Sri Lanka

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of Sri Lanka to improve their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their children, families, and communities. World Vision’s child sponsorship program plays a vital role in this partnership, with donors from the United States sponsoring more than 15,900 girls and boys. In addition to sponsorship, World Vision operates other programs that benefit communities in Sri Lanka. Highlights include:

• Training farmers in better farming practices and helping them improve connections with local markets.
• Teaching farmers better techniques on how to breed and care for their animals.
• Reducing poverty and increasing access to healthcare, clean water, education, and more in local communities.

A national office was established in 1977 in Colombo, the nation’s capital, to serve Sri Lankans through disaster relief and development programs. Since then, World Vision has invested over $350 million in programs benefitting the most vulnerable. Some of World Vision’s major accomplishments have included:

• Opening a rehabilitation center during the 1970s to provide care for vulnerable youth in Colombo.
• Providing food, clothing, shelter, fruit tree seedlings, and animals for victims of a 1979 cyclone.
• Promoting self-employment activities, agriculture, and small businesses during the 1980s.
• Implementing projects like flood relief, agricultural development, and economic development during the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century.
• Offering microloans and basic business training to victims of the 2004 tsunami to help them rebuild their lives.

Geography and people

The tropical island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, separated from India by 25 miles. Low-lying flatlands fill most of the island, with mountains in the south central region. There are two monsoon seasons—June to October and December to March.

Sri Lanka’s population density of 799 people per square mile is one of the highest in Asia. Most people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture to make a living.

The Sinhalese people make up 74 percent of the population, while the Tamils form the largest minority group at 18 percent. Other groups include the Vedda, the Moors, the Burghers, and the Malays.

Sinhala and Tamil are the two official languages of Sri Lanka. About 10 percent of Sri Lankans speak English, mostly for educational and commercial purposes.

History

Known as Ceylon prior to 1972, Sri Lanka became an English Crown colony in 1802. Nationalist leaders finally obtained independence nearly 150 years later. The country’s first prime minister made Sinhala the official national language and Buddhism the state-supported religion.

The Tamil minority’s growing resentment toward the Sinhalese’s power monopoly erupted into civil war in 1983. By early 2000, 17 years of civil war claimed the lives of over 64,000 people—mostly civilians. The government and Tamil rebels agreed to a cease-fire in February 2002, but sporadic fighting continued.

A tsunami in December 2004 killed about 38,000 people in Sri Lanka. Escalating violence threatened a deal between the government and rebels to share an international aid package for the country’s rebuilding.

In January 2008, the Sri Lankan government called off the cease-fire agreement and fighting intensified in the north and east. The death toll from the war stood at an estimated 70,000 people in 2009, with more than 500,000 still displaced, mostly Tamils. In May 2009, the government declared victory after the death of the rebel leader.

Please pray for:

Families recovering from heavy floods.

People displaced by the civil war to find jobs and food as they return to their homes.