Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, an island nation south of India, looks back on a complex history – marked by colonial rule and deep ethnic tensions.
The economy is traditionally based on agriculture, especially the cultivation of tea, rubber and coconuts. Tourism and the service sector also offer potential, but growth and prosperity are unevenly distributed.
In 2022, the country plunged into a severe economic crisis. The causes included years of mismanagement, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decline in tourism. The economy shrank by 7.8% in 2022 and by a further 7.9% in the first half of 2023 (World Bank). The poverty rate rose from 13% to 25% – an additional 2.7 million people fell into poverty. At the same time, food insecurity and real wage losses worsened. Despite initial stabilization since the end of 2023, the situation remains tense: the World Bank expects that more than a fifth of the population will still be living in poverty in 2026. In this environment, targeted local projects for social, economic and health empowerment are particularly important – especially for marginalized groups who are particularly affected by the crises.

In Sri Lanka, we are currently supporting projects in the Colombo and Nuwara Eliya districts.

Many tea plantation workers are threatened by avoidable blindness due to cataracts as a result of years of UV radiation and a lack of treatment options. At the same time, young people in particular often have limited career opportunities because they lack practical English skills – an important prerequisite for many jobs locally. Together with regional NGOs, we support an eye clinic that offers free cataract operations and a community-based English school. In this way, we are helping to restore eyesight and improve employment opportunities through targeted language tuition.
Our local partners work in the long term and with great trust from the community to overcome these challenges sustainably.