Helping Disabled Children in Sri Lanka: VACD’s Philanthropic Outreach from Australia

An Item circulated by Felix Stephen of Melbourne, with the heading “Their Future in Our Hands” …. being the VACD Australia & Sri Lanka July & August 2024 Newsletter …… “When we give alms with our hearts, we give well”

Dear friends, colleagues, supporters, and collaborative partners,

Greetings to you, your families, loved ones, and colleagues from all of us at VACD……Annual Report: My Annual Report for FY 2023/24 to the VACD Australia Board and Fellows can be found on the following hyperlink: https://www.vacd.org.au/2024/08/14/vacd-australia-chairmanss-fy-2023-2024-annual-report-to-the-vacd-australia-board-fellows/

VACD Australia Board’s Tour of VACD Sri Lanka in July 2024:

For the very first time in the history of VACD Australia, members of our leadership team: Deputy Chairman- Greg Fendler, his wife Jenny and children Ella, Sam, Abby, and Hanna, Treasurer – James Meighan and his wife Nicole, Director Legal, Governance, Compliance & Coordinator with VACD Sri Lanka – Shanthi Manamperi and her husband Palitha, Director & Visiting Consultant to VACD Centres in Sri Lanka Gabriella Vascotto, Head of Digital Communication – Aloyna (Pinky) Taylor, joined Yasmin Stephen – Administration & Communications Secretary and myselfPhilanthropic on our recently concluded annual tour of our VACD centres in Sri Lanka.

As always, and in keeping with our strict governance and compliance framework since inception, all expenses incurred by each one of us during this extensive tour were paid for with our own personal funds.

Key Notes in brief from VACD Sri Lanka 2024 Tour:

Meeting with: Manique Gunaratne – Manager Specialised Training & Disability Resource Centre – Employer’s Federation of Ceylon. Manique commended VACD’s early childhood supported playgroup program initiated by our VACD Director Gabriella Vascotto as there are very few such programs in Sri Lanka. She very kindly offered to find suitable employment opportunities for young adults at VACD through her island wide employer network.
Meeting with: Anoushka Boralessa – Head of Business Development & Sustainability at Teardrop Hotels who sponsor our Ambagasdowa centre. They were working towards installing a water tank at this centre funded through a grant they had received and introducing income generating and skills training for our children and their parents..
VACD Australia & Sri Lanka – Joint Board meeting: Discussions were around ongoing and upcoming projects & programs, vocational training for young adults & parents, provision of exercise equipment at our centres, the early childhood supported playgroup program and the possibility of extending travel assistance to children and parents attending our centres and creating income generating opportunities for parents at our centres
More hands-on practical and theoretical training to be provided for our special educators on a regular basis given the significant number of children that now attend our centres for rehabilitation and other facilities.
Meeting with Dr. Janita Tennekoon – Director Health Services Ministry of Health Uva and her team to discuss VACD’s ongoing projects, programs and new initiatives. Our VACD Sri Lanka Director – Mr. Ranathunge was appointed to liaise and coordinate with the Health Ministry.
The team visited all three VACD centres and spent quality time with our children, their parents, families, staff and directors.
Director & Visiting Consultant to VACD Centres in Sri Lanka Gabriella Vascotto conducted a special training session at our Bandarawela centre for our teaching staff across all three centres to equip them to be ready to be trained via regular video/teleconferences to implement our planned Early Childhood Supported Playgroups Program.
Meeting with Dr. Manel Gunasekera (CEO Chitra Lane School for disabled children) who advised us to apply to the Tertiary & Vocational Education Commission of the Ministry of Education, to provide training for young adults in baking and award successful trainees a National Vocational Certificate. VACD Sri Lanka Secretary – Col. Kumarasinghe to pursue this project.

VACD’s Projects, Programs, Planned Activities in the Uva Province & Cost estimates for FY 2024/25

Continuation and extension of our Education Assistance Program and Family Assistance Program (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 20,000 P/A

Continuation and enhancements to our Nutrition Program (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 10,000 P/A

Provide travel, medical assistance to children from impoverished regions and financially stressed households and free prescribed medication to all our VACD children.

Estimate: Being Discussed and evaluated on a case by case basis

Conduct quarterly health clinics for VACD children. Implement an “outreach” program via this initiative into remote rural areas of the Uva province where parents having children with disabilities need to be made aware of the reasons for their child’s health condition and how to obtain medical guidance and expert advice, in collaboration with the local Ministry of Health (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 50,000 P/A

Conduct regular leadership, vocational, computer, Excel/Word, motivational & other skills training etc. for VACD children, their parents, siblings (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 10,000 P/A

Provide training, equipment and supplies to implement income generating activities and projects for older VACD children attending our centres (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 10,000 P/A

Implement household income generating programs for VACD parents and families by providing resources such as sewing machines, overlockers, fabric etc., training in home gardening, animal husbandry, bee keeping and other income generating activities in collaboration with Teardrop Hotels and other local & provincial government agencies/specialists (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 50,000 P/A

Provide regular hands-on specialist training for all our assistant teachers at our VACD centre in Bandarawela on a quarterly basis (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 10,000 P/A

Provide equipment for physical training, sports, exercise, recreation, art, craft, painting, music, dance, singing, vocational and life skills training, audio-visual equipment, computers, printers/scanners for rehabilitation, workshops & seminars for computer literacy training and additional office furniture to facilitate our capacity enhancement program (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 30,000 P/A

Implement our “Early Childhood Supported Playgroup Program” for young children with developmental concerns by VACD Australia Director Ms Gabriella Vascotto – Visiting Consultant to VACD centres in Sri Lanka, Learning Consultant Autism/Behaviour and Supported Playgroup Project Consultant for Catholic Education Melbourne, assisted by Netaisha Harvey – VACD’s Head of Inclusive Education & Partnerships (based on available data and projections).

