Saving sea turtles in Kalpitiya through community development

Background

I am a professionally qualified marine and coastal ecologist and conservation biologist with 20 years of field research experience in coastal ecosystems of Sri Lanka. I have managed over 15 projects related to turtle conservation, coastal ecosystem restoration, management and eco-tourism in the northwestern, southwestern and southern coastal areas in the island.

I graduated in 1997 from the University of Peradeniya. Then completed my postgraduate degrees, M.Phil. and Ph.D. in 2003 and 2012, respectively from the Postgraduate Institute of Science at the University of Peradeniya.

Project

The Kandakkuliya, Kalpitiya in Sri Lanka (160 km from Colombo) is a key hub for foraging sea turtles. However these species are under threat as some in the fishing community hunt sea turtles either for personal consumption or to trade the meat. They engage in such activities due to being poor, uneducated and lacking good job prospects.

So it is my intention to educate the community of the importance of protecting sea turtles and the environment and also to upskill those in the community (including children) by conducting English language classes. A better command in English will not only encourage environmental conservation but also increase job opportunities for the youth in the area, especially in tourism, as the tourism industry is rapidly developing in the Kalpitiya peninsular.

To conduct the above mentioned sessions we wish to complete building a small community center in Kandakkuliya, Kalpitiya. The half built building currently has only walls. We need roof, doors and windows, electricity, water supply and furniture for the office and class room.

The BCS will employ a local educated teacher (already identified). We are planning to conduct evening classes in the week days. Further, we are planning to use foreign volunteers as the English teachers.

Item	Cost	Current status (as At 15th May 2016)
1. Roof, windows, and doors	Rs. 180,000	To complete once we obtain funding.
2. Reconnect the electricity connection and wiring	Rs. 25,000	To apply once we complete the building structure.
3. To obtain a water connection	Rs. 15,000	To apply once we complete the building structure.
4. Desks and benches for the classroom(numbers 6 sets)	Rs. 50,000	To purchase once we obtain funding
5. Furniture for office	Rs. 30,000	To purchase once we obtain funding
Total cost	Rs. 300,000

Family

I am a father of two kids (13 and 10). My wife is a home maker.

Contact Details

Full name Dr. Lalith Ekanayake
Address Bio Conservation Society (BCS), 19/1/2, Heerassagala Road, Kandy
Phone +94 77 8000204
Email lalitheml@yahoo.com, bcssl@yahoo.com

Tribefunds’ administrator comment

As this is a charitable cause to help our own, we will provide the Voice Foundation Sri Lanka any contributions that are generated from this campaign. Further we waive off all administration and processing expenses in relation to this campaign, as such all donations collected will be provided to the families in full.