Across poor villages and in urban settlements, preventable illnesses and disability are a major cause of suffering, a drain on family finances, and a barrier to building a more secure life. When these are avoided, families can focus on other pursuits such as education and income generation. In this way, HOPE Sri Lanka’s programs that focus on health are the stepping stone to community wellbeing.

HOPE Sri Lanka’s approach to improving health is to support programs that enable community members to grow in their awareness of what causes ill health, to implement affordable ways to prevent illness, and to connect people in with other services that are available – such as clinics or hospitals. The focus of these programs is locally-determined, but commonly focuses on the health of pregnant mothers and infants, connecting children with immunization programs, awareness around preventing transmittable diseases, and environmental sanitation such as clean dishes and rubbish removal. The effects on families can be felt almost immediately, as mothers enjoy fewer instances of diarrhea in their households, and can approach childbirth with greater confidence in a healthy outcome for themselves and their babies.

Health awareness extends into social and economic issues, as these also lead to illness and prevent wellbeing. For people with disability and with mental illnesses, social acceptance and support is vital to enabling them to achieve to their full potential. And for women experiencing violence, or for refugees fleeing political instability, the effects of trauma require both counselling and livelihoods opportunities to regain health. The community-based nature of HOPE Sri Lanka’s work enables this to happen within the context of existing social networks, building up the community itself to provide better support for vulnerable people.