Our Story
Shining Stars Sri Lanka is a Christian nonprofit non-governmental organization working for the betterment of the less-privileged and vulnerable children and families in Sri Lanka.
Shining Stars Sri Lanka was founded by us, Nilanthi and Didul Gamage in 2017, after working and living in the United Kingdom for several years. Nilanthi has had a long cherished a dream of starting this children’s & youth ministry, one that stems back to her school years. Her exceptional results in the grade 5 national scholarship exam offered her a place at an excellent academy in the central province of Sri Lanka. It was at this time that she began to see, and understand, the massive difference between a quality education when compared to the subpar standard of her childhood school. It became her goal to help all children receive a good education.
The organization was established initially as a support network to assist a few local students and families in a rural village called Seepukulama in the district of Anuradhapura in the north central province of Sri Lanka. After seeing to the ongoing needs we were able to setup our first afterschool project in 2018. This ministry helps and supports these vulnerable individuals by providing teachers and resources to conduct extra classes in school curriculum which children find hard and challenging. Most enrolled students come from a poverty-stricken background, and often from abusive or neglectful households. Shining Stars offers a holistic approach and a safe space for these children where they can study, make friends, and be given the freedom to just be kids. A part of these children come from a gypsy community in the village where the parents don’t see any value in educating their children but use them in earning money by witchcraft and palm reading. A tremendous improvement has been reported both academically and in behavior of these innocent children after tireless efforts of the team of Shining Stars. Awareness programs have been conducted for the parents and adults in the community apart from the educational support & care provided for the children and youth.
The rate of committing suicide and child sexual abuse in this area is on top of the list in Sri Lanka. Due to poverty, un-education and not knowing how to handle stress, the innocent parents commit suicide and the under aged children become vulnerable and destitute. Their future goes blank and their hopes evaporate overnight. So, one of our main focuses has been to conduct awareness programs and counselling sessions for the parents and children. These counselling sessions have been very productive. The services that have been provided have been recognized as effective, efficient and result oriented by the community, which is a golden encouragement for Shining Stars to be more energetic and march forward to carry out our vision & mission.