In the Wayamba District of Sri Lanka, there are approximately 35 orphanages and over 900 orphans under the care of Child Development Centers. These development centers are directly under the supervision of the Department of Probation and Child Care Services – the State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre School and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and School Services.
The services of these Child Development Centers, as per the Department’s mandate, include the following –
- Provide care as a warden and protection for orphans, abandons, misled and destitutes.
- Rehabilitation and social reintegration of the institutionalized children;
- Investigation, supervising providing aids to voluntary organizations and institutions engaged in children’s welfare services;
- Pre childhood development;
- Promote the rights of the children;
- Adaptation / foreign and local;
- Counseling and Training
As per the Warden – Mrs. Deepani Shanthikumar – of the Dummaladeniya Child Development Centre in Wennapuwa (Wayamba District), there is currently an orphan crisis in the Wayamba District with the number of orphans increasing on an annual basis. Furthermore, the government has only allocated 4500 lkr (USD 15) per child per month. This is a paltry amount versus the actual cost of effective child development. Mrs. Shanthikumar claims that without private donations, the operation would have to shutdown.
In Q1 of 2022, Ceylon Exports & Trading’s factory management partnered with Mrs. Shanthikumar to identify a few of the Dummaladeniya Child Development Center’s urgent requirements and purchased computer tables, chairs and stationery for over 50 children.
