84 Little Ones, One Big First Day

There’s something about a child’s first day of school. The slightly too big school bag. The nervous excitement. The sense that something important is beginning. For 84 children in Anuradhapura, that day is coming in 2026, and thanks to you, they’ll walk in ready.

How It Started

A teacher from a government school in the Kadurugasdamana area of Rambewa reached out to us. He wasn’t asking for much. Just a little help for the children in his community who would be starting Grade 1, the ones whose families were quietly worrying about how they’d manage.

Almost everyone in this area lives off farming. It’s hard work in the best of times, and lately the times have been far from the best. The recent floods tore through the paddy fields and washed away the harvest so many families were counting on. When you’re trying to recover from something like that, the cost of sending a child to school for the first time can feel impossible. Books, a bag, a uniform, all of it adds up fast when there’s barely enough to go around.

So when that teacher asked, we knew we had to say yes. And because of you, we could.

The Day We Gave Back

On December 22, we handed 84 children a complete school kit. Not just a few odds and ends, but everything they’d need to start strong. A school bag packed full of supplies, a water bottle, a lunch box, books, color pencils, pens, and all the little things that make a child feel like they belong in that classroom.

Here’s where these kits went:

• A/ Siyabalagaswewa Medagama Vidyalaya – 29 students
• A/ Kaeḍae Rathmale Vidyalaya – 19 students
• A/ Wanni Palugollawa Vidyalaya – 19 students
• A/ Ihala Kotiyawa Muslim Vidyalaya – 17 students

To make it all happen, we also drew on what was left from our Flood Project, so those funds went right back into helping the same families the floods had hurt.

Thank You, From the Bottom of Our Hearts

It’s easy to look at a school bag and see just a bag. But to a child whose family lost so much this year, it’s so much more than that. It’s a quiet promise that they matter. That their education is worth it. That on their very first day, they’ll stand alongside their classmates without feeling left behind.

None of this happened on its own. It happened because you cared enough to help.

You’ll find some photos and videos from the December 22 distribution here. We hope they bring you the same joy they brought us.

Thank you for giving these little ones the chance to begin school with their heads held high.