Us
Heart to Heart (Sri Lanka) is a Colombo-based leading LGBTIQ+ community organization founded in 2011, initially to bridge the gap created by Sri Lanka’s first LGBTIQ+ organization COJ whose journey was unfortunately cut short. We are an organization with a community-oriented and community-based approach in working for and working with the LGBTIQ+ community. Being a pioneer in working with the m
ost downtrodden, disadvantaged and marginalized members of the local LGBTIQ+ community, we tend to build solidarity among these groups by nurturing a sense of belonging. Heart to Heart has been ensuring access to treatment and services for People Living with HIV/AIDS, raising awareness on stigma attached to People Living with HIV/AIDS, providing a safe space for LGBTIQ+ community members to interact with each other and so on. Over the last decade, we have dedicated our time, resources and efforts to address the needs of the most downtrodden members of the LGBTIQ+ community. Our Vision
The Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion works for the social health and development and integration of underprivileged individuals, groups and communities in Sri Lanka. We believe that every person has the right to access resources and opportunities in order to live and develop with dignity and to become an active and contributing member of our society. Message from the President
In year 2011 Hear to Heart was founded in Colombo to serve the needs of the most underprivileged and marginalized layers of the local LGBTIQ+ community that are often overlooked. The LGBTIQ+ community of Sri Lanka is often subjected to various forms of discrimination and harassment in their day-to-day life and it is our collective wish to build a society where LGBTIQ+ people are able to live with dignity. I have been identifying myself and sharing experience with the LGBTIQ+ community since 1967. I am absolutely grateful to continue working with the community through Heart to Heart. I am truly happy to witness what a long and challenging journey Heart to Heart has come so far from where it started and grateful to be a part of that journey. I humbly take this opportunity to thank each and every person who contributed to make Heart to Heart what it is today. I wish all the success to Heart to Heart to go from strength to strength for many years to come. Thank you. Lalith Dharmawardena
Chairperson
Heart to Heart, Sri Lanka
Message from the Executive Director
Heart to Heart came into existence at a time when the country’s political climate was extremely hostile toward the civil society activism. In this context many LGBTIQ+ community organizations faced various forms of direct and indirect threats. In other words, this was a time when even the most basic rights of the LGBTIQ+ community were not so guaranteed. These adversities epitomized when the COJ was fallen prey to false accusations made by a local newspaper, which subsequently resulted in the ultimate downfall of the country’s first LGBTIQ+ organization. However if not for the sheer courage and fortitude of some of the members of the LGBTIQ+ community Heart to Heart would never have seen the light of the day. It is my absolute pleasure to state that we have survived many ups and down over the past decade. All the challenges, threats and shortcomings that we encountered during this time have made us stronger than we have ever been and that perseverance is a reflection of what LGBTIQ+ community is all about. The priority of our dedication and commitment will always be to safeguard the human rights of the LGBTIQ+ community and ensure that they have an environment where they can live with pride. H.A.H. Saman Kumara
Executive Director
Profile of the Vice President – Manju Hemal
Manju Hemal has been a committed LGBTIQ+ activist at grassroots levels for over a decade with a strong rapport with persons of LGBTIQ+. As an activist their main objective has been upholding solidarity amongst LGBTIQ+ persons, particularly the ones who are downtrodden and subjected to multiple forms of discriminations. They first joined Heart to Heart in 2011 as a peer educator for HIV/AIDS awareness on the Global Fund ATM Project round 1 and eventually became a field supervisor in 2013 on the same project. Today they are a passionate advocate of LGBTIQ+ rights, HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and rights of the people living with HIV/AIDS and also closely work with LGBTIQ+ persons living with HIV/AIDS and trans s*x workers to champion their rights which have been deprived of. Manju has always been an ardent supporter and participant of the local drag culture which is unfortunately in decline due to various reasons. However they are one of the few activists who has been vocal about the importance of certain fading dynamics of the local q***r cultural fabric. Keeping these local q***r cultural sites and performances alive is extremely important since these are sites and performances of q***r resistance and identity formation against cis hetero normativity. As an activist Manju vehemently advocates that all LGBTIQ+ organizations must have an open door policy free of gatekeeping and tribalism based on classism and privilege, wherein this very exclusionary approach has hampered the solidarity of LGBTIQ+ community. Therefore Manju has always made sure Heart to Heart has an open-door policy to make it more welcoming and approachable to community members. We are immensely grateful and indebted to each and every organization and individual who has supported us since our inception through ups and downs over the last 10 years. None of our initiatives and community interventions would have been possible if we did not your generosity towards us and therefore we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all of you. We are forever thankful to the forefathers of the LGBTIQ+ movement in Sri Lanka, who paved a way for us to pursue in championing LGBTIQ+ rights. