This is the most amazing, wonderful animal rescue refuge I've ever known. Sylvan and Suzie who run the refuge 24/7 are true angels, they care for each and every rescued animal as their own children, knowing them by name and temperment, likes and dislikes. They call the EMAR The Boo Boo Zoo....orphaned and injured wildlife, birds of all kinds, cats, farm animals, you name it, they take care of them all, even endangered wildlife. They will cure and release back into the wild all the animals that are fit to return. Otherwise, they have separate living quarters designed to give safe access to the outdoors for all animals, even felines with AIDs, keeping them protected and the other animals protected as well. Instead of being rewarded for their efforts, however, Sylvan and Suzie get harassed by paper pushing, animal hating bureaucrats. These people deserve a medal of honor, the Nobel Peace Prize. Visiting their sanctuary is like visiting the Garden of Eden...lots of love and harmony. They are angels.

Nivasa Foundation helps stop human trafficking and seeks to end the cycle of slavery, one child at a time. Nivasa is a mighty little non-profit run by a mighty and wonderful woman, Beatrice Fernando. Beatrice has a heart for women who are caught in the cycle of poverty, human trafficking and slavery and she works tirelessly so that Nivasa can help as many families as possible on a shoe string budget.

Beatrice was once a victim of human trafficking in Lebanon. She survived the beatings and abuse by jumping off her captor's 4th floor balcony. Miraculously, she made back to her home in Sri Lanka and eventually came to America, but she did not stop there. Because other women in Sri Lanka continue to have trafficking and slavery horror stories like hers, many not surviving their ordeal, Beatrice began the non-profit Nivasa Foundation from her new home in Massachusetts. Nivasa serves to educate people at home and abroad about human trafficking and provides financial assistance to slavery survivors in Sri Lanka to enable them to stay home with their children and avoid the continuous dangers of trafficking and slavery. The Sponsor a Child program enables women to meet the basic education and welfare needs of their children so that they can stay home, conduct a modest home business if possible to supplement their income and not seek overseas employment which often leads to slavery and abuse.

It is a huge task. Nivasa needs more volunteers, more publicity, more sponsors and donors, and more people who would have Beatrice come as a guest speaker and eloquently and passionately describe her own experience while also seeking support for the countless other women who are trapped as she once was in the cycle of poverty and slavery.

The Nivasa Foundation is unique, it is committed to helping the voiceless, the women and children who have no means of support, no government assistance, no way to even pay for school uniforms or bus transportation. Nivasa has given hope and assistance to many families who only want to raise their children and provide education and nutrition so they can walk away from poverty and have a future.