Results: In its first year of operations the ABDF completed several significant projects. They include:
The Navatkadu Water Tank. Navatkadu is a hamlet in the interior that until the summer of 2007 was under the control of the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE), the rebel group fighting against the Sri Lankan Government. Having no source of drinking water, the villagers were reliant on a government water truck which drove through the village once a day. If you missed the truck, your family had no water. The ABDF, in co-operation with the local District Secretary, built a 5,000 liter water tank. Now the water truck fills the tank and the villagers have access to clean water all day. This project has proven so popular and effective that two nearby villages have requested tanks of their own.
The Kaluwankerny Computer Lab. A coastal hamlet of fisher-folk, Kaluwankerny has a single school to serve all the children of the area. In 2006 they were given computers, but no resources to get them set up and running. As a result, the computers and printers were sitting in a storage area, still in their boxes, unopened. Seeing what a waste of resources this was, the ABDF provided the funds to set up a computer lab, complete with computer tables and chairs, and brought in technicians to set up and network the computers themselves. Now the school is fully wired, and even has internet access.
Thiraimadhu Seedling Project. The coastal villages of Kallady and Navalady were devastated by the tsunami. The survivors from both villages were resettled inland in an area called Thiraimadhu. The ABDF was asked to supply 2,000 coconut seedlings for the village. Once planted, the seedlings will begin to bear fruit in five years. Coconut is an integral part of Sri Lankan cuisine, and besides supplying shade, the mature palms will provide food, as well as income from the sale of excess coconuts. After six months of nursery care, the seedlings were given to the villagers in October 2008. Since then, the ABDF has received a request to fund community gardens to help the tsunami refugees become more food-independent.
The Sri Krishna School Electricity Project. Located in the village of Valachchenai, Sri Krishna School hosts students from nearby farming areas, as well as the kids from a nearby war-displacement camp. In 2007 the school received a beautiful two-storied school building, complete with ceiling fans, a well and water pump system, a large kitchen (the students receive both breakfast and lunch at the school) and other amenities. The building, furniture, and supplies cost millions of rupees to build. However, for whatever reason no one bothered to hook the building to the local power grid; the power lines for which run directly across the street. This resulted in the children trying to study in the sweltering dark, with a waterless kitchen and toilets that didn’t work. As the families of the children are all sustenance farmers, the chance of the school collecting the 15,000 rupees (about $150US) from the parents was non-existent. Recognizing the huge waste of time, energy and money this represented, the ABDF provided the funds to connect the building to the power grid, thus giving the children a comfortable environment conducive towards their education.
Other projects have included the digging of wells, providing materials for a gravel road in a tsunami resettlement village, donating books to a local girl’s school, scholarship money for an impoverished medical student, and repairing the homes of destitute widows with no living relatives.
Target demographics: Residents of Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka
Direct beneficiaries per year: Varied - more than 500
Geographic areas served: Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka
