Tangalle Children’s Relay – Spring Update
Mahendra Andrahennadige, Manager TCR

TCR continues to be a critical component of the well being of many post tsunami families living outside of Tangalle.  With the support of RMF, TCR over the past year, in addition to education and meals for children has

• Hosted a Kids art and craft work exhibition for year 2008
• Hosted a Kid’s year end concert to demonstrate their learning skills.
• Renovated and fixed a new roof to our sand play house.
• Provided Medical Clinic for kids, other children and adults in the region.
• Initiated Recruitment of new kids for year 2009.

Within two days, we were able to finish the roof

Now it looks much better and the children can again play in there.

Our results and/or accomplishments achieved over the past year include:

• TCR preschool staff has introduced some new subjects for our kid’s education system such as, English, disaster awareness, communication and harmony among different nations. Even though we did not have enough timing to get a better result last year, our staff is fully dedicated to make it practical and useful.
• The third semester is very important for our kids. It is scheduled to perform Art work exhibition and year end concert during this period. We have organized a beautiful exhibition of Art and Craft work of our kids. It was exhibit not only for the parents, but also some school children and neighbors were presented. They all were very satisfied to see the kids work. Most of them praised TCR for their performance. http://tangallechildren.page.tl/Exhibition-08.htm
• 11 of our kids are attending school for grade one in January 2009. Mainly these kids and second year kids too joined their big event in December to get ready for Year end Concert. The teachers and parents had also to work hard to prepare them for the event. We have organized to give a present for each kids after the concert along with a certificate for their preschool education at TCR. http://tangallechildren.page.tl/KIDS-CONCERT-DEC-2008.htm
• By the end of year 2008, TCR preschool has completed its mission to prepare 11 kids ready to start school education. The parents of those children are very much appreciating our service.
• By now, we have selected 8 new kids that suit our conditions to recruit for New Year. We have carefully selected them by gathering all the information about their family and financial situation.

It is hard to measure the impact of our services. However, TCR is always in touch with the parents for their comments and updates. To our surprise, all the parents are making well comments and thanks for this project and the services provided for them. The quality of the service is always to the standard. TCR can observe the development in each family. The foundations of these families are getting stronger and stabilized. They get more and more opportunities to invest for the family income. TCR in the meantime has individually looked into family situation and planning the child birth. The confidence the parents have on us is more worth and it paves us to guide the families for a better future. We will find new ways and means in this year to serve those families in advance.

We further plans to prepare them not only for school education, but for social and other factors too. That is for what we have introduced new chapters for our syllabus.

Group Performances	Trips to the beach

2008/2009 Student Base

21 FAMILIES – CHILDREN at Tangalle preschool. (Up to December 2008)
16 FAMILIES – CHILDREN at Tangalle Preschool. (From January 2009 onwards)
03 FAMILIES – TEACHERS at Tangalle preschool.

In addition to our regular services, we provided for 4 families to prepare the breakfast for the children at Tangalle preschool. It is organized among the children’s families itself. So we make sure that they prepare the meals clean and nutritious. One family is given ½ $ for each preparation. It is not a large amount, but that is what TCR could offer for their services.

Learning English

And Computer Skills

We also hosted our second Mobile Medical Clinic at preschool premises. It was very successful and patients over hundred participated for the clinic. http://tangallechildren.page.tl/Free-medical-Clinic-09.htm

With Accomplishments, Come Challenges:

As a result of our staff dedication and vision, we have managed to minimize our project challenges in certain level. It is good to note that our attendance record is better compare to last year. At the beginning of this year, we have talked to the parents and advised them how to keep their children clean and tidy. We have aware them of the regular medical checkups and early disease identification methods of how their children can live healthy. We have also got the assistant from medical specialists in this regard.

• For the New Year, we have planned to take our kids outside the class room to see the world to their own eyes and to explore themselves. For example the main service providers in public and private and the local craftsman shops. We have planned to visit the Police station, Prison, Court, Hospital, Post office, a bank and some other workshops such as carpentry.

