Youth in Sri Lanka taking action in communities

Our island home

Sri Lanka is a land of great beauty, from the lush forests in the mountains to golden sandy beaches. Our people are warm, friendly and helpful, full of big smiles when you look at them. Community life in our villages is very important, as we value relationships, support and love. Our land is abundant, providing food and fresh water to all its inhabitants, and habitats and food to all its other living creatures. We are blessed with nature’s gifts.

Not so long ago, life wasn’t so peaceful on our small island. We were plagued by a 30-year civil war that divided our country and people. We experienced so much fear and violence, that halted our travel to different parts of the country, that divided our families and friends, and caused us so much inner pain. It has been seven years since the war ended, but we are still learning how to address this pain, how to communicate compassionately and how to do peace building.

NextGEN Sri Lanka

NextGEN Sri Lanka has a vision to nurture youth from all over Sri Lanka to have tolerance and diverse eco-spiritual perspectives. We feel its important for youth to develop mutual-respect, trust and cooperation amongst each other, and to deeply understand the inter-connectedness and wholeness of their environment. So while working with youth to raise their awareness of local and global issues, we are at the same time, putting emphasis on individual and personal transformation, so they can prepare to live in a more a socially just, peaceful and sustainable society.

There are several NextGEN youth groups around the country, and four active core members who coordinate and work with other youth and their communities. One issue they have been active in addressing is waste, by educating communities to not burn or bury their waste but to transform it into something beautiful and useful. In particular, non-biodegradable waste into eco-bricks which is then used in building natural structures. They will use eco-bricks as the bridge to bring communities from different ethnic backgrounds and faiths together.

The NextGEN team has been educating communities about ecobricks and have already completed a successful project to build an eco-bench with ecobricks that were made by the community members.  This project was about to put to use 150kg of plastic "waste" that otherwise would have been burned.  They have been building awareness of the issues related to burning plastic waste in schools and temples and partnering with local community organizations.

Building NextGEN Sri Lanka

NextGEN Sri Lanka is hoping to raise funds to send three active youth from Sri Lanka to the Gaia Ashram (https://gaiaschoolasia.com/gaia-school-asia-ashram/), in Thailand, for a one month Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) program. The EDE, developed by Gaia Education (http://www.gaiaeducation.org/index.php/en/) is an educational program proven to be effective in providing knowledge and pathways of a holistic way of living and towards a sustainable future. EDE programs support people to transform at all levels and have been successfully held all over the world.

The idea behind sending NextGEN Sri Lanka youth for the EDE, is to guide youth towards developing an understanding of the issues they face or see in their society as just the surface of the actual problem. We see youth becoming systems thinkers, to see patterns behind the issues, the root causes that drive patterns, assumptions and worldviews. By attending the EDE in Thailand, we believe, these youth will be equipped with the skills, courage and wisdom to become leaders in their communities, to problem solve and then take action to address issues they are facing.

We are also hope to raise some funds to continue to facilitate NextGEN Sri Lanka workshops for youth and children around the country, in order to help grow an active youth movement. We hope to conduct at least two 5-day programs every year for youth, host smaller convergences and support youth with small seed grants to develop projects in their communities.

Nurturing youth

In order to grow and nurture seedlings, farmers, horticulturalists, botanists and so on will tell you that you need to feed the plants with water, compost, and fertilizers, along with enough light and oxygen. In so doing, we hope the seedlings will one day become beautiful trees that provides shade and habitat for different species, gives nutrients to the soil, conserves water and regulates the climate. Trees provide the hope that our world needs, the strength to hold the threads together and to turn back the destruction that humans have created. We see youth as this hope, providing shade to their communities, addressing issues, practicing solutions and creating positive change that will last for generations to come. In order to see youth grow into these strong trees, we have to facilitate the right growing conditions.

The process of nurturing youth through the NextGEN process, that will address the root causes of the problems, is the core of our work.

The team going to Thailand is...

Trudy Juriansz - NextGEN Sri Lanka faclitatorTrudy has been working with this team for the three years, slowly building momentum and always offering support and guidance to the core group as they spread their wings and grow the movement.  Trudy has a long term hopes for NextGEN as it becomes its own entity.  She will be covering her own expenses to the EDE course and will be co-facilitating the month long program.

Thamindu Sandaruwan - NextGEN Core Team Member

Thamindu comes to the group with quiet but confident leadership.  He is really shining in his capacity to turn ideas into action.  He has studied Natural Resource Mangement, and Waste Management, and his studies are helping frame strategies, and NextGEN is keeping things grounded in the reality that everyday action is the precursor of systemic change.

Madhushani Rathnayake - NextGEN Core Team MemberMadhu is a shining star, her vibrant energy and dedication make her a natural leader.  She is always ready for action, and always has insightful things to offer the conversation.  She is also soaking up so many new ideas and for sure, when the time is right, she will water many seeds that will grow into many abundant fruits.  Her dream is to support other women to be leaders in their communities.

Chathuranga Bandara - NextGEN Core Team MemberChathu is a young man that apprears unassuming, but whom everybody enjoys to be with. His humor is joyful and abundant, but he is also serious and very concerned for the direction that his country is moving. He would like nothing more than to be playful, but because of who he is, he works hard, speaks loud and is tackling big issues.  He is an amazing public speaker and is working towards being a facilitator so he can plant some good ideas in other people.

NextGEN Sri Lanka is hoping to raise funds to send three active youth from Sri Lanka to the Gaia Ashram (https://gaiaschoolasia.com/gaia-school-asia-ashram/), in Thailand, for a one month Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) program. The EDE, developed by Gaia Education (http://www.gaiaeducation.org/index.php/en/) is an educational program proven to be effective in providing knowledge and pathways of a holistic way of living and towards a sustainable future. EDE programs support people to transform at all levels and have been successfully held all over the world.

The idea behind sending NextGEN Sri Lanka youth for the EDE, is to guide youth towards developing an understanding of the issues they face or see in their society as just the surface of the actual problem. We see youth becoming systems thinkers, to see patterns behind the issues, the root causes that drive patterns, assumptions and worldviews. By attending the EDE in Thailand, we believe, these youth will be equipped with the skills, courage and wisdom to become leaders in their communities, to problem solve and then take action to address issues they are facing.

Budget

1. Flights from Colombo to Bangkok (return) $400 x 3 = $1200
2. Train to Bangkok to Nongkhai (return) $50 x 3 = 150
3. Visa costs $40 x 3 = $120
4. Program fees $450 x 3 = $1350
5. Contingency = $180
6. Total = $3000

Our bigger dream

We also hope to raise some funds to continue to facilitate NextGEN Sri Lanka workshops for youth and children around the country, in order to help grow an active youth movement. We hope to conduct at least two 5-day programs every year for youth, host smaller convergences and support youth with small seed grants to develop projects in their communities.  If we can raise $500 over our target we will have a chance to develop and deliver these programs and grow the movement!!

Sri Lanka is an amazing island nation, full of cultural and natural diversity which is what makes this place so abundant and wonderous.  However, below the surface, tensions are still rippling outwards from a long colonial past, from a brutal and divisive civil war, and from economic pressures to meet local and global market demands.  What continues to manifest here in our little "paradise" is that people, especially young people lack the space to learn and practice alternative ways.  Young people especially are pushed into the mainstream by social and cultural pressures and within the rigid education system, there is little space to explore outside of the box.  

NextGEN is becoming a platform for young people to step us as leaders, as role models and as animators of the dream and vision that is the global ecovillage.  NextGEN offers the space to learn and to grow, to act and to reflect, and in this way, we are hoping to direct addres the monumental and long standing challenges faced by Sri Lanka.