Estimate: A$ 20,000 P/A

Australian Dollar Donations via Direct Bank Transfers:

Name of Account: Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities Limited

Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Liverpool & Castlereagh Streets Branch,

Cnr of Liverpool & Castlereagh Streets, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Account No: 1130 2156 BSB: 062-016 BIC/SWIFT Code: CTBAAU2S

Sri Lanka Rupee Donations via Direct Bank Transfers:

Name of Account: Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities Private Limited
Bank: Seylan Bank, 240, Badulla Road, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka
Account Number: 046035439722001

Note: Please send an email to: fstephen@bigpond.net.au ensuring that your name and email address are mentioned when making direct bank transfers. Thank you

International Multicurrency Currency Donations:

International donors who wish to support our mission can do so through the Benevity Causes portal via the hyperlink below for all your multi-currency donation options:

https://mygoodness.benevity.org/community/search?query=vacd&country=036

The full list of all your donation options:

The following hyperlink will enable you to find all donation options that are available to you on our webpage: https://www.vacd.org.au/donate/

Regular updates on our VACD Facebook Page:

Ms Aloyna (Pinky) Taylor, VACD’s Head of Digital Communication, posts regular news and updates on a range of VACD activities on our Facebook page. I would encourage you to please follow us on https://www.facebook.com/vacdlk for timely news about our mission. Please also support us by following, liking, commenting, and sharing VACD posts with your family, friends, loved ones, colleagues etc. so that your help will enable us, via the algorithms built into this electronic social networking & communication platform, to extend our outreach to many more who, like you, share in our vision and mission for disabled children in Sri Lanka. Thank you.

A big “Thank You” to all of you from all of us at VACD and children with disabilities and their families in the region

Our journey is bound to be long and challenging. The official and unofficial number of children and their families who need our love, support, compassion, and care are sizeable and increasing steadily. We look forward to your continued generosity, active support for our undertaking and you being partners with us in this most fulfilling and worthwhile 12+ year journey that we traverse together.

Please visit us at: https://www.vacd.org.au/ and reach out to us at: fstephen@bigpond.net.au should you choose to support our mission. Please share this newsletter with your network so that together we certainly can make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities, one by one!!!

Many thanks, best wishes, and warmest regards…. Felix

Felix Stephen

Chairman of the Board of Directors – VACD Ltd. Sydney – Australia – https://www.vacd.org.au/

Member of the Advisory Board – VACD Sri Lanka

Member of the Advisory Board – Two Leaves Foundation Sri Lanka

Senior Associate – Cognoscenti Group – Sydney – Australia- http://www.cognoscenti.global/

Member of Investment Committee – Arrive Wealth Management – Brisbane – Australia – https://www.arrivewealthmanagement.com.au/

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ALSO NOTE … This general WEB-Notice at ……. https://www.vacd.org.au/about-us/#:~:text=What%20Do%20We%20Do%3F,dance%2C%20and%20computer%20literacy%20training.

Our Mission & Vision

To empower and uplift children with disabilities and their families living in the poorest regions of Sri Lanka and to build strong and engaged communities who embrace children with disabilities and encourage a life of fulfilment and inclusion.

Who Are We?

We are a not-for-profit group of philanthropic volunteers from a variety of backgrounds working together to better the lives of children with disabilities. Our volunteers range from VACD Ltd board members who have a background in finance and the corporate world, to parents of children with disabilities who form working groups and committees.

Our Goal

VACD’s goal is to enrich the lives of children with disabilities in some of the poorest provinces of Sri Lanka where there is an acute shortage of proper infrastructure and specialist services available to them. We achieve this by providing our children with life skills, vocational training, medical & rehabilitation facilities, and together with their parents and community ensure that these children are prepared to be productive and independent individuals.

What Do We Do?

To help our children achieve their dreams and aspirations our VACD centres provide them with special education, life skills, vocational skills as well as physical education, music, dance, and computer literacy training.

We sponsor and equip health clinics at local hospitals and facilitate visits to our centres by consultant paediatricians who perform regular check-ups and prescribe medication and rehabilitation for our children. We conduct therapy and rehabilitation workshops for children and awareness training and guidance for parents to support them with the challenges of caring for their children and families.

These facilities will ensure that our children will be able to function optimally and lessen the burden on their parents, carers, and the community.

How Do We Achieve Our Mission?

To accomplish our mission, we establish VACD Centres in key townships, engage with local communities, religious groups, businesses, government, and medical authorities, and through engagement, awareness programs, and communication, strive to eliminate poverty, ignorance, discrimination, social isolation, vilification, and abuse.

We form collaborative partnerships with like-minded organisations and individuals and together conduct workshops to educate and train parents and carers to better understand their children’s biological challenges and provide a higher level of care.

Our community awareness programs are designed to promulgate and encourage local communities to value, uphold and respect the rights of children with disabilities and treat them as equals.