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the volunteers who have devoted their precious time, effort and knowledge in helping us with various projects and initiatives both in the past and present. Nevertheless, we express our gratitude toward the people of LGBTIQ+ and allies across the country and it is their perseverance, resilience and survival which inspire us to keep moving forward. Our Beginning
Our journey has been anything but easy and never short of challenges from the outset. Heart to Heart first saw the light of the day thanks to the immense dedication and commitment of its founders Lalith Dharmawardena, Jude Fernando, Saman Kumara and Augustine Silva and with the help of many others, on the 6th of December 2011 at a cramped office space in Narahenpita, Colombo. It is important to note that our organization was formed at a very critical time when LGBTIQ+ organizations, activists and civil society sector in general were under strict government surveillance and this hostile climate for the civil society sector was well-witnessed when the life of the country’s first LGBTIQ+ organization COJ came to an abrupt end. This certainly created a void in the area of LGBTIQ+ organizations which are community-based and whose approach is oriented toward addressing the needs of the most downtrodden and marginalized individuals of the LGBTIQ+ community. The first community engagement of Heart to Heart came along a few days to its inception and on the 10th of December 2011 at Shalika ground the World AIDS Day was celebrated and well-attended by community members. This was soon followed by appointing the board of directors for Heart to Heart and the founding board of directors included Lalith Dharmawardena (Chairperson), Geethapriya Samarasinghe (Assiatant Chairperson), Harendra Wijithapala (Treasurer), Umal Premaratne (Executive Director) and Ranjith Kulasooriya (Board Member). Our Journey
It is necessary to highlight some of the key milestones that we successfully managed to pass since the inception and the following are some of them,
‘Heart to Heart’ carried out its first project from 2011 to 2012, in the SSR category of the GFATM MSM HIV/AIDS awareness programme in the district of Colombo. We were also involved in conducting size estimation in 2012/13 with NSACP to assess the expanse and distribution of the MSM community in Colombo district. Soon we were given the opportunity to become part of the research project titled S*x Work and Violence in Colombo: Understanding Factors for Safety and Protection (2014) conducted by UNFPA and UNDP. This further improved our capacity and solidified our position as an organization to work with the international civil society. In 2014 Heart to Heart started continuing working with the GFATM MSM HIV/AIDS awareness program in the district of Colombo under the New Grant Model and this time the scale of the project was expanded than it used to be. Then in 2015, we became a part of the Regional Consultation on Human Rights and Treatment Access among MSM and Transgender Population in South Asia, which was initiated and supported by APN PLUS Positive Change, Project DIVA (Diversity in Action), UNDP and The Global Fund. In the same year we played an instrumental role as a community-based organization in preparation and implementation of the field work for the IBBS roundⅠand again roundⅡin 2018, to assess risky behaviors and the prevalence of HIV and other s*xually transmitted diseases among the MSMs in order to improve tracking of the HIV epidemic and program planning. Heart to Heart was one of the civil society organizations that received capacity development from SPICE project which was funded by USAID Sri Lanka and implemented by Management Systems International (MSI) in cooperation with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). Since 2016, we have been running a drop-in center for key affected populations and LGBTIQ+ individuals who are in need of temporary shelter and care. Then we joined hands with Women and Media Collective in conducting a project named “Strengthening the Rights of Le***an Women, Bis*xual Women and Trans Persons in Sri Lanka, with a Focus on Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence and Family Violence” by conducting community discussions with transgender persons and their mental health needs in 2019. Since 2020 our efforts have been mostly diverted toward addressing the needs of the most vulnerable sects of the LGBTIQ+ community that are severely affected by Covid19. In the early days of the pandemic we assisted many civil society organizations who were carrying out Covid19 relief projects to help affected communities by connecting people who needed help to