Outreach Ministry - St. Paul's Church, Kandy

Our Vision: To be “the caring church” in Kandy.

Our Mission: To reach out to the poorest of the poor in and around Kandy and the needy in the Parish, projecting the image and love of Christ.

The Outreach Ministry of the church has been in existence for a long period of time. In the early 1990’s, it was the priest or the curate who handled it, with what ever donations he could collect and distribute it to a small number of people.

It is now almost ten years after the tsunami and this is of consequence as this also changed the whole outlook of the Outreach Ministry of the church.

As a single church we were able to collect funds and assist Vakarai in the east cost and two other places in Galle and Matara for almost four and a half years. We were able to travel to these place soon after the devastation and assist them in their immediate needs and later on to help them to resurrect their lives and get them back to their livelihoods and their children in their education and travelling. After all this, what was important was that the church had a band of people who were willing spend their time for other people and to date many of them still

continue with Outreach Team. It was this band of parishioners that took over the Outreach Ministry from the priest and organized them selves to help the poor and the needy after their tsunami work.

When people come to the church seeking assistance or some one is referred to us, we have a discussion with them, taking down comprehensive details of their family. Some requests are for short term assistance, such as immediate requirement of medicine, school books, shoes for children and these are purchased for them if we feel that the request has been genuine and medical prescriptions are produced.

If long term assistance is required, it would mean that some one from the Team has to visit them in their home and get more details. If the person concerned is young enough to work, we would try to find them suitable employment or help them acquire skills in a trade they wish to pursue. There are also request for house repairs, water and sanitation and also assistance for their children attending school for which more funds are required and they are attended to on a priority basis.

At present we have 43 families that we are assisting on a regular basis. On the second Sunday of each month we give them a bag of rations, which cost around Rs 1700/- today and also financial assistance to a selected number of 27 with Rs 1000/- each. Each year we do review their progress to ascertain whether we should continue to assist them. It is important to note that 95% of the beneficiaries are women, majority of them being single mothers and some of them with disabled spouses. We have been helping many terminally ill and very old people up to the time of their death.

We have a Listening Ministry which we hope to convert to a Counseling Ministry as there are people who come to us, who just want to unburden their problems.

The affairs of the ministry is managed by a team of 10 Parishioners, chaired by the Vicar. They meet every third Thursday of the month. To discuss matters, interview people, look into finances etc. We encourage Parishioners to make donations for this work and at present there are 48 parishioner families and two schools who make donations in kind or financially which generally helps us through the issue of dry rations but would be in adequate when it comes to house repairs etc.

We do not use church funds for our work and seek outside funding and by the grace of God we have been successful so far. Our accounts are audited annually and presented at the AGM of the church.

Bank account:
St Paul’s Church Outreach Fund.
Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC
Kotugodella Veediya,
Kandy, Sri Lanka

Account No: 1040109536
Swift code: CCEYLKLX004

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