BATTING FOR THE CHILDREN

A 13-YEAR OLD ENGLISH KID HAD PITY ON 11 PLAYERS AT A SRI LANKAN VILLAGE SCHOOL USING TWO BATS AND THEN CREATED AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CHARITY

- By ALLAAM OUSMAN

The Surrey Cricket Ground' in Sri Lanka

In a quiet coastal town once devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, a remarkable sports revival has taken root.

At the heart of it stands Kushil Gunasekera and Anura de Silva, former team mates at Ananda College who have transformed loss into opportunity and despair into purpose. Their sports academy affectionately called the Sports Theatre is not just a training ground, but a living example of compassion in action. Built on land that once went under five feet of water during the tsunami, the ground was lovingly rebuilt with the support of the Surrey County Cricket Club and Tokyo Cement, turning tragedy into triumph. Today, it thrives as a vibrant hub for young athletes from across Sri Lanka.

"We started with nothing," recalled Gunasekera, founder of the Foundation of Goodness in Seenigama, Hikkaduwa. "But look around now, children play cricket, girls train in netball, others swim, others play table tennis and even box. Over 950 young beneficiaries take part in nine different sports here, absolutely free." The academy runs on a simple but powerful belief. No child should be denied sport because of poverty. Coaches are paid, yet students don't pay a cent. Equipment, training and even accommodation for visiting rural teams are provided free of charge. One of the academy's most inspiring offshoots is its bat repair and restoration programme, spearheaded by Anura de Silva, the Director of Sports, at the Foundation of Goodness.