Schools Relief Initiative Information

SRI was founded after the Tsunami of December 2004 and is registered as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) in Sri Lanka, a Charitable Trust in Hong Kong and a Charity in the UK. Our initial mission was to dispense aid to Tsunami-affected areas, but over time this has evolved into the provision of long-term educational resources and opportunities for disadvantaged children as well as environmental campaigns. We have five directors, two of whom are based in London and three in Hong Kong. None of us receives a salary and we also cover all our travel and administrative expenses when traveling to, or working in Sri Lanka. One of SRI’s main aims is to make sure that every dollar raised is spent in Sri Lanka on Sri Lankans. Our office is situated in Tissamaharama (about 20 minutes inland from the South Eastern seaport of Hambantota) and we have consciously remained in this one area because we believe we can only respond to the community’s needs if we are truly a part of it. We have eight members of staff on the ground: two in our office (project manager and project officer) and six at our nearby community training centre (teacher-manager, two deputy teacher-managers, two security guards and the charity's finance manager who also teaches there). Over the past decade and-a-half we have received a very warm welcome – not because our cash is viewed as a handout, but as a much-appreciated opportunity that enables children to make the most of their potential.