As a business partner of the Rotary Club of Westbourne, Nineteen48 has been engaged for several years in a joint project between that club and the Rotary Club of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka.

The initial contact was made from the club in Batticaloa in 2017. After a few months of email communication, the clubs held a meeting in Sri Lanka in early 2018 to discuss how they could collaborate.

The first phase of the project started in 2019. The clubs were initially working with several schools in the Batticaloa area to build waste disposal units for sanitary products. The aim of this was to enable and encourage female students to keep attending schools during their periods, so that they did not have interruptions to their education.

During 2019 and 2020, up to the start of the covid pandemic, we constructed units at 10 schools, before we had to suspend the work. Due to the impact of the pandemic, the prices of the materials for the units escalated to the point that the completion of further units was no longer financially viable.

During 2023 we discussed what could be done with the remaining funds that had been raised for the project. Through a connection between the Rotary Club of Batticaloa and the Eastern University of Sri Lanka, we identified a Livelihood Assistance project being implemented by the university's Centre for Industry Community Linkage.

The project involved creating a family development plan for each of 17 families with pre-school children in Savukkadi model village. The plans comprised of various elements, such as innovative agriculture and integrated poultry, pig and fish farming. They were developed with the technical support of the university and intended to give food and economic security to the families and their community.

It was agreed that this new phase of our collaboration was a good use of the funds available and work started in August 2023. The plans were devised and the Rotarians in Sri Lanka coordinated the delivery of the livestock and equipment required for the implementation. In total, they delivered 400 chickens, 12 goats and a water pump. The project continued to its successful conclusion in June 2024 and the community now has the ability to develop its farming from this point.

The entire project has been funded jointly by Rotary and Nineteen48.

We look forward to future collaborations with our colleagues in Sri Lanka.