Day 11: Foundation of Goodness

The Foundation of Goodnes is a charity organisation which aims to empower the rural communities of Sri Lanka. It provides English lessons, sports training and facilities, computer and business training all free of charge to local communities mostly in the South of the country. It was devastated in the 2004 tsunami and has been fundraising ever since with the help of many major companies and sporting personalities around the world. Sri Lankan sportsmen supporting the Foundation are  by Russell Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitheran. Today we visited the Foundation of Goodness before our game. We went on a tour of the site, visiting English classes and computer training classrooms. It was a humbling experience for all the boys. We also visited the sports ground and swimming pool, all built due to donations from around the world.

From the Foundation we travelled to the Sri Lankan "Lords Cricket Ground" for our game against a Foundation Team (the ground was built with the help of the MCC). We lost the toss and fielded first. Against a very strong batting line-up, the runs flowed freely and the Foundation team amassed a large total. Rahul and Ben D were the pick of the bowlers taking two wickets each. The required run rate of 8 an over together with the decision to give those who hadn't had a decent bat time in the middle, resulted in a less then impressive run chase and a loss for the team. Oli's knock of 57 gave the total some respectability. However, today was not about winning or losing, it was about forging relationships, providing opportunities and inspiring global hope. At the end of the game the Barker boys presented the Foundation with a cheque to help provide computers in classrooms for rural communities and a mountain of donated cricket equipment including bats, pads and gloves. There was also an opportunity to purchase shirts and caps, with all money raised going to the Foundation.

On returning to the Heritance hotel there was time for a quick swim before our Sri Lankan themed dinner where everyone had to wear something Sri Lankan. We had another magnificent meal and then  relaxed for the evening.