On our charity-based sabbatical to Sri Lanka from mid-February ‘till the end of March ’24, our travels took us to all four compass points of the island and very many points in-between.

This, our third visit, was even more immersive than the previous field trips and the luxury of time presented us with a glorious opportunity to see, up close, the extensive and inspiring impact of IMHO’s work on the ground.

Both as a family and as representatives of the wider community of Solihull School, in the heart of England, our long and happy partnership with IMHO extends over many years. With IMHO’s very generous fund matching of between $20,000 and $30,000 USD, each time Team Solihull (a collection of staff, parents and pupils) take on an Ultra Challenge of circa 50 KM in one day, we have been fortunate to raise considerable funds – all of which go straight to where they are badly needed in Sri Lanka, for the benefit of thousands of its very poorest people. Funds generated have provided fishing livelihoods for 85 families in the north and east, all of whom continue to thrive and remain financially independent many years later. By removing their cataracts, thousands more have had their blindness prevented or reversed in the eastern and central provinces, allowing them to live independently and with dignity. In many cases their contribution to their household income is sight dependent and something neither they nor their families could do without. Meeting some of these people in person is a heartwarming experience; not because those of us committed to helping them seek validation, but because how they feel about their change of fortune is palpable.

This also rang true for those school children and tea plantation worker families we met in Maskeliya in the Upcountry, who – in many cases for the very first time – now have access to clean drinking water. Typically, these families live hard, hard lives of strenuous manual labour and often in relentless heat. Their gratitude was heartfelt, and the health and wider benefits of not drinking water from a contaminated source are exponential.

And while it’s difficult to fully quantify the positive outcomes of upgrading the High Dependency Units of the paediatric wards in Kalmunai Base Hospital and Batticaloa Teaching Hospital, it’s not an exaggeration to say that it will save the lives of very sick children. It will also vastly improve the quality and scope of care on offer for the very sizable paediatric population that both hospitals serve. Climate control, resuscitation beds, oxygen lines, instrument stands and bespoke spaces are just some of the improvements now being utilised. All of this, and more, will also figure in the brand-new paediatric ward that will next be built in Kayts Base Hospital, the apex hospital that serves the whole catchment of seven islands off the coast of Jaffna.

That too promises to be a transformative project, borne of the fundraising and very welcome bonds we have forged with the Board of IMHO over the years and, more recently, their highly committed Sri Lanka based colleagues who took great care of us during our stay.

IMHO have been doing wonderful work in Sri Lanka for over 20 years. In that time alone, they have been there to deal with the fall out of the devastating tsunami, the brutal end to a protracted civil war, the economic travesty that came in the wake of the 2019 Easter Bombings, the pandemic, and the recent bankruptcy of the national purse. Everywhere we went, those we met were keen to tell us how indispensable the support of IMHO has been over those years. On our visits to hospitals in the north, east and upcountry, the medical staff told us – and showed us – what a difference that support had made. The staff know they are listened to, they know that they can ask for support and, importantly, they know too that IMHO can and will say no if requests don’t meet the Board’s well considered criteria for getting the best value out of donors’ funds. Be it the provision of medical instruments, equipment or consumables, new or upgraded facilities, staff training or hands-on support; the mark of this wonderful charity was, and is, ever present.

It’s that long-term commitment to support and to building quality relationships that sets IMHO apart from many other charities. That, and the fact that 100% of all the funds we and our community raise, or others donate, go directly to the beneficiaries.

From the acorns planted by IMHO’s founders all those years ago, a majestic oak tree of benevolence has grown. They will continue to have our support, and we hope here to have given you a keen sense of why they are entirely deserving of yours. Warmest wishes,

Mark and Donna Penney
The Head and the Curriculum & Learning Support Co-ordinator of Solihull Preparatory School, UK.