Help Sri Lanka

Hi everyone, we are writing to you to ask for your help. The situation is real. People who used to work for us along with plenty of other families in the village who used to earn an income from tourism are struggling to put food on the table. We need your urgent help to create aid packages for those in need.

For 25 USD we can feed a family of 4 for about two weeks. We aim to collect 7000 USD, less the transaction fees and Go Fund Me fee's we'll be able to do about 250 packages with food, hygiene, and essential goods. The packages will go out to selected families previously working in the tourism industry and who are in need of urgent support and are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

WOW! We are beyond thankful for your support, we reached the target in just a few days. We didn't even have time to send out a newsletter to our old guests and friends. So, we have set a new goal, 100,000kr so that we can help even more!

NOTE ON CURRENCY CHARGED: Go Fund me don't accept LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees), so we are collecting KR (Swedish Krona) and then transferring it ourselves. The currency conversion is 1 USD (US Dollar) = 8.4 KR (Swedish Krona) = 200 LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees). Please ensure not to mix up KR and LKR since it sounds so similar but are completely different currencies.

Example:

25 USD = 5000 LKR = enough to feed a family for 2 weeks, you should donate 210 KR (Swedish Krona)
7000 USD = 1.3 Million LKR = fundraiser target, equal to 60,000 KR (Swedish Krona)

GIVEAWAYS, if you donate below amounts or above you we'll send you a giveaway as an appreciation to your generous donation.

- 50 USD ( equal to 420 KR or 10,000 LKR)  - Guided online meditation by Ashley Davis, made specifically for this fundraiser 
-100 USD (equal to 850 KR or 20,000 LKR) - Complimentary surf lesson by one of our coaches at Ceylon Sliders surf school
- 150 USD (equal to 1250 KR or 30,000 LKR) - Personal gratitude video from a family who received the donations (Limited to 3 donors)
- 250 USD (equal to 2100 KR or 50,000 LKR) - Sand sculpture on our local beach by 18-year-old artist Thanuri, choose your sea creature to be sculptured. (Limited to 5 donors)
- 1200 USD  (equal to 10,000 KR or 240,000 LKR) - complimentary one-week all-inclusive surf&yoga retreat at Sunshine Stories

To receive the giveaways simply make the donations in the amounts above and we'll contact you via GoFundMe.

A short backstory about the situation in Sri Lanka right now:

Covid-19 has completely knocked out the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. We have been closed at both Sunshine Stories & Ceylon Sliders for more than 14 months and are still not sure when we can resume our operation. As a result, we've forced to let our staff go and they've found other jobs in the meantime, mostly different kinds of daily paid jobs. It's been tough but everyone has done their best to make it through this difficult period, one that we still don't know the end of... 

Then came April 2021 and the third wave hit Sri Lanka with Covid cases going through the roof. Since mid-may 2021 and still ongoing there is an island-wide lockdown and curfew in place, hospitals are swamped and the people are living in despair in their homes, not knowing when they can return to normalcy.

Due to the lockdown, people have no opportunity to work and earn any income leaving whole families literally stuck at home without any possibility to put food on the table. 


Lockdown Ahangama town, June 2021. Now an everyday scene of a place that used to be so vibrant and full of life. - Photo Ashley Davis.

To top this whole situation X-Press Pearl - a large container vessel, exploded and sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka just outside of Colombo spilling plastic debris and oil leaving the country with what is probably the worst marine disaster in its history. The 1486 containers that were onboard contained over 46 different toxic chemicals, maybe most noticeably billions of plastic pellets which have already spread the ocean floor and the beaches. As a consequence fishing is banned, which along with tourism is one of the largest industries in the country generating thousands of jobs.

MVX Pearl while on fire, before sinking outside of Colombo. Photo: Stocksy

The situation is extremely difficult right now and we need to help out. We will create aid packages worth about 25 USD per package (Rs 5000). It’s enough to feed a family for about two weeks. The packages will consist of food such as rice, dhal, spices, and other essential items. The aid packages will go to families in our area starting with those in most desperate need of help! 

