Realizing that Homes for destitute Orphaned Girls are a pressing need in Sri Lanka, the doors to the Peter Weerasekera Children’s Home were officially opened in the year 1959. While originally the Home sheltered just 10 little girls between 7 and 14 years of age, today it is a thriving home for over 85 children. Located amidst a lush and serene location 21 miles away from Colombo, we have created a safe space that fosters the growth of
young orphaned children with careful attention to their necessities.
We hope that every child who leaves our Home will be able to find employment.
Through caring and giving, we allow the children to develop as good and valuable citizens. In order
to fund the charitable cause of running the Home and caring for these children, we need your
support and greatly appreciate whatever you are able to share.
For this charitable cause we need your support in
whatever way you can, which would be greatly appreciated by all of us.
The Peter Weerasekera Children’s Home is an old ancestral “Walauwa” or Mansion which was gifted for this cause in memory of the Late Mudliyar Peter Weerasekera by his son, Singha. Incidentally, he was orphaned as the sole survivor of the Dambuwa Walauwa at the tender age of 6, when both his parents passed away within four months in 1937, due to illness.
Inspired by his parents’ noble commitment to community service, Singha transformed their sprawling ancestral Dambuwa Walauwa, into Peter Weerasekera Children’s Home, as a fitting tribute to his father, and officially declared it open by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, on March 5, 1959, commemorating his mother’s death anniversary.
Singha firmly believed that “There is nothing more touching in a human being than reaching out during another’s need.” Genuinely caring for the less fortunate, he reached out to orphaned children to help them discover their full potential in life. He gave his might to uplift and care for the youth; guiding them to become useful citizens in the community.
Inaugurated in 1980, our nutrition centre, assisted by the International Children’s Aid in Australia is dedicated to the care of a bandoned malnourished infants. The centre currently cares for 20 infants from as little as 4 weeks old to 3 years. In most cases, these infants are found left behind in drains, under shrubs or even at the beach.
Upon finding such an infant, they are usually handed over to the Police who immediately send them to the State Receiving Home that functions under the Government Department of Probation
and Childcare Services. The infant is then sent to the care of our Nutrition Centre through a Magistrate’s order
The complex has expanded to accommodate a much necessary
Toddlers’ Home. This cares for around 25 children between the ages of 3 and 5. Most of the children at the Toddler’s Home are brought in from the Nutrition Centre after they are cared for and nursed throughout their infancy up until they turn 3.
These children require the most attention and care along with a
proper focus on their development.
Education is an important aspect of a child’s growth, especially during their early years. This is why we have established a Montessori Pre-School for our toddlers within our premises by converting one of our old buildings. The Pre-School is also open to the children from the village as well, providing them with an opportunity to learn at a very nominal fee. Currently, we aim to upgrade our facilities with better equipment and more teachers who have a good command of the English language. As such we encourage anyone overseas or locally to assist us with this initiative.
We also operate a Girl’s Home that currently accommodates 40 children between the ages of 5 and 18. The Home is comprised of two dormitories for the juniors as well as the seniors. Providing these girls with quality education, facilities and exposure are of paramount importance to us.
The Junior dormitory was donated by one of our benefactors – The Rotary Club of Gimsoy of Norway through Mr Thor Herman Thorsen who has been a good friend of Singha & Mala for many
years. It is named as Norway House. We are grateful to Thor’s family espe cially Ove and Carl, and Gimsoy Rotary for their continued support
