About

About 

Where We Began

The foundation behind FORWARD has been working since 2009. It was incorporated by the Parliament of Sri Lanka under the Foundation of Rural Workers and Allied Rural Resources Development (Incorporation) Act, No. 70 of 2009. The Act provides for work including poverty alleviation, education and vocational development, support for rural and plantation communities, programmes for women and children, health initiatives, and other forms of community development.

For many years, our work was simple. When someone needed help, we tried to help. There was no large programme structure or long list of projects. We responded to people and situations as they came to us, providing assistance in different ways and helping where we could.

That experience taught us something important: there will always be people who need help, but helping one situation at a time does not always address the problem behind it.

A New Direction

Today, we are taking a more focused approach. Instead of simply responding whenever a need appears, we want to identify issues that continue to affect communities and develop practical programmes that can respond to them over time.

Our immediate focus is on two areas:

Child Nutrition

Malnutrition continues to affect children and families, particularly in communities facing economic hardship. We are beginning with a small child nutrition pilot in Nuwara Eliya, supporting 50 children with monthly nutritional assistance. The pilot is deliberately small. We want to learn what works, understand the real costs, listen to the families involved, and build from there.

Youth

Young people need more than advice about their future. We want to explore practical ways to help young people develop skills, find opportunities, become economically active, and create paths forward — particularly for those who may not have formal qualifications or an easy entry into employment. This work will develop as we learn what is actually useful.

What We Are Trying to Build

FORWARD is not intended to be an organisation where everything depends on one person. The purpose is to bring together people, ideas, skills, resources and opportunities and turn them into practical action. Someone may contribute money. Someone else may contribute an hour of their time. Another person may have a useful skill, a connection, equipment, a place, an idea, or simply the willingness to help. All of these can have value. We aim to create projects that people can participate in, contribute to, and eventually take ownership of themselves.

Our Foundation

The 2009 Act gives the Foundation a broad mandate for community development, including poverty alleviation, education, vocational training, self-employment, entrepreneurship, programmes for women and children, health-related initiatives and the development of rural and plantation communities. It also requires that the Foundation's work be carried out without distinction based on race, caste, religion, language, sex or political opinion.

Our current programmes are therefore not a departure from why the Foundation exists. They are a more focused expression of that purpose. The difference is that we now want to move from helping wherever a need appears to building practical, ongoing programmes around needs that continue to affect people.

From Caring to Doing

We know that we cannot solve every problem. But we can choose something we can do. We can start small. We can learn. We can be honest about what works and what does not. And we can bring more people into the work FORWARD, From caring to doing.