergraduate students a year. These positions are extremely competitive, given the number of students who apply. Tuition and housing is provided for by the government, as is a small stipend. However, due to fiscal problems, payment of the stipend is often long delayed and not in the full amount. For example, the last stipend paid out was almost nine months ago, and it covered only two months of a previous six month gap.
English Conversation Course
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Navatkudah, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:4 Students
- Objective:“Talk, talk, talk! All we do is talk!”
- Estimated cost:NO COST
Naturally, Program Director Bennett Hinkley’s time is not spent 100%, 24-7, on ABDF projects. The nature of project work is that there will be very busy times punctuated by periods of little activity. It’s sort of like the monsoons in Sri Lanka; when it rains it pours, otherwise it’s a drought.
Facilitation for Foreign Donors
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:Various
- Objective:Coordinating between foreign donors and those in need.
- Estimated cost:NO COST
One of the missions of ABDF.org is to act as a conduit and facilitator for foreigners to plan and run their projects in Batticaloa, using our local expertise and contacts. Towards this, in 2008 and 2009, ABDF.org has been able to offer assistance, free of charge to the following groups and individuals:
Grant Writing / Grant Mentoring
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Various, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:Various
- Objective:Helping local organizations help themselves.
- Estimated cost:NO COST
One part of the ABDF’s mission is to help local Sri Lankan groups help themselves. A big part of this is grant writing.
Completed
Irunuroovil School Fence Project
May 6th, 2010 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Irunuroovil, Batticaloa
- Recipients:31 students, grades 1-5, + teachers
- Objective:Keep elephants off of the school grounds
- Estimated cost:$900 US
The school abuts the jungle, which rears up directly behind the newly-rebuilt toilets. There are, among other animals, wild elephants. These fellows frequently cross into the school grounds on their way to the village, the houses of which lie mostly on the opposite side of the road. In doing so they do a lot of damage, seeing the school infrastructure more as something fun to easily knock down, rather than move around. The simple solution is a barbed wire fence, which the elephants don’t seem to like, made with cement posts. The problem has been, in the past, the barbed wire and cement.
Puhalidam Annex Project
March 29th, 2010 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Mamangam, Batticaloa
- Recipients:19 disabled children; three teachers
- Objective:Build annex for a school for the disabled
- Estimated cost:$800 US
The school currently serves the needs of 19 children, but there is demand for more and so the school would like to accept 10 more. However, the current facilities are inadequate for 29 children, and so the organization is building an annex behind the current building. Consisting of three rooms (two classroom and a kitchen – which the current building does not have) and two additional toilets, Puhalidam has managed to begin building. (Construction in Sri Lanka is usually done piecemeal, as money come in.)
Vantharumoolai School Furniture Project
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Vantharumoolai, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:250 students
- Objective:Furnish classrooms
- Estimated cost:$1,100 US
Vantharumoolai (Van-TAH-roo-moo-lie) is a village about 18 miles north of Batticaloa, site of last year’s computer lab.. The town is mostly made up of rice farmers, a handful of small shopkeepers and craftsmen (mechanics and such), and a few employees of Eastern University, which is some 5 miles south. The school at Vatharumoolai serves the entire village, starting with kindergarten.
St. Cecilia’s Music Program, Part 1
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1,500 students
- Objective:Replace school’s musical instruments
- Final cost:$2,500 US
St. Cecilia’s is widely known for its marching band, despite the fact that most of the instruments were bought just before the outbreak of the war. Once the piano was purchased, Bennett was instructed to spend the balance on new band instruments.
St. Cecilia’s Multimedia and English Lab Project
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1,500 students
- Objective:High-tech equipment to aid teaching
- Final cost:$2,100 US
We developed a list of needs for the school, and prioritized it. First on the list was a set of multimedia equipment to be used for teaching large classes, and a computer setup for the above mentioned English Library.
Hindu College Math Lab Project
December 29th, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Completed!
- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1,100 students, 9 math teachers
- Objective:Set up a math lab
- Final cost:$175 US
The room for the math lab was only just being cleared out, cleaned up, and undergoing a light refurbishment (painting, etc.) and was going to be furnished with leftover furniture from other classrooms.
Zahira IDP Camp Special Request Project
August 9th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! August 09, 2009
- Location: Zahira IDP Camp, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:124 war-displaced families
- Objective:Give refugees a day of fun!
- Final cost:$45 US
Normally ABDF would not give money for food and entertainment, but given our Project history with SVP; the Widow Nesamany Project, the Chenkalady SVP House Repair Project, the Valachenai SVP Roof Projects #1 and #2, and how accurate, efficient, and enjoyable working on these projects has been, our Project Director felt it only proper to give the money. And so, Bennett Hinkley was invited to participate in the fun.
