Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa: The project "THARUMUTHU preschool" gave the children of Hikkaduwa a new chance.

Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka located in the Southern Province, about 17 km north-west of Galle. Hikkaduwa was affected by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake along with nearby villages. The project "THARUMUTHU preschool" gave the children of Hikkaduwa a new chance. Their new preschool is far from cramped. This new base gives them a far easier start in life. THARUMUTHU PRESCHOOL

It began in 2006, with four children in a 20 m² sized shop which was rented as a stopgap solution. By 2012, there were 70 children in the over-crowded room. They had no space to play, to romp around or to study – an intolerable situation.

Sri Lanka is a shaken country. For many years, the population, of which a quarter is living below poverty line, have been suffering from a seemingly never-ending civil war and its consequences. December 26th 2004 brought even more distress. The South of Sri Lanka in particular (where the city of Hikkaduwa is situated) was hit hard by a tsunami, triggered by a seaquake in the Indian Ocean. Approximately 45,000 people died.

This tsunami was also the reason why teacher Ms Demuni Priyanga Manogika da Silva, who wanted to bring to life a preschool in Hikkaduwa, couldn't get any start-up aid from the state for the construction of a separate school building. In Sri Lanka there is compulsory schooling for children between 5 and 14 years. Basically, education is free, but there are huge differences in the quality of education – it is especially difficult for children living in the countryside. They have neither toys nor time to play, as very often they have to work on the fields. Often their parents don't earn enough money to be able to facilitate a good school education.

This is the reason why preschools play such an important role. It's here where the basics are provided to allow for a good start at school for the children, and there's also time to play, to paint and to sing. Unfortunately however, these institutions don't usually receive state funding.

As a result, on her own initiative, Ms Demuni Priyanga Manogika de Silva bought a few tables and chairs in 2006 for 30,000 Sri Lanka rupees (approximately 180,00 €) and rented a little 20 m² sized shop to grant the little children of Hikkaduwa their right to education. THARUMUTHU preschool opened on February 19th 2004 with four children. Nearly seven years later, about 70 children were looked after, and the number of children continued to increase. The situation was precarious not only due to cramped conditions in the former building, but also because the shop's landlord was constantly raising the rent. Neither the banks nor the state granted credits or wanted to support the construction of a new preschool building financially.

We took notice of the situation in Hikkaduwa through our own personal contact with Bhante Punnaratana and his aid organisation Karuna Samadhi e.V. In spring 2012, we at marketing partner were able to get an impression of the circumstances by paying a visit directly on site, and instantly made the decision to support THARUMUTHU preschool by financing the construction of a new preschool building.

The preschool opened in January 2013. Ms Demuni Priyanga Manogika da Silva currently looks after 80 children there, together with two other trained graduate teachers.