Let's Celebrate Dreams to New Beginnings - September Programme Update 2025

What began as small seeds of hope 20 years ago has grown into something truly powerful - changing lives, shifting mindsets, and proving that when amazing people unite for a cause, extraordinary things happen.

This newsletter is a celebration - not just of milestones and achievements, but of the countless hands, hearts, and voices that made them possible. Every step forward has been shaped by your encouragement, your generosity, and your belief that children deserve nothing less than love, dignity, and a family to call their own.

We are so excited to share these highlights with you, because each one represents a story of hope, dreams - and a promise of new beginnings.

We already have even more exciting news lined up to share with you soon!

You are invited to join us at The Conduit Club on Saturday 1st November for a special and heartwarming evening to celebrate with our guest speaker BBC’s Dilly Carter and other special guests - where we will also be launching our film awarded by Helpfilms earlier this year.

Please do get in touch if you can offer a prize auction or raffle donation, take on a challenge, or organise an event!

Even the smallest monthly donation helps to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children who need families, not institutions - and regular donations are urgently needed to help us continue supporting vulnerable children and families in need.

Your support means the world, and we now need your help more than ever to help spread the word.

Loving kindness

Lynn, Joel and the TFT Team

Their Future Today

The moment we have been dreaming of!

The moment we have dreamed of, fought for, and never stopped believing in - actually happened last month.

At a national press conference, attended by Nimmu Kumari, TFT’s inspirational care experienced Alternative Family and Foster Care Manager, Sri Lanka’s Hon. Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasooriya - alongside other key government ministers - publicly recognised what we’ve been saying for two decades:

“Every child should grow up in a family. A family is where children receive love, protection, and care… Institutions must be the last resort. We must focus on alternative care - kinship, foster, and family-based care.”

She also launched a Rs. 5,000 monthly grant for children in Child Care Institutions - not to keep them there, but to support their journey into family care.

“Giving Rs. 5,000 does not empower anyone to keep children in the system. We aim to reduce the number of children in institutions and give every child the chance to grow up in a loving home.”

After 20 years of hoping, dreaming, and advocating for this moment, change is finally happening … and our journey hasn’t ended- this is just the beginning to ensure words become action and the currently unknown concept of foster care becomes known and recognised.

We are grateful to so many - including our specialist partners and trainers Dr Vasundhra Centre of Excellence Alternative Care, India and Professor Myrna Mcnitt (above) International Foster Care Organisation USA. who have been beside us all the way on this challenging and often traumatic journey.

After pushing against the tide for change for so long, everything has changed in a moment. What feels especially hopeful is witnessing a cohesive, intelligent new government with forward-thinking leadership and a genuine commitment to positive action for its people - and most importantly institutionalised children who have been forgotten about for far too long.

After 7,486 days of dreaming, advocating, and never giving up hope to find families for all and not just a fortunate few - just like that, the future is finally looking so much brighter. And now, one day, the chance of having someone to love every child is in sight.

This really is a dream come true.

ALTERNATIVE FAMILY CARE UPDATE

Nimmu, as a former care leaver who escaped an abusive family, only to suffer again within a system meant to protect her—and who carried the heavy cultural stigma of growing up in an institution into adulthood—everything changed recently, when she finally gained a respect she had never known before. Nimmu was invited as a special guest by the National Childcare Probation services— with a car sent to collect her — to attend a festival for children from orphanages across the Western Province.

There, Nimmu met with the Ministry Secretary for Probation and Social Services, the Western Province Commissioner and Deputy, the Head of Prisons, the Director of Children’s Remand Homes, and orphanage management teams. Speaking from first-hand experience, and on behalf of hundreds of Careleavers she shared the harsh realities of the harm caused by institutionalising children — and highlighted the solutions needed to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up safe, loved, and within the care of a family.

