Tribefunds

“Transforming Sri Lanka begins with education. Let's equip every child to be safe and kind citizens ”

Safe Circles

In Sri Lanka:
    • There were over 10,300 cases of child abuse reported in 2021 (Sunday Times, 2022)
    • 1 in 4 women faced physical or sexual violence since age 15 (Women’s Wellbeing Survey, 2019)
    • 1 in 3 pregnancies are estimated to be unplanned (UNFPA, 2019)

At Safe Circles (www.safecircles.lk), our vision is to make free, trilingual education on topics that matter accessible to every Sri Lankan. That's why we have created free educational materials that anyone can deliver to the children and caregivers in their communities in Sinhala, Tamil or English.

Our resources cover vital topics such as:
    • Bodies and Boundaries (4-6 years)
    • The Need for Body Safety Education (for parents and teachers)
    • Reproductive Health (12-14 years)
    • Menstrual Health (9-11 years)
    • Gender Equality (5-7 years)
    • Women’s Rights (16-18 years)
    • Child Rights (6-8 years)

Safe Circles workshops are based on the recommendations of global authorities on child education, the insights of local specialists, and the responses to workshops we have personally conducted in the field. We believe that education can transform Sri Lanka and that, by delivering a Safe Circles presentation, anyone can change a life.

With your support, we can use education to change the direction of the nation.

We are seeking LKR 1.5 million in funding.

This will be used to make our workshops accessible to as many children and caregivers as possible via these three approaches:

1) Directly facilitate Safe Circles workshops (LKR 1,000,000 allocation)
    • Connect with schools, orphanages, government, etc. to provide children with Safe Circles workshops

The approximate cost per workshop (including facilitator fees, activity sheets for each child, travel costs) is LKR 45,000 to 65,000 (depending on the number of children and the distance of the school/venue from Colombo).

2) Recruit trainers to deliver Safe Circles workshops to communities in need (LKR 300,000 allocation)
    • Conduct in-person train-the-trainer programmes to equip trainers to deliver content effectively
    • Provide trainers with the resources to conduct effective trainings

Each train-the-trainer workshop would cost approximately LKR 15,000.

3) Promote Safe Circles content to boost awareness and usage (LKR 200,000 allocation)

    • Promote the Safe Circles website to caregivers, teachers and parents so they may deliver the content to the children in their communities
    • Promote the Safe Circles website among the NGO community so they may direct individuals in greatest need of the content to access it
    • Promote Safe Circles content via three YouTube channels (Safe Circles, Safe Circles Teens, and Safe Circles Kids) so it may be consumed directly

The monthly budget for promotion of the website and YouTube channels would be LKR 10,000.

The co-founders of Safe Circles are Dr Mihitha Basnayake (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery – MBBS), Nabila Imtiaz (Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Bachelor of Sociolegal Studies) and Ayesha Ratnayake (Master of Business Administration, Chartered Marketer, Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy). We came to realise that education is the only real route to change, and began creating the content that we felt was lacking in our education system.

Before formulating our content, we had conversations with organisations that work with the grassroots. We spoke to individual activists, lawyers, journalists, an MP, an Afghan activist, a sex worker, and many more. We also did secondary research on the issues in Sri Lanka, and explored how other countries were addressing similar issues. Additionally, we made adjustments to our content based on responses from delivering workshops in the field. We are constantly developing new content to address key social issues.

To find more about us please visit our website, https://www.safecircles.lk/

We hope to have the funding in place by 15th September so we can immediately begin conducting workshops, train-the-trainer programmes, and promoting Safe Circles content.

18th August 2023 - We are off with our campaign, really looking forward to your support.

Visit https://www.safecircles.lk/ to learn more about Safe Circles.

The co-founders of Safe Circles are:

Dr Mihitha Basnayake (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery – MBBS)
Mihitha is a medical doctor turned social activist who has conducted workshops across the country, particularly in the area of reproductive health. He is passionate about building a better Sri Lanka and is an active and altruistic volunteer, lending his services to provide medical counselling to youth and adults.

Nabila Imtiaz (Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations, Bachelor of Sociolegal Studies)
Nabila is a passionate social reformer. She is talented in leading projects and coordinates with Safe Circles' team of volunteers and external specialists. She is the type of person who would not hesitate to pick up the phone to call out a government department that is failing in its duty, and is an enthusiastic advocate for change.

Ayesha Ratnayake (Master of Business Administration, Chartered Marketer, Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy)
Ayesha is a three-time author who consults for UN Women. She is the co-founder of Sri Lanka's first presentations agency, and the former CEO of a technology startup. She designs Safe Circles content to be accurate, informative and visually appealing.

To find more about us, please visit our website, https://www.safecircles.lk/

Contact details for further inquiries

Name Safe Circles
Address 33 Perera Mawatha, Thalangama South, Battaramulla
Phone Number: +94 (0) 77 365 0022
Email: hi.safecircles@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/safecircles.lk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safecircles.lk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/safecircleslk/
Website: https://www.safecircles.lk/

Free, trilingual education to protect and empower Sri Lanka’s children!

Safe Circles