Trail Sri Lanka to do it again
Crowd-funding is a relatively new concept for Sri Lanka, but it’s a concept which is well accepted globally.
Trail 2011: Public support and enthusiasm for the cause (above and bottom left)
Stated simply, crowd-funding is the practice of funding a project by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, usually via the internet.
Interestingly, the largest crowd-funding project in Sri Lanka raised almost 10 million rupees – with just tills! This amazing project was the culmination of two very different goals which led to something which no one could have anticipated.
It began with the goals of Sarinda Unamboowe, who had pledged to walk the length of his homeland as a commitment to peace were the war to end, and Nathan Sivagananthan who wanted to build a hospital in Jaffna.
Their brainchild, Trail Sri Lanka, raised $2.2 million in 2011 and they are set to do it again for the Karapitiya hospital in Galle – but this time they hope to raise $5 million.
What struck most people about the event was the generosity which they encountered.
People recalled fishermen donating Rs.2000 after selling the day’s catch, children donating the little pocket money that they had and bus drivers stopping in the middle of the road to donate as much as they could.
Announcing Trail 2016: Founders Sarinda Unamboowe and Nathan Sivagananthan with ambassadors Natalie and Nadiya Anderson at the press launch. Pic by M.D. Nissanka
Walkers encountered homeless people, women selling their wares and pedestrians from all over the country who were all interested in knowing what Trail was all about and donating whatever they could towards this worthy cause.
One walker felt that what really moved him was the fact that people would come and ask them what was happening before they could go to them and ask for donations.
Such enthusiasm to help was what really made the walk special, he said.
Amazing Race and Survivor stars Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, two of the celebrity ambassadors for Trail 2016, recalled how they found the event to be a life changing experience which they hold as one of the fondest memories they have of Sri Lanka.
The Karapitiya teaching hospital – which Trail hopes to help with their walk in 2016 – is currently facing many issues in treating all the patients they receive.
Karapitiya hospital sees patients come from as far as Badulla and Kalutara for treatment and Trail hopes to help build a new seven storey building which will focus on patient comfort and care.
The proposed building will give patients more ward space and other facilities including counselling rooms, rehabilitation and recreation facilities as well as new radiology and pathology labs.
The founders felt that the support they received from President Maithripala Sirisena -who was then the Health Minister – was also a driving force in helping them reach their goals.
They recalled the many times the President reminded them of their promise to resume Trail again in the South and are happy to resume their project again with his patronage.
Walkers will start their journey at Point Pedro and proceed towards Dondra Head and can choose the distance which they feel they can cover, from walking the full distance, part of the way or even becoming a virtual walker.
Two of Trail’s celebrity ambassadors, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have pledged to walk the entire 670km distance.
Trail is set to cover 670 km over 28 consecutive days from October 6 to November 2, 2016. The founders hope to see people visiting their newly refreshed website www.trailsl.com to take part.