Sri Lanka - Village of girls

Our daily commitment against violence against women

In the hinterland of Matara, about 12 kilometres from the coast, Specchio dei tempi built a village immediately after the devastating 2004 tsunami. Initially designed to provide healthcare for those who had suffered injuries and fractures, the village comprised five family houses, a medical centre and an office building. However, as the years went by, the needs of the community changed, and Specchio dei tempi, in agreement with the Sri Lankan government and the Matara Court, transformed the village into a home for abused and neglected girls.

For over eight years, the village has offered a safe haven to some 20 girls, providing them with a protected environment where they can play, study and grow up peacefully. The girls lived in foster homes, supported daily by Buddhist monks from the Oba Mama Association, led by Reverend Ratanasare, the spiritual leader of southern Sri Lanka. The project, entirely financed by Specchio dei tempi, represented a concrete commitment against violence against women, carried out with daily dedication, not only on symbolic days such as the ‘red shoe day’.

The Orphanage supported by Specchio dei tempi in recent years reopens in Kekkadura, near Matara in Sri Lanka.

The facility, which houses about twenty street children, had suffered heavy damage in the spring due to violent typhoons. The first six children have returned, the others will join them in the coming weeks.

From January 2025, the Orphanage project, which will continue to have Specchio dei tempi funding for the next three years, will be run by the Turin-based NGO Medacross, again in cooperation with the Buddhist monks of the Southern Province.

Thanks to the Turin-based entrepreneur Massimo Munafò, who also supervised - as a volunteer - many of the works in Sri Lanka.