The grant provided by the Foundation was matched by PEER Servants and a total of 44 loans were given by their Sri Lankan microfinance partner, YGRO-HEED. YGRO-HEED empowers the materially poor of Sri Lanka by transferring capital, skills, knowledge, and ensuring the success of entrepreneurs.
The Jaffna Peninsula in Sri Lanka has been involved in war for over twenty five years and the people have suffered much. There are many widows. Nevertheless, the poor have shown resilience and have coped. The poor are engaging in enterprises such as fishing, dairy farming, poultry, and carpentry and are succeeding. Despite the intensity of the conflict, Jaffna Peninsula residents continue to show economic resilience. The Julia Burke Foundation is delighted to play a role in the economic sustainability of those affected by war.
For more information, visit www.peerservants.org
The Julia Burke Foundation continues its partnership with the One Sri Lanka Foundation and the HALO Trust to eradicate landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Jaffna Peninsula. The U.S. Department of State "matched" our grant and all three organizations are supported two teams of deminers from the HALO Trust to accelerate demining in that area. We greatly appreciate the assistance of the U.S. State Department in our efforts to save lives and strengthen peace in beautiful Sri Lanka.
In remarks made at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State reported after a visit to the Jaffna Peninsula, "It was clear to me at the time that the solution had to start there, in the shattered people and bombed-out villages, in the universal longing for a better life."
As a member of a delegation formed by One Sri Lanka Foundation, www.onesrilanka.org, Marilyn Burke, Executive Director of The Julia Burke Foundation, toured the landmine affected areas.
For more information about The HALO Trust, and to see videos, go to www.halousa.org
