Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many of the difficulties care leavers around the world struggle with on a daily basis.
Covid-19
Covid-19 Response
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many of the difficulties care leavers around the world struggle with on a daily basis: housing, finance, health care, social support, employment, nutrition and hygiene. In Sri Lanka the situation was no different.
A typical care leaver in Sri Lanka works in a low-income job with daily wages. In the national lockdown these jobs disappeared, and workers were laid off.
This in turn created an accommodation crisis. Care leavers living in cheap, rented accommodation were unable to pay their landlords and faced eviction. Others live in low-cost boarding or hostels attached to their workplace. They were forced to spend months at a time in cramped accommodation never intended for people to spend extended periods of time in.
Whilst many in society had the option of returning to family homes, often away from the big cities this was not an option for most care leavers.
The Brighter Path transition homes provided a much needed safe space and caring environment in this difficult period. We also made grants to individual care leavers to enable them to stay in their own accommodation.
The Generation Never Give Up network tracked down care leavers in greatest need and sought assistance from partner organisations, particularly aimed at helping those with young families. We were delighted to respond to both their appeals with generous support.
Further Reading
Dengue Fever
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With the UN in Nuwara Eliya
Two Brighter Path care leavers were invited to take part in a UN Development Programme audit of disabled facilities in Nuwara Eliya, a large town in the tea country of …
Elite Athlete
For the last 5 months Brighter Path has been supporting Sandun, an elite athlete and a care leaver. When he was young Sandun always excelled at athletics and showed enormous …