these support systems and CWDF was one such organization which received our support in reaching out to beneficiaries. Eventually we launched our own Covid19 relief program to meet the growing needs of severely affected LGBTIQ+ individuals in need of help, concerning devastation of livelihoods and rising unemployment, increasing homelessness, difficulties to cover food expenses, barriers to healthcare and medication, heightening domestic and intimate partner violence, alienation from communities and contraction of social and cultural life and exclusion from government relief efforts. Quite recently we joined IREX’s MEND program which is in partnership with USAID to improve citizen’s access to balanced, reliable and objective news and information in Sri Lanka. The program intends to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to solidify recent advances in media freedom and democratic governance. Board of Trustees and Leadership Team
All trustees are expected to act in the best interests of the LGBTIQ+ community of Sri Lanka and standards maintained by our donor organizations. The composition of the Board as of 31 December 2021 is as follows:
Chairperson – Lalith Dharmawardena
Vice Chairperson – Manju Hemal
Treasurer – Ranjith Kulasekara
Secretary – Augustine Silva
Board Member – Gamini Samarasinghe
Executive Director – H.A.Saman Kumara
Our Work, Services and Commitments
The following are the key areas that we work on as an organization. Though 2021 was a challenging year for us as for everyone else, we tried our level best to stay true to our vision by working in those key areas. LGBTIQ+ Safe Space
We are a Safe Space that welcomes members of the LGBTIQ+ community whenever they need a hospitable friendly company and a place to feel at home. Over the past five years we have gained an eminent reputation within the LGBTIQ+ community as one of the most accessible and inclusive LGBTIQ+ safe spaces for members who come from all walks of life. Drop-In Center
We are a drop-in center that provides shelter for youth identifying as le***an, gay, bis*xual, transgender, q***r/questioning and other in the district of Colombo. As a drop-in center the services that we provide include temporary shelter, food and meals, showers, sanitary and so on. Individuals are allowed to drop-in when we are open without prior notice. HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention
We have always been uncompromisingly committed to HIV/AIDS and STD prevention from the very start. As we all know HIV/AIDS disproportionately impacts segments of the LGBTIQ+ community around the world, so does in Sri Lanka. To further worsen the situation, HIV/AIDS still remains to be a stigmatized taboo disease while the LGBTIQ+ continues to be stigmatized and marginalized too. Therefore the HIV/AIDS infected LGBTIQ+ individuals are marginalized, stigmatized and discriminated against on many different levels and they can be further disadvantaged if they have lower socio-economic statuses. As an organization we are determined to address the issues related to the s*xual health of this particular layer of the LGBTIQ+ community and in doing so we do HIV/AIDS and STD prevention awareness, community based testing sponsored by MOH and NSACP and escorting individuals to HIV/AIDS and STD clinics. Employability Skills Development
As an organization we have a history of conducting programs to uplift the employability of LGBTIQ+ community members. So far we have conducted tailor-made entrepreneurship skills development trainings on dress-making and beauty culture to address the needs of LGBTIQ+ community members. Accommodating and Fostering Q***r Culture
Our organization has always been aware of the cultural essence and colloquial identities of the LGBTIQ+ people in Sri Lanka. Therefore we have always been welcoming and more than willing to foster the q***r culture, particularly by providing a platform for drag performances and cross-dressing. Library Facility
We run a small in-house library for community members and our library includes important local and international publications on the LGBTIQ+ community, q***r fictions, non-fictions and many more. Archiving the History of LGBTIQ+ Activism in Sri Lanka
We have managed to physically archive some of the earliest and rarest accounts written on the history of LGBTIQ+ activism in Sri Lanka. Legal Aid
We coordinate legal aid with community members who are in need of legal support when their rights are being violated through our strong networks of contacts with legal professionals and other community organizations who work with us. Cultural Events
It is our objective as a well-grounded LGBTIQ+ community organization that is aware of the importance of inculcating a sense of community, that we bring communities together by providing them a safe space to interact at cultural events and gatherings that we host, such as New Year celebration, pride gatherings, film screenings, commemorations such as the ones who died of AIDS and so on. Covid19 Relief
We are one of the few LGBTIQ+ organizations that have been conducting a Covid19 relief program ever since the country came under the threat of Covid19 in 2020. In the early days of the pandemic we assisted many civil society organizations who were carrying out Covid19 relief projects by connecting people who were severely affected. Then we launched our own Covid19 relief program to meet the growing needs of severely affected LGBTIQ+ individuals in need of help. Training and Development
