Transforming the care of children in Sri Lanka

Dear friends and supporters,

This year has been one of real momentum. With your support, Their Future Today (TFT) delivered practical help while driving national systems change so children grow up in families, not institutions. Your generosity touched the lives of 56 babies at Ruhunu, strengthened vulnerable families, provided nutritious meals, supported courageous care leavers, enabled Nimmu’s book, helped rebuild a local business, brought hope to children in 22 orphanages, and expanded early learning and community education. Children have been fed and protected, families have stayed together, and young people who once felt forgotten now feel seen.

Why now

The age-old system of institutional care will not change without challenge, evidence, and a workable alternative. The Prime Minister has publicly endorsed family care and stated institutions should be a last resort, creating the opening to turn words into action and accelerate foster and kinship care.

Direct support highlights

• Care, protection and essentials for 56 babies at Ruhunu.

• Family strengthening and emergency assistance to keep children safely at home.

• School meals and education support that reduce the economic drivers of separation.

• Early learning provision helping children learn, play and thrive.

• Care leaver mentoring and opportunities that build dignity, skills and voice.

Systems change: building the pathway to family care

Alternative Family Care (AFC) seminar, Southern Province
We convened orphanage managers, the Deputy High Commissioner and probation officers for a full AFC seminar. Participants shared the same message from children: they want a family. Although there has been resistance from some staff fearful of change, specialist training by Dr Vasundhra Om Prem (Centre of Excellence for Alternative Care, India) shifted attitudes. We distributed:

• The Second Edition AFC Handbook;

• Assessment of Family Integration Potential (data analysis by Jess Breeze, University of Chicago), based on insights from House of Dreams;

• Foster care posters for display (with Southern Province permissions).

Government engagement and endorsements

• Southern Province: Commissioner Rasika Dissanayake confirmed support for a foster care pilot and approved foster-care awareness posters across all provincial orphanages.

• National: National Probation Commissioner Mrs Gayani Wijesinghe and Senior Probation Officer Ms Nilminee Perera welcomed the proposal and requested a detailed plan, MOU and proof of concept. District Secretary Ms K. R. Olga asked for submissions and will convene a joint meeting with Commissioners and Senior Probation Officers as national guidelines are drafted. India’s Foster Care Guidelines were gratefully received as a reference.

Coalition-building with NGOs
With the support of H. E. Andrew Patrick, British High Commissioner, we hosted a landmark roundtable for 16 leading NGOs (including UNICEF, Foundation of Goodness, LEADS, WDC, EMERGE, SERVE, SOS Villages, CERI and others). Concern moved to action: a national coalition will now champion family-based care, and TFT will establish a National Resource Centre of Excellence for Alternative Care Sri Lanka in partnership with the Centre of Excellence for Alternative Care India.

UNICEF dialogue
UNICEF’s Chief of Child Protection Teona Aslanishvili applauded the progress and asked TFT to share outcomes to inform their 2026 foster care strategy.

Milestones: a step-change in national will

• FCDO recognition & Global Charter: After two decades of advocacy, TFT was acknowledged by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for endorsing the Global Charter on Children’s Care, launched by David Lammy at the UN General Assembly. We invited Sri Lankan NGOs from our High Commission roundtable to add their voices, committing to hold leaders to account so childhood is built on family, not institutions.

• NCPA engagement: In Colombo, Nimmu met the new Chairperson of the National Childcare Protection Authority, Ms Preethi Inoka Ranasinghe, sharing TFT’s Foster Care FAQs Handbook and the Global Initiative. NCPA agreed to display TFT awareness materials and encourage Ministry of Justice endorsement of the Charter.

• Ministerial action: The Minister of Women and Child Affairs committed to a full investigation into the care and conditions of all state institutions and those facing child-abuse allegations, a remarkable step forward after years of silence.

• Reunification grant: Government introduced a LKR 5,000 per child per month support to help families reunite and take children home. This is tangible, practical progress.

• Voice and leadership: When Nimmu presented The Caged Girl – A Journey to Justice, the Minister promised to read, learn and help share her story. Officials requested TFT foster-care documents and model guidelines, signalling that doors to real change are open and lived experience will help lead the way.

Changing hearts and minds

House of Dreams, led by care-leaver and TFT Alternative Family Care Manager Nimmu Kumari, gives children inside institutions a voice and shapes reintegration planning. Weekly emotional-support sessions are now informing policy and practice.

What changed this year

• Attitudes: Orphanage leaders who feared change are now asking for tools to deliver it.

• Policy: Provincial commitment to a pilot, national officials requesting a formal plan.

• Practice: Handbooks, data and training now in daily use by managers and probation services.

• Coalition: A unified NGO platform and a forthcoming Resource Centre to sustain implementation.

• State levers: A reunification grant and ministerial investigations that make accountability real.

Next steps

1. Foster care pilot, Southern Province: Submit MOU and plan, train multi-disciplinary teams, begin assessments, matching and supervised placements, deploy safeguarding and case-management tools, monitor outcomes.

2. National Resource Centre of Excellence: Co-develop standardised training with partners, maintain a repository of tools, data and learning, support courts and probation, coordinate public awareness.

3. Evidence & accountability: Expand House of Dreams insights, publish regular performance data, and feed learning to provincial and national authorities and the NGO coalition.

To our trustees, patrons, partners, donors and friends, thank you. Giving up has never been an option. Children are not numbers and institutions are not homes. With your continued support, we are another step closer to a future where every child in Sri Lanka grows up in the love and protection of a family.

With love and gratitude,
Lynn, Joel & the TFT Team