By Lynn & Joel Stanier | Chief Executive & Chief Operations
Dear friends and supporters,
There are moments in a journey when you pause and realise that everything has changed.
After more than two decades of unwavering belief, determined advocacy, and the collective strength of so many people who refused to accept that children belong in institutions, we are now standing at the threshold of something extraordinary.
This is not just progress.
This is transformation.
In recent weeks, Sri Lanka has moved closer than ever before to a future where children grow up not in orphanages, but in loving families. With the support of both the UK and Sri Lankan governments, alongside dedicated partners and advocates, the first steps towards a foster care pilot in the Southern Province, and towards wider national systems change, are now becoming a reality.
What once felt like an impossible dream is now becoming a shared national vision.
Behind every milestone are the stories that drive this work forward: children returning home, mothers finding strength, communities stepping up, and a growing movement built around one simple truth, every child deserves love, belonging, and a family.
We are proud to share some of the latest breakthroughs, key moments, and the people helping make this happen.
Because together, we are not just changing lives.
We are changing their future.
A proposal that helped set change in motion
On 12 January 2026, Their Future Today submitted a proposal to the Ministry Secretary to implement Sri Lanka’s first foster care pilot in the Southern Province with government support.
That proposal helped set change in motion.
It marked an important next step in work that has been building for many years, moving from advocacy and relationship-building into practical planning for implementation.
A high-level roundtable with national leaders
On 23 January 2026, a major roundtable took place in Colombo, graciously hosted by British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick.
This brought together the Ministry Secretary, the National Probation Commissioner, all nine District Commissioners, senior Probation Services, and representatives from the Bar Association. During that meeting, Dr Vasundhra of the Centre of Excellence for Alternative Care, India delivered a practical action framework to help move foster care from concept into implementation.
What made this gathering so significant was not only who was in the room, but the seriousness of the engagement. Timelines began to take shape. Decisions were discussed collectively at the highest level. What had so often been spoken about as aspiration started to feel like a plan.
It became far more than a meeting. It became a shared moment of collaboration and a genuine turning point for family-based care in Sri Lanka.
A historic international commitment
Then, on 17 February 2026, another major step followed.
Inside the United Nations Compound, alongside UNICEF, Sri Lanka’s National Childcare Services, the British High Commission and a small number of NGOs, Sri Lanka took a historic step by signing an expression of intent connected to the Global Initiative Charter to end the institutionalisation of children.
This was followed by a high-level discussion involving UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and the Government of Sri Lanka.
For Their Future Today, being present in that room after 21 years of advocacy was deeply significant. It was a powerful moment, not because of recognition, but because of what it represents for the thousands of children who have waited too long to grow up in families instead of institutions.
Suddenly, doors that once felt firmly closed are beginning to open.
And with support now visible from both the UK and Sri Lankan governments, the landscape for reform has changed dramatically.
From advocacy to implementation
On 23 and 24 February 2026, an intensive two-day Alternative Family Care consultation took place, supported by UNICEF.
During this consultation, Teona Aslanishvili, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection, formally announced that the Southern Province has been selected for Sri Lanka’s first national foster care pilot programme.
This was a landmark moment.
For many years, Their Future Today has advocated for an approach that keeps children in families wherever possible and develops safe, supported alternatives when they cannot remain at home. To now see a foster care pilot formally identified as the way forward in Sri Lanka is a major breakthrough.
The Southern Province Commissioner also gave thanks to both UNICEF and Their Future Today, recognising the role this partnership has played in helping move the vision forward.
The findings and recommendations from the UNICEF consultation were then presented to the Ministry, and next steps have already been confirmed by the National Probation Commissioner.
Childcare reform is no longer a distant hope.
It is happening.
And there is no going back.
Real change inside institutions
Alongside policy progress, practical change is also happening on the ground.
At an orphanage, the number of children has now fallen to 31, down from 57 just one year ago, and the lowest number in more than 30 years.
Across the Southern Province, 257 children have returned to extended family care under “fit persons” placements.
This is hugely significant.
For the first time, parents and carers are being more clearly warned about the emotional and physical harm caused by unnecessary family separation. Rather than defaulting to institutional care, families are increasingly being encouraged and supported to keep children within family networks, with practical help and small financial incentives.
This is prevention in action.
This is what it looks like when a system begins to shift from separation towards support.
The Southern Province Commissioner also expressed heartfelt thanks for TFT’s support in providing eight fully trained housemothers, whose expertise is now being shared with childcare students from the vocational training centre.
That support is helping to raise standards not just for today, but for the future.
Even more encouragingly, the Commissioner has also:
This is transparency.
This is trust.
And this is what real systems change looks like, often quiet at first, but deeply important.
Children are leaving institutions.
Families are being strengthened.
And the system itself is beginning to turn.
Shifting the national conversation
After years of standing outside the system calling for reform, Their Future Today is now increasingly being invited inside the room to help shape it.
That is a major shift.
The journey ahead will still require persistence, diplomacy, and practical hard work. Commitments must become policy. Policy must become practice. Pilot programmes must be properly supported, monitored and strengthened so that long-term change can take root.
The next important steps include securing wider formal approval and continuing work towards a memorandum of understanding that helps embed TFT’s role in supporting this reform journey.
But what is clear now is this:
Family-based care is no longer being discussed as a distant idea.
It is being planned.
It is being tested.
And it is beginning to take shape.
Thank you
None of this has happened overnight.
And none of it has happened alone.
To everyone who has supported Their Future Today over the years by believing, encouraging, funding, sharing, connecting, and standing with us even when change felt far away, thank you.
This moment belongs to all of us.
Because of your support, Sri Lanka is moving closer to a future where children are no longer defined by institutions, but by love, belonging and family.
And after more than 20 years of advocacy, that future finally feels within reach.
With gratitude,
Lynn & Joel
By Joel Stanier | COO
By Joel Stanier | COO
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