The mission of Extra Cover is to help some of Sri Lanka’s poorest school children grow up with hope. It provides basic essentials – from food and clean water to toilets and textbooks – to twenty four extremely remote village schools in the southern rainforest area. As funds allow, it also builds extra classrooms, installs playground equipment, runs tea and cinnamon-growing cooperatives, and oversees vocational schools.
For several years Extra Cover has been helping a boy called Bishan who, as well as learning difficulties. has significant bowel problems which still require the daily attention of his mother. Thanks to the efforts of Bishan’s parents, the Sri Lankan government has agreed to partly fund a new house for him – one in […]
Gilkanda School On the suggestion of the Elpitiya Zonal Director, Robert visited Gilkanda School over the Easter holidays. The school Is located in an oil-palm plantation and none of the 21 pupils has ever left company land. The principal told Robert that most of the children are malnourished and live in “line-houses” – holdovers form […]
When it comes to growing food, Sri Lankans really know their onions … not to mention their manioc and their okra. Whereas the British all like to voice their opinions about the weather, Sri Lankans like to share their strongly-held views on the growing of vegetables and rice … and, of course, tea. And now […]
Robert writes: The current fiscal devastation in Sri Lanka was mirrored during our trip in October 2022 by devastating rains. In all our trips out to the country, neither of us has experienced just so much rainfall in such a short period of time. For several hours every day - and in some cases all […]
Robert writes: One of the frustrations of charity work is why a programme that is wonderfully successful in one place can’t be universally replicated. The Extra Cover funded food programme at Kalugalawagala is a case in point to. On our trip in October, the principal of this remote primary school explained how he has set […]
Robert writes: “I asked a young girl in a small classroom of pupils how old she was, and she said she didn’t know … and I thought it was just nerves. And so I asked an older boy his age, and he said he didn’t know either. The teacher then explained that none of the […]
