Funding update

Just 12 weeks to go before I set off on my third and final leg of trekking from the south to the northern tip of Sri Lanka. I’ve currently raised £25,000 of my £30,000 target which jumped up last month following the successful clothes sale. Most of the funds raised so far have been spent on or allocated to a refuge’s operating costs in Kandy. The refuge houses up to 80 girls and is proving to be their lifeline in what is an economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Surplus funds are being used to support carefully identified projects such as micro-finance loan initiatives for the poorest, most socially marginalised and geographically isolated women in Sri Lanka. The most economically disadvantaged women are frequently enticed abroad to work as carers, housekeepers and maids and if they go they must leave behind their husbands and children.

The projects

The funds I’m raising are being used to give women the skills to start and run their own small enterprises such as sewing, husbandry and other eco-friendly, local Sri Lankan products such as coconuts shells, dried elephant dung, locally grown grasses and plants. There are many examples where micro-finance schemes are empowering women to become more financially secure. As a direct result these initiatives are helping to keep poor and isolated families and communities together and thriving.

Suzana and Krys will be volunteering their time delivering workshops and training whilst Gill and I trek from Jaffna in the far north to Trincomolee on the east coast. As they are putting their final touches to their creative plans to upskill and help develop the girl’s resilience, Gill and I are finalising our trek plans; where we’ll be stopping, who we’ll be meeting and the adventures we’ll be sharing along the way. These we will share again through my daily blogs. 

The Pekoe Trail

At the end of the big trek and to conclude our trip, a few of us, with the guidance of a local environmentalist, Koush, and a trekker, Viraj, will be walking the newly opened route in the tea plantation areas known as The Pekoe Trail. This is a 300km, 22 stage trail through what is considered some of the most stunning mountain terrain in Southeast Asia. The stages have only recently been joined up and opened as a whole experience and it’s yet to become a widely known main attraction for those interested in walking through the old and spectacularly stunning tea plantation pathways. 

What we’re collecting to take with us this time

We each have a 30kg aircraft baggage allowance and so we are collecting the following to take with us. If you have any of the following items you’d like to donate before we set off please get in touch to arrange drop off or collection:

• Over the counter medicines eg; paracetamol and nurofen as there is a shortage in Sri Lanka
• Second hand lightweight school bags for children living in remote areas who have to travel usually on foot a long distance to school
• Maternity dresses/clothes for the girls who are pregnant living in the refuge
• Baby slings/carriers for the girls staying in the refuge who decide to keep their babies
• T shirts/blouses UK size 8-12 for the girls staying in the refuge

Rather than taking stationary items including books, pens, pencils etc, as they’re heavy, we’ll purchase out there which has the benefit of helping the Sri Lankan economy.

Further sponsorship – if you’d like to help me to help those in need in Sri Lanka, whilst being assured every penny will get to those who need it, then please donate by clicking on this link. Don’t forget if you’re a tax payer to declare gift aid when doing so which will increase your donation by 25% at no cost to you. Alternatively, if you know of anyone or any organisation who may have an interest in this cause please share this blog link with them. And, if you’d like to get involved in anyway please get in touch with me at marciasummers@hotmail.com

If you missed the last blog then here it is. 

Next up: final blog before we set off on 22nd March 2024

Pics: Jaffna, community project, wdc girls, entrepreneurial activity with local women – Bianka, heddle loom weaving