Room to Read introduced our Literacy Program in Sri Lanka in 2005 – one year earlier than initially planned – in response to the devastating 2004 tsunami. We have since worked in seven of the country’s nine provinces.
In 2006, we also supported the start of our Girls’ Education Program in an effort to close the gender gap in certain provinces. We have had significant success not only improving the quality of instruction, but also the accessibility of education for more than a million children nationwide. In 2009, when the Civil War officially ended, Room to Read quickly initiated the creation of programs in the Mannar District of the Northern Province, where much destruction took place. We worked closely with the government to improve infrastructure, access to educational resources and educational opportunities in the region.