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Foundation of Goodness
The Foundation of Goodness was formed by an ex Rotarian Kushil Gunasekera in 1999.
The main purpose of the foundation was to alleviate poverty and provide sustainable livelihoods
to the poorer areas of the country. The Foundation was based in Seenigama – a village in the town of Hikkaduwa in the South of Sri Lanka. Seenigama is the hometown of the founder Kushil.
When the tsunami of 26th December 2004 struck Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa was one of the worst
affected areas. Thirty-foot high waves swept through the town destroying everything in its wake
even up to two kilometers inland. Several innocent children and the aged perished in the tragedy.
Kushil’s house – a beautifully maintained “holiday home” complete with swimming pool and
tennis courts, was reduced to a muddy mess. Bodies of children were in the pool – there was
debris all around – the walls of the house still carry the water mark – the level of the waves almost touching the high ceiling.
Most of the hard work put in by the Foundation in the village was all destroyed; but they began
again to slowly pick up the pieces and with the help of many donors from near and far they were
soon helping people to patch their lives up again.
One of the biggest challenges facing the foundation was housing. They needed to build 600 new
houses for the people of Seenigama and the neighbouring three villages.
Colombo Uptown has had very close ties with Kushil and the Foundation and our club unanimously agreed to support Kushil’s housing programme. A standard house being built by the foundation consists of a living/dining room,2 bedrooms, kitchenette and toilet and costs approximately Rs 270,000/=. (USD 2,700).
Our Club has donated five houses so far and we continue to collect funds to enable us to donate
more houses.
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