Valachenai SVP Roof Project #2
July 15th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! August 23, 2009
- Location: Valachenai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1 family
- Objective:Leak-proof roof
- Final cost:$190 US
The house has essentially the same problems as the house next door, the site of our other project. It is constructed of tree branches and cadjan leaves directly onto the sand. Thus our solution is the same as well; we will provide a raised cement foundation for the family living quarters (which is only one room), proper 2×4 wall supports, and a tin roof.
Shalampailkerny Water Tank Project
July 11th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Location: Shalampailkerny, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:68 households
- Objective:Build a water tank
- Estimated cost:$1,300 US
Project Director, Bennett Hinkley, was taken to Shalampailkerny by his friend Pushpakaran, as it was his friend’s birthplace as well as the location of a minor massacre in the mid-80s, Pushpakaran’s father having been one of the victims. But in addition to showing the Project Director his ancestral home, and the place from which his family fled during the height of the violence, Pushpakaran also wanted to help his village. He wanted to know if we could build the village a water tank.
Valachenai SVP Roof Project #1
July 11th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! August 23, 2009
- Location: Valachenai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1 ill widow
- Objective:Leak-proof roof
- Final cost:$190 US
Pilomena lives in an old cadjan house directly on the sand; there is no floor to speak of. It is so low that one can barely upright inside. It’s constructed entirely of old tree branches that have been stripped down. The cadjan itself is old and badly needs replacing. It’s obvious that such a place is completely uninhabitable during the monsoon; it is barely so even when the weather is dry.
Pallakadu Water Tank
July 11th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! August 09, 2009
- Location: Pallakadu, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:50 households
- Objective:Build a water tank
- Final cost:$1,123 US
The most local government level in Sri Lanka is the Divisional Secretary (DS). In Sri Lanka, provinces are Divided into Districts, and Districts into Divisions. All of our water tanks have been built in Manmunai West Division with the approval and cooperation of the DS office.
Chenkalady SVP House Repair Project
July 6th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! July 20, 2009
- Location: Chenkalady, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1 family
- Objective:Leak-proof roof for refugee family
- Final cost:$140 US
The Viknaraja family wishes to thank ABDF and it’s donors for the assistance. The tin roof represents a significant improvement to their house, as does the roof to the toilet. Incidentally, we purchased an extra tin sheet and were able to provide a door for the toilet.
Mangikkadu School Fence Project
June 26th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! September 5, 2009
- Location: Mangikkadu, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:30 students, two teachers
- Objective:Provide fence security for a school
- Final Cost:$590 US
Mangikkadu, the site of one of our water tank projects, is a village of 127 households about 9 km west of Batticaloa. It is on the opposite (“land-side”) shore of the lagoon that separates Batticaloa from the interior. Until 2007 it was LTTE-held territory. This meant that development was almost non-existent before the government re-took the area, and today development is an extremely slow process.
Mangikkaddu Water Tank Project
May 1st, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! June 22, 2009
- Location: Mangikkadu, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:127 families
- Objective:Build a water tank.
- Final cost:$1,265 US
Mangikaddu is a hamlet of 127 families three kilometers from Navatkadu, the site of last year’s water tank project. That particular project was so useful, so popular, that two villages have requested their own tanks; we have chosen Mangikkadu to build first.
Vantharumoolai School Computer Lab Project
April 27th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! August 25, 2009
- Location: Vantharumoolai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1,500 students
- Objective:Computer lab for a rural school
- Final cost:$1030 US
The problem at Vantharumoolai is the same as that we discovered in Kaluwankerny; the school has 12 computers sitting in a room with no resources to create a lab for them.
Puhalidam Transportation Project
April 27th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Project Update! July 6, 2009
- Location: Mamangam, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:19 disabled children, 3 teachers
- Objective:Trishaw rental
- Final cost:$1,060 US
Traditionally disabled children in Sri Lanka are seen as shaming their families, and were frequently hidden away from outside contact. Not only did this exacerbate the child’s mental and physical problems, it prevented them from developing the social skills that would otherwise enable them to be productive members of society.
Miss Rathika Sewing Project
April 12th, 2009 by Rachel Bennet- Location: Pavatkodichchenai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1 family directly, approx. 400 families indirectly
- Objective:A sewing machine for school uniforms
- Final cost:$298 US
ABDF.org felt that providing Miss Rathika with a new sewing machine would not only help her and her family, but would prevent all those parents from having to locate someone else with a machine in an area that has no real villages but is populated by scattered farmsteads.
Kattankudy English Tutoring Project
January 1st, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! August 10, 2009
- Location: Kattankudy, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:40-50 students/day, 6 days a week
- Objective:Provide ESL books for tutoring
- Final cost:$128 US
English instruction is slowly becoming the norm in Sri Lanka. Especially among the Tamil and Muslim communities, fluency in English is the only way for children to advance in society and benefit their families and communities. Unfortunately, although the government has mandated English instruction, it has largely been unable to follow through with the resources to do so, especially in the minority communities on the east coast.
