Our Ongoing Projects

Arthacharya recently opened two new Community Colleges in Godakawela, in the Ratnapura district, and Balapitiya, in the Galle district, to create self-employment opportunities for community members, especially married women living below the poverty line.

In Sri Lanka, a large number of students drop out of school before reaching the O Levels or at that level, due to poverty, a lack of facilities and teachers in schools, and parental ignorance. In areas such as Tanamalwila and Wellawaya, where Arthacharya and Arthavida operate, travelling to school is a major challenge in the interior because schools are located far away and bus services are poor or non-existent. Besides, the wild elephant menace is a serious problem that children encounter when they go to school early in the morning.

Many women in the difficult areas where we work remain unemployed and without any income of their own after marriage, which often occurs early. Our Community Colleges, which serve low-income communities, conduct a market scan to identify which forms of self-employment are viable in the local market, enabling women to eventually start small businesses they can run from home. Our training programmes are designed based on the findings of the market scan. Men, who are often underemployed due to a lack of irrigation during the dry season and longstanding droughts, are also a focus group of the programme.

The outcomes and impacts of the Community College programme, already implemented in Wellawaya, Tanamalwila, and Nikaweratiya, are impressive. Our surveys show that a high percentage of trainees earn an independent income from their small businesses. Some have grown to the point that they are no longer small, even creating job opportunities for others.

Another special feature of the Community College is that, through its partnership with Arthavida, Arthacharya’s microfinance arm, beneficiaries can access loans at a reasonable interest rate.

Sampath Foundation in the Netherlands played a key role in mobilising donor support for the two new additions to the Community College network, as it has always done. In Balapitiya, the school is funded by an anonymous donor, while in Godakawela, the Community College building is to be erected soon, with resources from the Vebego Foundation. The location for the Godakawela Community College was proposed by Iresha and Inoka Knops, the Dutch sisters who will fund the College's operational activities.

At present, Arthacharya, together with the Sampath Foundation, plans to establish another Community College in Puttalam, an area facing significant ecological and infrastructure challenges.