Dr Sam Education Centre, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka

Hi, My name is Sri Jegarajah, and I am fundraising for Dr. Sam Education Centre. We are an educational non-profit in northern Sri Lanka registered in Sri Lanka and the UK (Charity Number 1180904).

Our purpose is to teach and support children from low-income households in the former war-affected communities of northern Sri Lanka.

Dr. Sam Education Centre was named after my late father, Dr. Sanmugam 'Sam' Jegarajah, who passed away in 2018 from a terminal neurological illness. His last wish was to leave a lasting legacy in his homeland.

Today, the project has grown due to the tireless efforts of my mum, Mrs Indrany Jegarajah, who serves as the founder and head of our leadership team.

We provide a free service to mentor, coach and tutor kids from kindergarten, elementary and secondary levels in core subject areas.

We also provide healthy snacks and nutritious meals to our students as we have discovered many are under-nourished and lack sufficient protein in their diets. We all recall milk at break time when we were at school. But in northern Sri Lanka, it's a luxury. We believe good nutrition is fundamental to good schooling.

Our services are free for parents, mainly low-income farm workers.

The words of Greek philosopher Epictetus guide us in everything we do and are our school's motto: 'Only the educated are free.'

We hope you can join us on our journey.