Dilmah Conservation and the MJF Foundation together with the Sri Lanka Army share the joy of Christmas with over 1,500 children in the remote Thoppigala area.

Thoppigala, located in the east of Sri Lanka, is a rocky outcrop that protrudes nearly 1,800 feet and is surrounded by jungle and rocky terrain. The area is known in Sri Lanka as the scene of fierce fighting in the final chapter of the conflict that ended in 2009. Remnants of the conflict remain with partially destroyed sentry posts, bunkers and camps littering the otherwise beautiful landscape. More painful than these poignant reminders of the futility of a conflict of three decades though is the poverty of the people of the area.

Helpless victims of a conflict that changed every aspect of their lives, the people of Thoppigala are marginalized and virtually forgotten due to the remote location. The area is only partially cleared of landmines and is largely inaccessible except by four wheel drive vehicles. For the families that live in the area life continues to be difficult, especially for the children, most of whom have never had the possibility of seeing the world beyond their isolated region.

For the first time in the lives of more than 1,500 children that live in Thoppigala, Dilmah Conservation, the MJF Charitable Foundation and the Sri Lanka Army brought the children and their parents to Kiran, where they felt the spirit of Christmas for the first time in their lives. The children each received from Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando’s MJF Foundation, a gift of a pair of new shoes, to help reduce the incidence of disease and injury caused by a lack of proper footwear.

The 17 schools in the area each received a library of books including books selected to help schoolteachers and students alike to include English in their curriculum. Dilmah Conservation and the MJF Foundation, both funded by the Dilmah philosophy of making business a matter of human service, have embarked on a 2 year engagement with the people of Thoppigala with the objective of achieving broad social and economic change.

The programme commenced in November when Merrill J. Fernando visited Thoppigala for a combined humanitarian and environmental programme aimed at empowering the people of the area with a series of entrepreneurial initiatives based on the MJF Foundation’s Small Entrepreneur programme.

The initiativesinclude a strong emphasis on regenerating the environment of Thoppigala which has suffered during the conflict as a result of sustained aerial bombardment and deforestation. Dilmah Conservation will plant 20,000 trees of different species whilst at the same time establishing a Heritage Centre to educate visitors on the biodiversity of the area, and present the handcrafted souvenirs that the local community will be trained to produce.