Grace Review:
Funds to address priority projects

A revived fund-and-awareness campaign – efforts launched under the banner “Saving Grace” – took a significant first step last month. With renewed funding campaigns, the volunteers of VeAhavta are poised to continue this journey for a several-year period on behalf of the children and elders at Grace Care Center.

A reception held at the home of Naresh Gunaratnam and Aruna Sarma was an unqualified success, raising more than $24,000 for VeAhavta and adding more than 10 sponsors to the family of Grace, each leaving with information about the specific child or children they will come to know in the months ahead. A video – soon to be available on this site – was shown to attendees, reviewing the mission of the orphanage and the challenges it faces. A sustained period of decreasing funds and increasing costs left VeAhavta – and so many in Sri Lanka’s northeast – struggling for basic sustenance.

The donations received from generous contributors made it possible to bring Grace current in its obligations, as was discussed in a tele-conference call among members of the committee charged with oversight of the orphanage. Mercy Home manager Hiram Labrooy participated in the call from Trincomalee, meeting with Naresh Gunaratnam and members of the committee, which formed last month and which has taken on the work of overseeing the Grace Care Center.

As of early December, Grace Care Center housed 74 children and 51 elders.  Although Labrooy noted that Grace is among the higher-rated of children’s homes in the impoverished and embattled northeast, the recent drop in donations coupled with the rising costs caused Grace, for the first time in its existence, temporarily to house the girls and elders in conditions which are below our standards. New funds made available will make it possible for us to improve the girls’ diet; the menu recently faced reductions in meats and a higher reliance on starches.

Labrooy informed the committee that Grace is in urgent need of several repairs to its structure, including a new roof and badly needed paint.  Labrooy advised the committee he would provide cost estimates for physical repairs, food budgets, and other information on the status of Grace Care Center, to enable the committee to prioritize the many needs.

Additional developments will be reported on www.you-shall-love.org in the weeks ahead.