KUSHIL'S JOURNEY

OF COMPASSION AND THE FOUNDATION OF GOODNESS

- By Allaam Ousman

Standing on the same ground that was once devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, Kushil Gunasekera speaks with a quiet conviction born of lived experience.

The memory is vivid, the pain still raw two decades later. "I saw these eight young people who had no place to be buried. So, I gave this area for them to be laid to rest. It was an unbearable human stench - something no one could ever imagine. But here, this place became like a small cemetery within our sector. That day, I realised deeply that life is so fragile, nothing is permanent. Everything changes, and nothing lasts forever," says Gunasekera.

From that moment of tragedy arose one of Sri Lanka's most inspiring humanitarian efforts - the Foundation of Goodness (FoG). What began as a humble effort to help a few people has now become a model of rural empowerment and reconciliation, touching tens of thousands of lives across the island.

"When I was 16," says Gunasekera, "I made a promise to help those who lacked opportunities. Compassion was my trigger. Seeing the suffering of others, I told myself I would do something. I never imagined how far it would go. But that's the beauty of kindness - it multiplies."