Home of Hope, originally started in 2001 as a former chicken farm turned children's home, is now really a village for children. 85 children now call it their home. At first, most children came from war zones in the north and east part of the country. It prevented them from being recruited as child soldiers in the ethnic conflict. Since the end of the war in 2009, the children coming to Home of Hop
e had no shelter and were often put in prisons by the government as a way of dealing with the problem. Needless to say, the children were confronted with horrific circumstances. Abuse and violence were often the rule rather than the exception. It is our goal to make them feel like kids again. Home of Hope is no traditional orphanage. Our approach is characterized by loving guidance and proper education for our children to make them good citizens who can stand on their own feet. During their stay at Home of Hope, we want them to keep in touch with their families regularly. This will ease their eventual return to their native region. Furthermore, we try to prepare them for an independent life outside of our village as good as possible. That is why they are assigned all kinds of tasks and they learn how to handle money. We highly value the small scale of our project. One hundred children at Home of Hope is the maximum. In this way we are able to keep a clear overview and we can provide them with the care they so clearly deserve. At Home of Hope we pay considerable attention to sports and games. The kids get to play each day after finishing their homework. On our grounds, we have a large (cricket) playing field, and for the little ones there is a colourful playground. Sports activities are regularly organized. We have a swimming pool as well. Home of Hope also has facilities which can be used by our children as well as local residents. Our computer room and library for example. But it is our medical center in particular that fulfills an important role in the community. Physically disabled children in particular benefit greatly from our services. In Sri Lanka they are often neglected by society due to lack of knowledge, facilities, and financial resources. Home of Hope is happy to care for them as we provide training and guidance in order to help them advance in life, both physically and mentally. Naturally, our medical center offers basic medication and treatment for the sick too. Special praise should go out to 'uncle' and 'auntie' Alfy and Sharmini Perera. This Sri Lankan couple runs the Home of Hope village on a daily basis. They are really a father and mother figure for all the children. Alfy is Sinhala and Sharmini is Tamil. Considering the ongoing tensions between both populations, they make the perfect example for the children. Alfy takes care of maintaining buildings, purchasing and quality monitoring of education. Sharmini trains the matrons, she takes care of school supplies, and she coordinates the kitchen. They have devoted their lifes to Home of Hope. Without them, our project would never have been so successful. Rebecca Bijker is founder of Are & Bee Connections foundation, supporting Home of Hope financially. She is the single most important fundraiser for Home of Hope. We would like to conclude with our motto: "You cannot change the whole world, but you can change the world of a child"
