What’s it About?

The Nelli Tree Project started out in 2018, when Tamara and Ryan Raymond saw a pressing need in an area known as Nelli Gaha Waththa (නෙල්ලි ගහ වත්ත) in Peliyagoda, for a safe and clean space for children in the area to do their homework and learn new skills. Through partnership with New Grace Church, the Project has now grown to be known in the area as a skills' development hub, offering free English lessons, meals, and IT capabilities to over 100 children, with that number growing each year. The Project has also begun providing training and assistance to mothers in the area as means of elevating the community’s standard of life. Tamara and Ryan Raymond continue to power the project as private donors, and the Nelli Tree Project has gained attention with both local and international volunteer organisations that continue to partner with the project. But this time the project went one step further, utilizing the technical expertise of MOH and the vast reach of the Nelli Tree Project in the Peliyagoda area, delving further than the bright smiles it's already achieving.

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On 10th October 2023 the Nelli Tree Project alongside the Youth Volunteer group WOW One, partnered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health (MOH), creating a unique mobile dental clinic with specialists from the MOH providing workshops, advice and treatment for the community. “We’ve never experienced something like this and are so glad that we can be part of it” was the response of one teenager from the area. While healthcare is free in Sri Lanka, a growing body of research has pointed toward a socio-economic disparity in oral health outcomes and in access to dental health among certain underprivileged communities. The state of dental health can also have a lasting impact on self-esteem among youth groups.

As the number of beneficiaries grow, the Nelli Tree Project hopes to ensure that a mobile health check becomes a biannual part of its schedule.

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