Nimmu presented our Alternative Family Care FAQ handbooks which were gratefully received - with recipients eager to learn more. She also engaged in very positive discussions about the urgent need to improve the quality of care provided by caregivers in orphanages, and for change within the child care system through the introduction of alternative family care options including the unknown concept of foster care.

As a result, TFT has been asked to roll out the House of Dreams programme across 106 institutions and to consult with the government on these critical issues.

We are grateful to the EA Foundation for their support in helping to drive this important mission forward.

Care Leaver Vijay’s Dream Journey to

Becoming a Chef

We’re sending all our good luck wishes to care leaver Vijay, who thought he would need to save up for three years to realise his dream and pay for training to become a pastry and bakery chef.

Thanks to support from TFT supporter Mr Fazal and the NEST Academy. Vijay has been sponsored, and has nervously and excitedly started out on his dream journey.

Beautiful Day at Thiniyawala School

Beautiful Day at Thiniyawala School, Sri Lanka.

Written by Nimmu Kumari,

TFT Alternative Family and Foster Care Manager.

“Visiting the school at Thiniyawala with Mr Percy, and his daughters Natasha and Sulaksha was a wonderful experience for me. The meals program there made me feel inspired and hopeful. Seeing the joy on the children's faces as they enjoyed their meals was very heartwarming. It showed me how community programs can really make a positive difference in our society to keep families together. The dedication of the principal and teachers was impressive.

The kids even asked to take pictures and selfies with us, which was fun. They really enjoy it when someone comes to visit.

They greeted us with a bag full of Rambutan fruit and some fresh flowers. It felt like we were visiting a family in a village. They treated us like family members, serving us Halapa, coconut roti with chili, and plantain tea. It was a great experience to feel the warmth of the village people.

I also saw how much they need our support. One teacher told me that some children come to school just to have these meals, as it might be the only food they eat that day. I realized they really need healthy food, and they enjoy the meals we provide.

Before I left. I felt a deep emotional connection when a mother came to speak with me, and I struggled to hold back my tears. "Thank you, Miss, for providing meals for our children. This means so much to my child. I work at a tea estate and don’t earn much. My child comes home and tells me what they ate at school, which brings me so much happiness. There are days when I have nothing in my cupboard to prepare for lunch, so this program is truly invaluable. There are likely many other children in similar situations."

So far, 38,591 school meals have been donated to 256 children in two schools this year to prevent the risk of abandonment and malnutrition. There can be nothing worse than watching your child go hungry, and your generosity is making such a huge difference to their health, their education and their futures.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations to Hansani -

for Qualifying as a Teacher

We’re sending our huge congratulations to Mr. Percy’s eldest daughter, Hansani, who waited an entire year for the results of her teaching degree - and passed with flying colours! Hansani’s dream to become a teacher began in 2018, inspired by the opening of our preschool inside Ruhunu orphanage. She had a passion to teach the children who needed her most, and we’re so proud of everything that she’s achieved - as is Padmi an inspiring, caring and loving teacher who has worked at the orphanage for nearly 20 years.

”Teaching the children at Ruhunu has been a truly heartwarming experience for me. It was incredible to see how much they could learn and grow when given love, attention, and the chance to play. Many of these children had spent their days lying in cots with little to no stimulation. Early learning is so important. it gives these children the foundation they need for emotional, social, and cognitive development. I feel proud and grateful to have been part of something that can change their futures for the better.

Teaching at Mercury Holidays -TFT Preschool and Ruhunu Preschool came with very different experiences and challenges. In the community, the children generally came from stable home environments, and many were already familiar with basic routines, learning habits, and social interactions. Teaching there felt more structured and focused on early academic skills and classroom engagement.

In contrast, Ruhunu Preschool, being part of a children’s orphanage, brought unique emotional and developmental challenges. Many of the children there had limited exposure to personal attention, play, or stimulation before coming to class. Some struggled with emotional expression, attachment, or confidence. It required more patience, emotional sensitivity, and a nurturing approach. The focus was not just on learning letters or numbers, but on helping them feel safe, loved, and ready to learn.

