Dear friend,
I am sure you would remember the email I sent you on the above matter. Mr & Mrs Penney will be walking 55km on 25th August to raise funds to assist the IDP fishing families in the north and east of Sri Lanka to restart their lives after many years of displacement.
They have almost reached 50% of their target of donating 10 boats (£14,000). You can click the link of their fund raising page below and can see from the list of donors the majority donated so far has been from their friends and family, and a handful of Tamil diaspora. Although the Penneys have no direct connection to the victims of war in the north and east of Sri Lanka, they are undertaking this painful task to enable the victims to earn a living and to lead decent lives. I’m appealing to you, your families and friends, who have connections to these affected families, to support them by sponsoring their walk. I attach a few photos from our past fishing boats project carried out in partnership with IMHO USA, Tamil Forum Malaysia & CHRF UK. Please use the link below to make your donation:
The Penneys fund raising page: https://mydonate.bt.com/
Assist RR have already provided 17 engine boats and nets to fishing families in Sampoor and Paadalipuram in Trincomalee district at a cost of around Rs 600,000 per one set of engine boat and nets. Each set was given to five families to be shared between them. In total, 85 families benefitted from Assist RR’s efforts with the support of IMHO USA, Tamil Forum Malaysia and CHRF UK. This assistance enabled these 85 families to stand on their own feet and to lead relatively comfortable lives. Data collected from these families show that these families are earning between Rs 2000 & Rs 3800 per day per family. This earning is a very handsome return for their day’s hard work. They have written to Assist RR stating that they flourish in a thriving livelihood. A letter from a family is attached.
Mr Penney and I were interviewed yesterday by London IBC TV about Assist RR and Penneys’ fund raising efforts. A link to this interview is given below. Please kindly listen to what he has to say about the plight of our people and his efforts. Please kindly consider donating any amount by visiting the above fund raising page. Second part of this interview will be on next Friday (24/08) at 7PM on IBC London.