EDS After-School Tutoring Project
January 1st, 2009 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! April 25, 2009
- Location: Kaluthavalai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:400 students, 50 volunteer staff
- Objective:Helping teachers teach their students
- Final cost:$717 US
Kaluthavalai (Ka-loot-ah-va-lee) is a village on the outskirts of Kaluwanchakudy, about 25 km (18 miles) south of Batticaloa. The community is comprised of sustenance rice farmers and bettle leaf harvesters. The area has the general reputation of being one of the more backwards of the District’s costal strip. Needless to say this reputation is only cemented in the public eye by the dismal state of the three village schools.
Kaluwankerny Computer Lab Project
November 16th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! April 12, 2009
- Location: Kaluwankerny, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Objective:Computer lab for rural school
- Recipients:945 Students
- Final cost:$1,166 US
For once we have a project that starts happily. Kaluwankerny is a small town about 15 km north of Batticaloa. About 4 km off the main north-south highway, the town is right on the coast and was heavily affected by the Boxing Say tsunami of 2004. Kaluwankerny Vidyalayam, the only school serving the town, was particularly hard hit, and for the next two years classes were conducted outside, under the tin roof of a series of temporary shelters. (Ok, so this part isn’t happy, but the rest is.)
Navatkadu Water Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Navatkadu, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:600 Households
- Objective:Clean drinking water for one village
- Final cost:$1,268 US
Navatkadu is a village of some 600 households about 10 km west of Batticaloa. Formerly held by the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Elam (LTTE), the area was recently recaptured by government troops. The village itself was pillaged by government troops, who stripped the village bare of anything that could be moved.
Peryapullumalai School Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Project Update! May 1, 2009
- Location: Peryapullumalai, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:120 Students, Grades 1-9
- Objective:Refurbishing a school in a war-devastated village.
- Final cost:NO COST
Peryapullumalai (Perry-ah-pull-mah-lie) is a small village about two hours west of Batticaloa. Originally it had a mixed population of Singhalese and Tamils who were mostly rice farmers. When the LTTE took control of the area, the Singhalese were ethnically cleansed out. The village became the front line of the western edge of LTTE territory; in fact the school project site is within view of what used to be the governments forward defense lines.
Sri Krishna Vidyalayam School Electrification Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Karungalisolai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:95 students, 5 teachers
- Objective:Connect school to electric grid
- Final cost:$141 US
Karungalisolai is a village outside Valanchchenai, in the northern part of Batticaloa District. As it abuts the ocean, it was heavily affected by the 2004 tsunami. In addition, the area has seen a flood of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) into the area as a result of last years’ 2007 military offensive; the front lines were/are a mere 8 kilometers distant. Continued low-level unrest, coupled with discouragement from security forces means that most IDPs have not yet returned home.
Tsunami Resettlement Village Seedling Project
November 15th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Thiraimadu, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:1,000 Households
- Objective:Sustainable food source for village
- Final cost:$943 US
Thiraimadu is a large-scale tsunami resettlement village. The section currently under construction will house 1,000 families, and is expected to be open for move-in sometime in June 2008.
The American-Batticaloa Development Fund has received a request for help from the Sri Lanka Friendship Society, one of the sponsoring organizations. The request is to provide three coconut seedlings for each household. Once the trees mature, which should take five years, they will provide each household with shade, food (a major part of the Sri Lankan diet) and excess produce that can be sold. Upon purchase, the seedlings will require eight months of nursery care before they can be transplanted onto the village site.
Widow Nesamany Awning Project
November 14th, 2008 by Bennett Hinkley- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipient:1
- Objective:Keep the rain out
- Final cost:$37 US
Mrs. Nesamany’s situation came to the attention of the American-Batticaloa Development Fund through its relationship with The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Mrs. Nesamany is 65 years old and a widow with no other family. She lives in a one-room brick shed in a mostly-demolished house. She has no regular means of income, other than what she can pick up helping others cook, and a 300 rupee monthly allowance given her by St. Paul. To give context, a 12oz bottle of Coke costs 60 rupees.
St. Cecilia’s Girls School English Lab
July 30th, 2008 by Melton Cartes- Location: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
- Recipients:2,100 female students
- Objective:Supply English Lab
- Final cost:$455 US
St. Cecilia’s is the oldest girls school in Batticaloa District. It serves the needs of approximately 2,100 girls of junior- and high school age. Although run by nuns under the auspices of the Catholic Church, the school accepts students of all religious denominations, even offering religious instruction to the girls according to their personal confessions. There is no attempt made to convert the students, and the school celebrates the religious holidays of all attendant religions.
