Flowing Hope in Ukulankulama

Ukulankulama Vidyalaya is located on the A9 road in Mihintale Division in the Anuradhapura District. This is an area where there are most people make a living from subsistence farming and daily wage labour. This school serves about 104 children. The Sri Gotami Dhamma School is also located in the school premises. About a 100 children attend the Daham Pasala weekly.

The children and the villagers of Ukulankulama have to make a long trek to the water filter in Mihintale town or to the water filter in distant Rambewa area to collect drinking water. Many people in this village get water from bowsers at an exorbitant cost. They do this because the groundwater in Ukulankulama is contaminated with calcium deposits resulting in an epidemic of kidney disease.

The residents of Ukulankama however have no respite. In addition to the challenges they face in obtaining clean drinking water- residents have to face the menace of the Human Elephant Conflict. They live on the front lines of this conflict living in the middle of an elephant migration pathway. The Mahakanadarava lake reserve is located close to the village where they go seeking water during the dry season.

The villagers made their pleas known to Gammadda and Gammadda recognizing the severity of the problem faced by the people of Ukulankulam village responded. The Gammadda team took the initiative to provide a solution to this problem. Accordingly, the foundation stone for a water filtration system was laid on 26/8/2023 in a groundbreaking ceremony.

This project was made possible by a generous contribution by a magnanimous donor who wishes to remain anonymous.