Jaffna, the main city of Jaffna district (until the year 1824, the district was called Waligama) of the Northern Province is located in the northernmost peninsula of Sri Lanka. The Jaffna district is one of the 25 districts organized into the nine provinces, an artificial creation of the Colonial British (1815-1948) for the purposes of administration of the Island of Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon.

Jaffna city can be reached from Colombo via the A9 main motor road. The distance from Colombo to Jaffna is approximately 404km from Colombo to Jaffna along the A3 main road, in view of the road conditions in the Northern Province it takes over 10 hours of drive time.

Elephant Pass is an isthmus that links the northern mainland known as Wanni with the Jaffna Peninsula. The A9 Highway to Jaffna as well as the Railway track to Jaffna from Colombo shares the isthmus of Elephant pass. The narrow strip of land is in a sense the gateway to Jaffna. Elephant Pass was thought to be an impregnable military complex. The flat barren strip of land is the entry point on the A9 motor road to the Jaffna peninsula. During the rainy season the narrow strip of land that cuts across the Jaffna lagoon tends to get flooded. Sadly, Elephant Pass is famous nowadays for the fierce battles which were fought between the Tigers of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam) and the Sri Lankan Army during the gruesome war which ceased in May 2009. Originally it was named as Elephant Pass because this was the narrowest part of the lagoon across which Elephants captured on the mainland were driven to stalls on the peninsula where they were subsequently loaded onto boats and exported. Maps of this area drawn in the 18th century show large numbers of these stalls dotted over the entire area. Vegetation disappears when you reach the pass itself. On both sides there is water during the rainy season. Otherwise, it is a flat, barren land spiked with fences and barbed wire, a grim reminder of the fierce battles fought here during the past.

Until it was ravaged by the former civil war, the Jaffna Fort was the best preserved fort in Sri Lanka and contained a fine Reformed Dutch Church, which is now also in ruins. After the siege of 1658 which endured for three and a half months, the Dutch demolished the damaged and out of date square fort of the Portuguese and in its place built their ideal fortress. First they built the inner pentagon, and the main gate here bears the date of 1680 and then in the following century enclosed it in a wider fortification of the same shape. This shape is not as obvious as three of the branches are not built because of the vicinity of the sea on these sides. The fort’s black coral-lined walls, ramparts and battlements stand high on the grass covered mound and are surrounded by a moat. It covers an area of 22 hectares, a beautiful setting and rightfully qualified as a Citadel (i.e. a large, independent, garrisoned, administrative and military centre without civil inhabitants). The gate in the outer fortification bears the date of completion, 1792. On the 28th of September 1795, only three years after its completion, the fort surrendered to the British without firing a shot.

The raging war between the Tamil Tigers and the government armed forces has left a trail of destruction to buildings and people.

To this day there are still citizens from the district of Jaffna trapped in refugee camps; some have lost all their belongings including their land. This devastation has affected the children of that province and it is imperative to help these young children to bring their lives back together, giving them hope and confidence.

While children in the west have electronic games and phones to keep them busy, these children count their blessings by the gracious donations you provide. They build their happiness not on materialistic values but the gift that God has placed in their heart which I call HOPE.

• Currently there are 24 locations attending to the needs of these children.

• There 9 churches involved in overseeing the operations

• Average number of children being benefited per week is 651

• Cooked food is served once a week under the supervision of pastors

• The average cost to feed a child per week is 0.50Cents ($2.00 per month).

• The total monthly cost to feed the  651 children $1,302.00

 

Prayerfully consider these young children pictured below from 3 to 14 years in age by asking God to supply to their needs, through the mission God has placed in your heart.

 

We all have a part to play in his Kingdom here on earth.

 

God Bless You.