A typical home in our village Ahangama. Photo: Ashley Davis

Thanuri, 18 years old, working on one of her sand sculptures. Thanuri's dream is to study to become an art teacher. Donate 250 USD and select a sculpture you wish her to make signed with your name. Photo: Ashley Davis

Please find a short interview below with Ashley Davis, a previous guest of both Sunshine Stories and Ceylon Sliders, who decided to travel back to Sri Lanka about two months ago to spend the summer.

Why did you come to Sri Lanka during this period?

"Sri Lanka is my soul spot and I got here as soon as I could after the country re-opened, waiting 17 months since my last visit. When I left the US on April 13, 2021, there were extremely low COVID-19 rates in Sri Lanka and I anticipated a very different trip - launching a leadership coaching business for social intrapreneurs, surfing sessions, jungle bike rides, roti shop hangs, etc. Within days after my 2-week quarantine ended, we were in lockdown, but before that, I was able to visit quite a few families and friends from my past visits and learned just how hard the year has been for them."

What’s the situation like at the moment?

"I asked myself how will they survive this lockdown??  It’s rough. It’s a very hard time in Sri Lanka for many people now. Businesses that were once thriving are boarded over or in disrepair, and daily survival is the greatest concern. Many households who maybe got by on one income, now have no incomes in the shutdown. It’s a very hard time for the people of Sri Lanka in many ways, and heartbreaking to witness such devastation with no end in sight. Yet somehow, the warmth of the people, the resilience, the pride, the love, and the hope have not been diminished.

I’ll be here, and I hope this situation - once safe to travel again - does not deter travelers, but actually invites more curiosity, compassion, and visits to a place where your stay has such a huge impact on the livelihoods of super big-hearted people. We need more of this big-heartedness in the world, and we are all worthy of thriving over surviving."

Few images from the past:

Staff photo from Ceylon Sliders, December 2018. The last high season we had together before getting hit by the terror attacks in 2019 and then Covid-19 in 2020.
Emerging surf students from Sunshine Stories Retreat, gathered around coach Kavisha. Photo: Vera Nording

Sulani, our kitchen hand at Sunshine Stories, with some fresh herbs she just bought from the local market. Photo: Linn Toremalm

Having fun in the ocean at one of our staff days, I believe February 2019. Tharaka and Sanju pushing surf coach Varuna of his board.  Photo: Piers Woodford


Me (Petter) & Linn, sharing a wave in the sunset sometime when things were magical in Sri Lanka. Let's hope we can all enjoy this beautiful place together again soon enough. Photo: Melchior Photos

So that's it. Well, we hope to collect around 7000 USD (60,000 Swedish Krona or about 1.3 million Rupees) in order to make and distribute around 250-300 aid packages. Once we receive donations we will do the purchasing and distribution of the goods ourselves to get the most out of every donation. If we don't reach our target we will of course distribute what we get to as many we can, however, let's aim high and dream big. We'll keep you all updated on the progress via social media.

Lots of Love and good vibes. Appreciate all the support and hope to see you all back in the surf in Sri Lanka very soon again. 
Sunniest regards from Petter, Linn, Suresh, Ashley, Adri, and the rest of the sunshine & sliders family <3

Notes:
- We can't collect funds in Sri Lankan Rupees as it's not supported on Go Fund Me, will collect the funds in Swedish Krona (KR) to our Swedish account and then send it to Sri Lanka for conversion to Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) in order to distribute it. While making the donation please note that KR and LKR are very similar in the way they are written but are completely different currencies.
- We will focus on distributing the support to people in most need in our area, starting with those previously working for our company or surrounding our company
- If we collect enough funds and depending on how the situation develops we may distribute more than one aid package and we may prolong the support over time ahead
- We won't distribute any cash, everything will be given in packages with items at the discretion of our staff on location, the products will include food items such as rice, dhal, oil, spices, and essential and hygiene items such as sanitary pads, face masks, etc.
- No fuss, standard Terms & Conditions apply for booking of the complimentary retreat week and the package includes surf&yoga package as mentioned on our website, however you're not able to book it in the peak season (1st December - 30th January as well as Easter week).