• Our problem is to handle the children while taking them away for field visit. It is a very risky task and must be very careful even at traveling by bus or walking. So we suggest hiring a vehicle to bring them to the location and back.

• We also want to give them good English practice by calling a foreigner who speaks native English. We will try to find a solution in that regards.

Community Grown Food, Emphasizing Proper Nutrition

Emphasizing National Unity and Peace

Real Medicine Tangalle Children’s Relay: Annual Concert Celebration

Pankara School Hall, Tangalle, Sri Lanka, December 2008
By Minerva Fernando and Michael Lear

Real Medicine Foundation continues to provide salary support for the teachers at the Tangalle Children’s Relay Pre-School in Tangalle. Each year, as more and more rural children pass through the school, TCR’s role as a gateway to possibility and a bright future become clearer. Here is personal account from our Project Coordinator, Mrs. Minerva Fernando, who attended the school’s year end celebration:

“When I reached the school hall it was 10am sharp. The parents and the children were there to greet me. I was thrilled at that moment and I felt very happy when a little girl with a traditional dress greeted me with a lovely bunch of flowers.
Then I met the staff and the director, Mr. Mahendra Andrahennedige, and they greeted me warmly. One of the girls in the girls’ hostel did the entire announcements of the concert. I was so happy that Mr. Mahendra had taken such decisions to give an opportunity to come out with talents of the rural children.

The stage décor was very beautiful. The concert started with the traditional dance by the small girls. Tangalle is very famous for fishing and this item of the concert, the little boys as fishermen who danced on the stage, looked very pretty.

The staff had taken much effort to create and made the boys to act such items lively on the stage. I too had a great part to do in front of all the guests, parents, well wishers and the children. It was to give a speech how I have connected with the Tangalle Relay Pre-School.

It was a proud moment for me with all the facts I explained to all, how RMF has paved the way for me to join hands with all the supportive actions of the pre-school and girls’ hostel. This gave me a chance to give a message to the people about the projects and services provided by RMF in the Southern Region of Sri Lanka.

Progress Report, October 2008

Progress Report, June 2008 (1.5 Mb pdf)

In 2006 Real Medicine Foundation made initial contribution to Tangalle Infant Relay for an enclosed playground for the children that was safe from the road, dust and dirt that was caused by heavy traffic. Recently, Real Medicine announced its continued support for Mr. Mahendra Andrahennadige and his TIR project by providing salary support for his pre-school teachers. Providing employment is just one of the ways Real Medicine Foundation supports Sri Lankan communities. Please click here for the teacher profiles.

While many of the original classes were filled with tsunami affected children, those that come now are from poor rural families who would not otherwise have access to pre-school care.   And TIR's services go well beyond mere instruction.  They provide meals for those children who have not been fed prior to coming and have sponsored families who cannot afford to support their children. Please click here and here to read about these families and their stories.

Hasindu is a very shy troubled boy.

Naweena has a hole in her heart

Over the past three years, TCR has provided invaluable services to the children of the Tangalle community however, Mr. Andradinghe project and community involvement has expended well beyond his original intention to have a school. Recognizing that he could do more for his community with the resources he had available, he established a hostel for 16 young women from out of town who needed a safe place to stay while studying in the Tangalle Area for government exams. He has also initiated a home gardening program with the Tangalle Agricultural Center for the 220 families of the Yayawatta Village on Tissa Road and has prepared a proposal for a Special Science Library Lab to meet the needs for the over 2000 college students in the Tangalle Area.

Mahendra, pictured here in blue as we make our first contribution for 2008, is a clear example of an emerging community leader. Although we are not the only supporter of his efforts, our contributions help offset his expenses and this enables him to realize the full potential of his visions for the long term benefit of his community. Please click here to visit his website.

March 21, 2007
By Mahendra Andrahennedige

"As we understand, as human beings, our greatness lies, not so much in being able to remake the world, but to make the world a better place… By doing the best we can, for ourselves not, but for the needy, where it is needed…"

HISTORY:

On December 26, 2004 a massive underwater earthquake triggered a Tsunami that unleashed its natural terror, resulting in one of the most catastrophic, deadliest disasters known in the history of man.

