Sri Sumithrayo is parallel to Samaritans with a very similar mission and vision. There are 48 branches, with Matale Branch being the one Brierley Hill Branch have the privilege of being twinned with.
The '17 Matale Volunteers'
Matale was formed in 1994 and in their early days had to rent premises but this didn’t stop them offering befriending seven days a week between 09:00 and 13:00. They also visited hospitals prisons and schools offering support to people experiencing emotional distress.
Their services are free of charge, irrespective of creed, ethnicity or social status. This was achieved by seventeen volunteers who devoted four hours a week on a rota basis to support those in need. They claimed no expenses and made monthly contributions to meet the costs to maintain the Branch. In these early days, Sri Lanka experienced high rates of suicide.
We began our partnership with Matale in the early 2000’s and began exchanging news about our branches. We also committed to sending £300 per annum to help Matale with the costs of maintaining their Branch and the services they offered.
A friendship between the two branches quickly developed and two of our volunteers, Jean and Mary, went out to Sri Lanka and spent two weeks with the volunteers at Matale Branch. We also managed to meet Matale volunteers at Samaritans York conference which was held annually.
One of the Founder Volunteer's laying the foundation stone of their 'new home' - 10 September 2015
In 2015 we heard that their Government had agreed to give Matale the lease on land thus enabling them to build a permanent ‘home’. Plans were approved and on 10 September 2015, the foundation stone was laid, the start of ‘A Home of our Own’. The money to build stage one had to be raised by Matale Branch; we wanted to support them and agreed to increase our contribution to help. In total £20,000 was raised and volunteers moved into the Branch on 29 January 2016. The building consisted of an office, two befriending cubicles and a volunteer room. Stage 2 of the development, completed in 2018, provided a training room and a meeting room and volunteer numbers increased. All this was achieved by 17 volunteers – what great news!
29 January 2016 - Stage 1 of the new 'home' completed
Sadly, communication has been difficult over the last two years but now things are improving ‘normal service is resumed’. We are again in the process of writing to each other and sharing news once more.