# Foundation of Goodness

Foundation of Goodness is a Sri Lankan non-governmental charitable organisation established in 1999 by Kushil Gunasekera. Main aim of the Foundation of Goodness is to bridge the urban-rural divide across Sri Lanka via empowering the less privileged rural communities to have equal opportunities to excel in life.
A major milestone in the expansion of the Foundation of Goodness's work was the 2004 tsunami that devastated the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans. Following the devastation left in the wake of the tsunami the Foundation of Goodness focused on post-disaster recovery. As the country gradually recovered from the tsunami the Foundation began to return to its founding goals of the provision of essential services, training and employment opportunities for rural communities with developing holistic Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre model which today delivers a wide range of programmes via 20 centers across Sri Lanka.

## History

Kushil Gunasekera alongside with Muttiah Muralitharan and Ashan Malalasekera established the organization Foundation of Goodness in 1999 and it was registred as a Voluntary Social Service/Non-Governmental Organisation in the Ministry of Social Welfare in 2005.
The organization was initially committed to the wellbeing of the Seenigama region (in southern Sri Lanka) supporting local communities through a range of projects across areas including children's needs, education and training, health care and psycho-social support, empowering women, sport environment and good values.

## Tsunami 2004

Seenigama's fortunes looked bleak when the tsunami struck the area, as several houses collapsed along with the destruction of several livelihoods. The tsunami hit the region devastatingly, as the area has been scarred by years of sea coral mining. Kushil Gunasekera stepped up for rescue efforts with the support of cricketers Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara to bring back the normalcy to Seenigama region.
Kushil Gunasekera donated his newly built villa in Seenigama where he grew up to the Foundation of Goodness and turned it into a model campus with empowerment sectors creating opportunities for these in need. His ancestors home with the sponsorship of the Marylebone Cricket Club, turned into the MCC Centre of Excellence – the hub of the Foundation’s work today.
Canadian rock singer and guitarist Bryan Adams decided to support Sri Lanka after the tsunami in 2004 by auctioning his guitar. With the donated money Foundation of Goodness built a 25-meter swimming pool in Seenigama and also transformed the surrounding land into a place full of sports activities for underprivileged village children.

## Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre

The Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres (VHC) It is a holistic rural development concept to eradicate poverty by bridging the urban-rural divide, using skills development and training as the means to enhance knowledge and attitudes of youth and communities who otherwise do not have access to the required resources.
Among the programs that the Foundation of Goodness offers free of charge to all participants are: pre-school education, primary education, mathematics, science, children’s Good Value initiative, computer training, graphic design, English, Tamil, Sinhala language, beauty culture course, traditional Sri Lanka dance, dress making course, special needs class, women’s empowerment, swimming, chess, netball, cricket, badminton, karate, business skills, community psychosocial unit, dental and medical clinic, dive training and AI courses.
* To a section: This is a redirect from a topic that does not have its own page to a section of a page on the subject. For redirects to embedded anchors on a page, use {{R to anchor}} instead.
* ↑ How the Foundation of Goodness is upskilling rural Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2024-04-25 – via www.youtube.com.
* ↑ racheldennisotr (2015-07-02). "The Foundation of Goodness". Adventures in life, travel and teaching. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* 1 2 "From tragedy to blessing: Kushil's journey | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "Kushil Gunasekera pomáhá znevýhodněným vesničanům na Srí Lance. Dotýkalo se mě, že se nemohou rozvíjet, říká". Radiožurnál (in Czech). 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "WION interviews Kushil Gunasekera, man who breathed life back into Sri Lankan village after tsunami". WION. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "How cricket has helped heal Sri Lanka's south". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "the bryan adams foundation". www.thebryanadamsfoundation.com. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "Tokyo Cement and Foundation of Goodness launch A.Y.S. Gnanam Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
* ↑ "Volunteering". volunteeringplatform.org. Retrieved 2024-04-25.