Seelawathi is coming from non-Christian background. She became a Christian about 10 years ago through the ministry of the UCF. She has 1 son and 2 daughters who are married and living separately in Kandalama. Kandalama is situated in Dambulla area. Many are doing vegetable cultivation and are from low income families. About 99% do not have a proper income. During the dry weather they suffer without water and during the rainy season they are affected by floods. Due to the recent flood, Seelawathi’s small hut has been damaged badly and now she is living with her son in a clay hut taking care of her grandson. She is a regular worshipper in our Dambulla center and her son and daughters too have become believers through her testimony. She is a strong believer and depends on God, praying always. Please pray that God will provide the necessary support for us to build a better room for her to stay.
Wasana is married and living in the fishing community Moratuwa with her family. She has a grown up daughter who is married and she is a grandmother. She is coming from non-Christian background and she is a believer who comes regular to our worship center in Moratuwa. She is a very active member of the church and she has brought new families from her area to our Bethel Fellowship Center. God has changed her husband who is also now a believer. He was a drug addict and also jailed for some time. Right now he is seriously sick and the Lord has worked miracles in both their lives. The UCF was able to build a wooden house for her daughter in the fishing community area. They have been going through very difficult times and the Lord has turned their lives according to her testimony. She has opened her house for prayer meetings regularly where others believers from the area join on Wednesdays. So we thank God for having changed their lives. She shares her experiences bringing others to the acknowledgement of Christ. Please pray for her and her family as she is a volunteer for the UCF and needs more encouragement and support to go forward and sustain her family.
Nadeeka lives in a wooden shed by the side of the railway line with her two children who are of school going age. She attends our services at the Bethel Fellowship Center Moratuwa. Rev. Fernando visited her on several occasions on his pastoral visits along with a UCF staff member.
She is doing a small business to sustain an income, selling incense sticks by the roadside. Some days she has no income at all. Her husband is a drug addict and does not come home most of the time. He does not care for the children. The children are not attending school due to lack of facilities. The UCF has provided some school supplies and also humanitarian food for the children.
We noticed that water is coming into the shed when it rains, as the plastic roof covering is damaged severely. There is no kitchen as such, only a shed-like room. Our heart goes out to her as she is suffering greatly for many years in this desperate situation. We are planning to put up a wooden room with a suitable roof for her soon, so she can live in a somewhat decent manner with her two children. Right now it is raining as it is the monsoonal month, one the rains stop, we will start on the work.
Therefore we request your prayers that the Lord will provide the needed funds for us to help her under the UCF Relief Programme. Any contributions for this purpose is welcome in order to build up the life of this family
This lady is living in a wooden hut in the slum community of Moratuwa. She is a regular worshipper at our Bethel Fellowship Center in Moratuwa. Her wooden hut was about to collapse and the UCF is happy that we were able to construct a wooden room for this family so she can live a better life.
We thank God for His grace and mercy and thank all our prayer partners for their prayers and support which was a great encouragement for us.
The UCF Annual Children’s Christmas Programme was held at the Methodist Sewa Sewana Hall in Rawathawatta, Moratuwa. The children who are living in the slum in the fishing community in Moratuwa and the Sunday school children of Moratuwa and Neboda performed at this Christmas programme which was organized for them. They were gifted with essential supplies such as school bags, books, clothing, etc to over 100 children. The programme was well attended by parents and invitees and over 250 participated in total to witness the children’s Christmas plays and encourage them.
The Children of the Beach Children Center while being fed through our feeding programme for children. They really enjoy their meals that they receive regularly at the Beach Children Center.
Sinhalese & Tamil New Year Celebration of the Children of the UCF Beach Children Center in Moratuwa was held in April 2015. At this occasion the children took part in various traditional plays and games, which takes place at this time of every year. The children are given the chance to learn the various traditional aspects pertaining to the Sinhala & Tamil New Year.
This annual children’s gift giving concert, conducted by UCF Moratuwa, was held on 4th December 2014 at the Methodist Church Sunday School Hall in Koralawella, Moratuwa. The children are from the fishing community in Moratuwa who are taken care of by the UCF slum project, as they are living in destitution. The children are provided with school stationeries, food and other basic needs while at the Center. The chief guest of the Christmas programe was the President of the Mount Lavinia Rotary Club and well attended by UCF friends and parents. The programme, organized by the UCF staff, was a success. The programe was also telecast on Independent Television Network in Sri Lanka.
We thank God for His Grace and blessings upon these children and providing their needs.
UCF has re-built a wooden home consisting of 2 rooms and 1 lavatory for Nilupa and her family whose home burned down earlier this year. After their home burned down, they were living with another family in a nearby house. We are grateful to God for providing for us in such a way that we could bless Nilupa and her family with a new home.
Nilupa is married with 2 children and her husband is mentally disabled. The family was living in a wooden shed which was their home in the fishing community in the coast of Koralawella, Moratuwa. Nilupa works as a helper at our Beach Children’s Center (Slum Project) in Moratuwa. She does not have a permanent income and the family does not have a permanent place to live. She is a committed Christian in faith.
On an evening in January, we were informed that suddenly her wooden home had caught fire and when we went to see there was smoke and some remaining wooden works of the house were left. They only possess the clothes that they were wearing.
The Beach Children’s Center is an outreach programme to the very poor children living in Moratuwa’s fishing community. The school currently has 30 children enrolled. These children come from extreme poverty. The nursery school provides breakfast and lunch for the children as well as uniforms, books, and other school supplies. Each year in April, the children are taught about the Sinhala New Year customs and hold a Sinhalese New Year Festival. Annually in December, a concert is held with singing and dancing performances by the children. The children also take one field trip in the middle of each school year (check out the report about our trip to the zoo below). There are 2 qualified teachers conducting lessons (Mignone Perera is the head teacher and Dinusha Peiris is the assistant teacher) along with one helper, who also comes from the fishing community.
The mission and vision of the Beach Children’s Center is to improve the education of the children in a religious background, while also improving their motor skills and creativity, and to build a stable foundation for them to become conscientious and valuable members of society.
Charlie Yang, a student from China, came to spend a week with UCF from 23 to 28 June. During this time he volunteered at the Beach Children’s Center helping the children with their English. Charlie put his creative abilities to work by drawing pictures for the children and also playing music for them, which they all enjoyed very much. Charlie said that he enjoyed his time volunteering at the nursery school and was deeply impacted by his stay here in Sri Lanka.
In January, Lea Brugger of International Christian Fellowship in Zurich, Switzerland came for a brief visit with UCF. During her stay in Sri Lanka, Lea volunteered among the children attending the Beach Children’s Center. Lea said that she enjoyed her work among the children and that they touched her heart. The children were equally impacted by Lea’s kindness and generosity.