Sri Lanka

The ministry in Sri Lanka began with a passion to minister to orphans, widows and others in Sri Lanka.  As in many countries around the world, Christians are persecuted and often blocked from carrying out ministry. So, the ministry is known as “Bridge of Hope Lanka” in Sri Lanka. The team in Sri Lanka lives out the Gospel while meeting educational and physical needs of those we serve. Like the other CWO ministries, leaders in Sri Lanka are nationals and understand both the needs and culture of those we serve.

Sri Lanka is a developing country that went through an ethnic conflict for 30+ years when the conflict finally came to an end in 2009. Since then, there are many people under the poverty level with no hope for a better life. The caste system prevalent in Sri Lanka has two major ethnic groups: Tamil and Sinhala. The majority of Tamils are Hindus, living in the north and east, and the majority of the Sinhalese are Buddhists, living in south and west. Agriculture is the main source of income for 70% of the people, and 20% of the people are employed at garment/clothing factories. The other 10% find work wherever and however they can.

Helping Children & Youth

We reach out to underprivileged children and help them with their educational needs, helping them to access education and to succeed in life. We reach out to youth and work with teachers help to educate and support these students with tutoring help.

Some of the younger generations in Sri Lanka do not have hope and or a purpose in life. Unemployment among youth is sky rocketing. In rural villages especially, the younger generation is struggling to see a future. The goal of the Sri Lanka ministry team is to reach out to them, offer counseling and provide vocational training in their field of interest. We want to encourage them to be independent and to contribute to their communities and to their country.

We are currently supporting children with their educational needs, including:

  • We have around 60 children in our educational program. Every Friday our staff spends time with the children, helping them learn Christian English, songs and Bible stories.
  • 20 elderly women receive dry food twice a month.
  • We regularly disciple men and women.
  • We have four paid teachers (two in the North and two in the South).
  • We have two paid CWO full-time missionaries.
  • We regularly meet with pastors and train them to be like Jesus in ministry.

Helping the Elderly

We also seek to help elderly women who live alone, don’t have a steady income and struggle to survive. By identifying and meeting their needs, we have set up a building fund to help with repairs on their homes, rebuild their homes when necessary or just provide a bed. There are many widows of varying ages in Sri Lanka due to past conflict, and many are struggling to provide for their children with their limited income. They need help to build their confidence and to have hope to take care of their family needs. Our goal is to assist them in bringing a steady income, meet their basic needs and show them a brighter future!

We look forward to sharing more with you about the amazing work taking place in Sri Lanka and how God is encouraging us to do even more!

For more information about our ministry in Sri Lanka, contact us at information@cwomissions.org or call 303-723-0333.