It is with great pleasure and pride that Communities Without Boundaries International announce the first ever Youth Without Boundaries member of the year, Chathura Dissanayake from Sri Lanka. Chathura is the first YWB to receive this award in recognition of his tireless work to build a library for the Am-Mayadunne School in Ampara, an area in the South East of Sri Lanka and is home to the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities.
Over the past 18 months, Chathura worked tirelessly with the staff from Communities Without Boundaries International, the schools’ principal, staff and parents, all of who contributed towards the success of this project. At the end of October 2013, Chathura’s project had successfully renovated an existing a 20-foot by 20-foot room into a library, furnishing it with books, book shelves, desks and chairs. While Chathura has been able to furnish the library with books and test guides for grades 5 and 12 who will be taking their public exams (scholarship and O’Level), the library still lacks books for the other grades. Chathura hopes to donate two computers and additional books to transform this library into a true information center, where knowledge is readily available to community members who seek it.

From 1983 to 2009, the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka experienced a brutal civil war between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Advanced Nonviolence & Peacebuilding Training & Youth Dialogue

Communities Without Boundaries International partnered with the United States Department of State in Sri Lanka to carry out a series of nonviolence and peacebuilding training workshops in January and March 2011. Over a two-week period in January, CWBI’s team conducted trainings in Matara, Horona (Sri Pali Campus at Colombo University), Bandaragama and Padukka. We returned to Sri Lanka in March 2011, and carried out another series of workshops at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, University of Kelaniya, and Rajarata University in Anuradhapura. In 2010, CWBI staff conducted trainings in Colombo, at South Eastern University in Olluvil, Eastern University in Batticoloa, and at the University of Jaffna.

Communities Without Boundaries International in partnership with the United States Department of State in Sri Lanka carried out an advanced nonviolence and peacebuilding training and dialogue for youth from May 26-30, 2011. Approximately 120 youth from across the island participated in the workshop. Universities represented in the training included The University of Colombo-Sri Pali Campus, University of Peradeniya, University of Jaffana, Rajarata University, Eastern University of Sri Lanka, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuwa University, and The University of Kelaniya.