Though different, both settings were rewarding in their own way. TFT taught me how to manage structured early education, while Ruhunu reminded me of the deep emotional impact a caring teacher can have on a child’s life.” Hansani.

Huge Congratulations to Nimmu

Huge congratulations to Nimmu, our care experienced Alternative Family and Foster Care Co-ordinator who—after being awarded not one, but can you believe three degrees- finally had the chance to attend her graduation ceremony.

Growing up in multiple orphanages with little access to education, Nimmu’s insatiable thirst for learning has never wavered. Despite working full-time and supporting other care leavers and communities, she has continued to study in every spare moment- proving that with resilience and determination, anything is possible.

Nimmu missed her first graduation in India as she’d already returned to Sri Lanka, and her second in Colombo while working on a volunteer project for children in Galle. But at last, she’s had the moment she so deeply deserves- donning her gown with her proud husband Prasad by her side.

Nimmu has turned adversity into purpose. Her determination to grow, give back, and rewrite her own story is a powerful example of the strength it takes to rise above the system that failed her. We couldn’t feel more proud or privileged to have her on our team.

She is flying- and with her, carrying the hopes and dreams of thousands of children who, like her, deserve love, family, and a future beyond institutions.

AND MORE CONGRATULATIONS TO NIMMU!

After 4 years, Nimmu finished writing her book. She gave Lynn the greatest honour of naming the English version and writing the words for the back cover.

It is called The Caged Girl: A Journey to Justice - a title that we believe reflects both her personal story and the brutal reality faced by so many innocent children in Sri Lankan institutions who are victims of abuse and abandonment and forced to appear in court as though they were criminals - often left to sleep in prisons and police cells awaiting court hearings, and then stand in fear and judgment in cages meant for criminals in court.

Today, through her work with TFT, Nimmu is helping to change that system - so that no child ever has to endure what she did.

This is more than her story - it’s her dream to give a voice for every child still trapped in silence, and a call to end the institutionalisation of children once and for all.

“Thank you Mrs Lynn and TFT team for giving me chance to work with you. Because of TFT only I was thinking of translating the book, earlier I didn’t have any idea on English version…”

It was also an exciting and very proud week for Nimmu, when she was deservedly promoted to the position of TFT’s Alternative Family and Foster Care Manager.

Nimmu’s journey is a powerful reminder of why we must rewrite the narrative for care leavers who’ve grown up in institutions. Too often, they are unfairly judged before they are seen or heard- stigmatised as worthless troublemakers rather than recognised for who they really are: resilient, resourceful, and full of untapped potential.

In another incredible milestone, Nimmu was invited to meet Her Excellency Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Minister of Women and Child Affairs, where she presented our Alternative Family and Foster Care FAQs Handbook. The Minister expressed her gratitude for the resource and her eagerness to deepen her understanding of this vital subject—one that remains widely misunderstood yet urgently important.

VIJAY GIVES BACK!

The gratitude and generosity shown by care leavers often astounds us. Our apprentice chef and care leaver Vijay asked how he could give back - and he did just that. He joined Nimmu for the ‘From House of Worries to House of Dreams’ programme in an orphanage and taught the children how to make delicious fish buns!

Nimmu described the joy as contagious, the buns were a big hit, and the children were thrilled to taste and learn something new from someone who’s walked the same path, leaving them feeling uplifted and full of hope, which is something neither Nimmu or Vijay had ever experienced.

They know only too well that many institutionalised children have nowhere to go when they are released back into the community - and live in fear of reaching the age of 18 years old when the gates open. Too often their only options are criminality, sex work and suicide.

During these visits important data is collected and orphanage managers learn about alternative family and foster care. All managers have been supportive and requested more in depth knowledge and training.

This impactful programme has now reached more than 280 children and care workers - and the success of the House of Dreams activity has been adopted in 14 orphanages.