Sampath Foundation built a community centre in Wellawaya, Sri Lanka. The centre was built to function as a daycare, preschool, host nutritional classes, tutoring facilities, work for suicide prevention, and provide office facilities for Arthavida, a micro financing organisation that has helped more than 1200 women in the region with microcredits. In March 2015 the project was finished.
The community in Wellawaya was in need of a location where people could gather and receive help with micro financing activities. The community centre was founded in collaboration with Arthavida, one of Rabobank Foundation’s partners. They combat poverty in Sri Lanka through micro financing but have also started various social projects in the past few years. Especially water, suicide prevention and nutrition are very important. Around 50% of the population of Wellawaya live in poverty and there is little social cohesion which are a few of the reasons that suicide rates are one of the highest in the world. The community centre was built to combat poverty and improve social cohesion.