Over the years we have been best-utilizing our capacities and resources to train and develop members of the LGBTIQ+ community including our own staff members whom we regularly urge to take part in trainings offered by other organizations as well. We have arranged trainings in areas such as gender and s*xuality, human rights and law, s*xual and reproductive health, soft skills, employability skills development, digital media trainings, digital security and so on. Partner Organizations
It has been our pleasure to work with partner organizations which are also community organizations which have been supportive of us and without their support we would not have been as successful as we are today. Therefore, this is an ode to our partner organizations that have been with us throughout our journey. NSACP - PR
Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka - PR
Venasa Transgender Network
National Transgender Network
Community Welfare and Development Fund
YOH
Equite
Women and Media Collective
SAART
Rajarata Gami Pahana
Sri Sathyaguna Padanama, Galle
Saviya Development Foundation
(Damith, maybe we can put the logos of these organizations. If it is not an issue)
Reflecting 2021
The year 2021 was full of challenges in every possible way under the circumstances of a global pandemic. We realized at this point, the most marginalized layers of the LGBTIQ+ community needed the help of organizations like ours the most. Unlike in other years we were made to help out community members, whose livelihoods were severely disturbed under the prolonged lockdown, especially the community members who make a living out of working in the informal sector. Amid these serious challenges both as a community and a civil society organization we remained committed to the cause that we support. 2021 was one of the years that we had most reach outs as an organization considering how important the kind of work that we do at such a difficult time. Besides providing material support and financial aid for community members, we still managed to operate as a welcoming space for q***r individuals when most of the spaces available for LGBTIQ+ people started shrinking like never before. Last year we also lent our organization’s physical space for the events and initiatives of other LGBTIQ+ organizations since solidarity and mutual support between LGBTIQ+ organizations is one of the key values that we are trying to inculcate through our various community engagements. HIV/AIDS and STI prevention and awareness were well-attended and carried out throughout last year even amongst many difficulties and it allowed us to expand our operations with more staff. In addition we are constantly looking forward to make sure our staff has the best knowledge, skills and attitudes to best deliver the services that we provide. For which requires keeping an eye on best capacity buildings which can make use the best. Impact Dashboard
An average of 80 visits by community members per month for various matters. Material support provided during the pandemic - 196
Conducted community HIV/AIDS testing in 2021 - 199
Number of capacity building programs conducted - 12
I think it’s better if we can graphically depict the impact dashboard
What Community Says About Us
The following are some of the thoughts of our community members on our integrity and commitment to the cause.
“Heart to Heart stepped into help us when we needed help the most and I whole heartedly thank them for helping us at such a critical time.”
Nuwan, Borella
“During the pandemic Hear to Heart managed to provide dry rations to a lot of LGBTIQ+ community memebers.”
Dilruwan
“We appreciate the support that we received from Heart to Heart at a time when our livelihood was completely disturbed.”
Shashini, Blumendhal
“Heart to Heart has always committed to bring the people of our community together.”
Lal Wijesundara
Our Future Plans
In 2022 we are looking forward to take our community service interventions to the next level by expanding our horizons for which we are constantly in search of new avenues and resources to channel our efforts in the best way possible to elevate the LGBTIQ+ community in Sri Lanka. Among our future plans,
The plan to establish a helpline to effectively stay in touch with LGBTIQ+ community members. A help line would make it easier for community members to conveniently reach out to us for support such as psycho-social support, material help and so on. The need to launch an official website for our organization since we realize the necessity to have an online presence to speak to a wider audience and make it easier for our international donors and stakeholders to have access to the work we do. The long due need to start a psycho-social counseling service. The above-mentioned are some of the plans we have for the immediate future but as a grass-root not-for-profit organization we are facing a severe dearth of financial and non-financial resources to materialize what we intend to do. Here we invite global and local civil society to extend their generosity through expertise and financial contributions for causes that truly matter to the LGBTIQ+ community in Sri Lanka.
