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| Mr. Timmermans |
Mr. Timmermans was the former Chairman of Berendina Stichting Foundation, a close friend of Mrs. Berendina Borst, the founder of the organization. Mr. and Mrs. Timmermans are very old now and Mr. Timmermans always proclaims that Sri Lanka is his second country. He was always close to the organization treating it as his own. Every year the couple donates money gifted by friends and relations on their wedding anniversary for small projects in Sri Lanka. He first initiated from the friends gifts and now it is his own money. He spends these funds through Berendina Development Services especially on community projects such as provision of drinking water and road construction. He assisted in improving the house of a family in Matara affected by the tsunami and also constructed a new house for a poor family in Galle. Mr. Timmermans encourages his friends and relations to donate money rather than gifts so that he could assist the poor in Sri Lanka.
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APT Enterprise Development, UK / Big Lottery Fund, UK |
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APT is a British NGO, a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee with extensive experience in supporting management and implementation of over 150 projects and have undertaken various training, consultancy and research activities. After having supported the survey in tsunami affected coastal areas in the south and east, APT together with BMI forwarded a project proposal to the Big Lottery Fund, UK, for funding assistance to "increase employment opportunities to the poor and the vulnerable people in small enterprises damaged by the tsunami". APT works in the capacity of a mediator and partner providing technical and managerial support in this project which is being implemented in the eastern and southern provinces.
The fund provider for the project "Rebuilding Livelihoods through Employment" is Big Lottery Fund, UK, which is an arm of the National Lottery of the United Kingdom. |
Etimos
BMI received a Loan from Etimose in the year 2009 in two installments amounting to total value of Rs. 45 million. First installment of this loan was received in July 2009 and the second installment was received in November 2009.
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National Development Trust Fund
Continuing it support which started from year 2008, National Development Trust Fund provided its support to BMI by providing loan facilities in year 2009 too. Under this, BMI received a loan of Rs. million 30.1 during year 2009 in 7 installments. |
GTZ ProMis
BMI received a grant amounting to Rs. 861,823 from GTZ ProMis under the program of ‘Technical Assistance to improve Savings & Credit Business Activities in plantation Housing Cooperatives in Kegalle & NuwaraEliya Districts during 2009.
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Lankadara
Lankadara Home in Wellawate is an institution commenced by a philanthropist similar to Ms.Borst who left valuable property and building in Colombo for this purpose.BDS has been providing educational, skills and vocational training to girls in this home since 2003. Though the girls are provided with food and security in Lankadara as in majority of orphanages in Sri Lanka there is no funding to support education and skills development. The girls attend a nearby government school and till Berendina came to assist did not have any supplementary assistance to enhance their educational ability or other skills. Berendina’s funds go towards extra tuition classes for children in many subjects such as science, mathematics and English. It also enables them to learn life skills and even potential income generating skills like sewing, cooking, dancing, music, art and computer. We also provide some funds to take girls out to visit places of interest as they are mostly stuck in the home. Girls show a considerable change due to these interventions with better results in school, development of confidence and development of useful skills which can even generate income in the future. Some have topped their class in school and some even become school perfects. This is remarkable considering the trauma they have gone through as well having to live in a residential home without parental love. The entire atmosphere of the home has changed due to Berendina’s intervention. 82 girls benefited from this work in 2009.
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Youth Welfare Training Center (YWC); Kalutara
The support to this project commenced by BDS in 2007, During 2009. BDS has given Rs 489,750 to YWC to provide education for 18 girls who are school drop outs from very poor families. They are provided life skills and vocational training by the sisters of the home. Out of the them 1 girl was schooling at Yatiyantota, 3 were studying for A/L, 6 studying for O/L, 2 at senior and 6 at junior levels. 17 of them were given education at the centre itself by visiting teachers. In addition vocational skills such as sewing, cookery, music, dancing and patch work were also conducted at the centre.
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INDICOS
Indicose is the largest NGO in Matara district. They partnered with BDS in early 2006 to help Tsunami affected women in Matara. INDICOSE requested BDS to help them to establish a microfinance division for their organization in 2007. Since then BDS assisted financially and technically to establish their microfinance program. INDICOSE microfinance program lends only to women. In the year 2009 BDS provided Rs Rs. 1.7 million as grants and Rs 1.5 million loans to capitalize loan for poor women. Already over 2000 clients benefit from Indicoes program and other donors such as CIDA has also helped them. In addition to funding BDS provided various technical assistance and training to develop this initiative.
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BMI is a member of following Networks.
- Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association
- South Asian Microfinance Network
- Banking with the Poor Network
- Microfinance Information Exchange (Mix)
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