The children from the Peliyagoda MJF kids centre took us through a ballet performance with a fusion of Kandyan and Low-country dance in traditional Sri Lankan style, Bharatha Natyam, the Raban and Fire dance on the night of the Global Partner Conference, whilst reflecting on nature and its people. The Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation fulfills the wishes of its Founder through its many faceted innovative and environmentally friendly programmes for the communities engaged in the tea plantations, agriculture in rural Sri Lanka, the fishermen in the coastal belt, education and skills development and training for marginalized children amidst many challenges in its path.
The MJF Kids programme was first established in 2006 as a part of Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando’s commitment to sharing the success of his Dilmah brand with the underprivileged. It is free for children from underprivileged families, especially from the vicinity of the MJF Group, where some of the most impoverished urban dwellings in the country’s capital, Colombo are located. In an endeavour to break this vicious cycle of entrenched poverty in the nearby slums, the Foundation set up the MJF Kids Programme. Today, more than 1000 children from the MJF Kids are exposed to a life of possibility.
