L-R: Sheyera Jayatunga, Saroja (sponsored child) and her sister, and Sheyan Jayatunga

The Jayatunga Family
Dundas, Ontario

For seven years, the Jayatunga family of Dundas, Ontario, has sponsored two Sri Lankan children: a Sinhalese boy named Nimesh and Saroja, a Tamil girl.

“We are Sinhalese-Sri Lankan,” Shanika Jayatunga says of her family that includes her husband Oswald and their children Sheyan, 14, and Sheyera, 12. “We wanted to sponsor a Tamil child. We wanted to show our love.”

When the Jayatungas immigrated to Canada in 1998, the conflict between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority was still raging. “There was a bomb blast in the central bank and my husband was working there at the time. We felt it was not safe anymore and decided to move,” says Shanika.

Child sponsorship was a way to bridge the gap. “We saw World Vision on the TV and websites and decided we wanted to do something,” explains Shanika. “We wanted to help somebody in our country because we know how they are suffering and that’s why we chose to sponsor there.”

Shanika considered meeting their sponsored children in July 2005 during a visit to Sri Lanka—especially Saroja and her family—as a means to further promote peace.

During their visit to their homeland, the Jayatunga family also visited Nimesh’s home and village. There, local World Vision staff showed them how child sponsorship had helped transform the rural community.

“They showed us everything—all of the programs they are doing for the community,” says Shanika. The Jayatunga family learned about a medical facility that World Vision built and stocked, as well as tutorial classes for children and sewing classes for their parents to help boost their job skills. The Jayatungas also saw how animals bought by World Vision donors give families in the village a source of food and income to support their children.

“I’m so happy thinking that we are doing something for them,” Shanika concludes.

Like the Jayatunga family, you too can show love for children in need by sponsoring a child today. Click here to sponsor a child.