Even several months after the Tsunami, we realized among the community in and around Tangalle, how many people were still having so many hardships in their lives: children not attending schools, parents running here and there to get donations and to government officers to prepare and replace essential and necessary documents, totally neglecting their little kids at home. School girls were left alone at home or in orphanages without any protection...

In this situation, we took on the responsibility to start to do something for the neediest ones. We joined forces with our friends from Europe (Germany, England and France), the USA and Sri Lanka to raise funds to provide immediate and short-term humanitarian assistance.

Providing individual help to needy families:

• Renting two homes and employing three families in these homes until they would find a permanent home (LKR 13,500.00 per month).
• Helping a family to buy a spice grinding mill to originate an income to maintain two children as they were homeless and the father had lost his job (LKR 25,000.00).
• Helping an old grandmother to buy a sewing machine to carry on her life with her orphaned grandchild (LKR 25,000.00).
• Helping a father to buy a bicycle to continue to sell fish for his and his son's daily living (LKR 6,000.00).
• Helping a young father to build a pulling cart to sell snacks for his daily income (LKR 5,000.00).
• Helping a father of a little kid to make the floor cement for the child to play (LKR 5,000.00).
• Helping a grandmother to start a business making morning hoppers to support the seven family members living with her (LKR 9,500.00).
• Helping a young father to buy a fishing katamaran to feed his two children (LKR 30,000.00).
• Helping a young father to buy a second hand out-board engine to make it possible for him to do deep sea fishing again (LKR 60,000.00).
• Helping a man to buy a second hand three-wheeler to continue his business and support his two small children (LKR 100,000.00).
• Buying fishing nets for a fisherman who had lost them in the Tsunami (LKR 15,000.00).
• Buying fishing nets for a second fisherman who had lost his nets in the Tsunami (LKR 12,500.00).
• Helping a fatherless family of five (LKR 5,000.00 each month).
• Supporting a fatherless family of four (LKR 3,000.00 each month).
• Helping an old couple with their living expenses and medicine, and their widowed daughter to continue her coir rope making business (LKR 4,000.00 each month).
• Helping a university student, whose father is half blind and cannot work (LKR 3,000.00 each month).
• Helping a family to school two children (LKR 2,000.00 each month).
• Helping a fisherman to buy a new boat and built a new house after losing everything in the Tsunami (LKR 400,000.00).
• Buying a new boat (long distance) for a fisherman, who had lost it in the Tsunami (LKR 10,000,000.00).
• Implementing a new place for 16 pre-school children.
• Creating a hostel for 16 students.

PROJECTS:

1. Continuing the individual help to needy families :

Even before the Tsunami, many families were in need of social support. After the Tsunami, some of them have been helped, some haven't and still have real needs. We try to help some of them by providing direct help. We are also looking for individual sponsorship for these families, from Sri Lanka and from abroad.

	This is Kumara and his family in front of his home after the Tsunami. He received some help to build a new home, and his wife is working in our kindergarten. We are supporting them with LKR 2,000.00/month until the family can settle into normalcy. At the moment, they are much happier than before.
	Kusumalatha and her only son Sudesh in front of their home. Sudesh lost his father in the Tsunami. His mother had to start working at a road construction company as a laborer, bud did not earn enough money to give her son a better education. Now we are helping this mother and her son with monthly support to have a better education for Sudesh, who is hoping to become an engineer.
Pemanada is the father of four children. He is half blind, so he cannot find work for himself. His wife has to work as a cooking assistant at a nearby factory to feed the family. When their elder son got his exam to enter Engineering University, they found it very hard to find money for him. So we decided to help him by paying LKR3,000.00/month to cover his basic expenses at university. Now he is studying in his last year.
2. Running a student house (hostel) for 16 students:
This is like a youth hostel. Everything is provided (bed, food, tea...). The house was in bad condition and needed to be renovated.

The house is now fully furnished. There are four rooms for the students, one for the two maids, two bathrooms, a furnished kitchen, a dining room and a study room. There is also a garden, a TV and a telephone. The improvements are continuing.