Who do we help?
Most of the children we helped immediately after the tsunami were children who had lost their parents and could not turn to their family. These children found a safe place to stay in our Somawathi Home. But what started as an aid project for these children evolved into something that is much more than just an orphanage. Nowadays we work closely with the Sri Lankan Child Protection agency in taking on children with very diverse backgrounds. All children remain in the Somawathi Home until they are at least 18 years old. Until that moment they are in the custody of the Trust with the Somawathi Home their safe and loving home.
Children from very diverse backgrounds are assigned to the Somawathi Home by the Sri Lankan Child Protection Agency (National Child Protection Authority; NCPA) nowadays.
Per the request of and in close cooperation with the Galle office of the NCPA the Dutch Sri Lanka Orphanage Foundation raises funds to provide a safety net for children who cannot be placed in a foster home or when such a placement was unsuccessful. Only children in the age range 3 to 9 years will be taken on; for elder siblings an exception is made of course because we do not want siblings to be separated unnecessarily. We want the Somawathi Home to take on the role of parental home that they can trust and rely on.
How long are they allowed to stay?
Every child stays in the Somawathi Home until it is at least 18 years old. Until that age all children are in the custody of the Trust with the Somawathi Home their safe and loving home. It is our ambition to prepare every child to be able to be self-sufficient when he or she is 18. However, in Sri Lankan culture it is very unusual for a girl to leave the parental home unmarried. And also the children who still pursue a study of training when they are 18 will remain ‘connected’ to the Somawathi Home in one way or the other because after all, it is their ‘parental home’. Per young adult a tailor-made solution is found.