In October 2003, VeAhavta opened the Grace Vocational Training Center (VTC) at the Grace Care Center. Through the Grace VTC, VeAhavta is able to provide approximately 100 needy students per year with free vocational training as a partial, long-term solution to the devastating effects of regional poverty.

In April 2004, VeAhavta expanded the facility to offer additional courses, and in May 2005, we opened a dormitory for the Grace VTC so that students from outside the Trincomalee area could also have the opportunity to benefit from the program.

The six-month training programs being offered by the Grace VTC are only available to destitute women, who are among the least empowered and most vulnerable of the various groups in Sri Lankan society, and some of the courses being offered do not fall within the ambit of "traditional women's work." Nonetheless, the need for skilled workers in the disciplines for which we are providing training and the desire of women to receive such training compel us to move outside what may be considered the "realm of the traditional."

You can help the Grace Vocational Training Center by donating to the program.

You can also become a financial sponsor of the Grace Daycare program. Sponsorship is easy, inexpensive and tax-deductible, and it helps ensure the continuation of the program. When you commit to sponsor the Grace Vocational Training Center, you'll receive an annual group photograph of the students and a special annual report describing the progress made in the program.

And, best of all, sponsorship is very inexpensive. It costs just $20 per month ($240 per year). Your sponsorship can be paid monthly or annually - you chose what's easiest for you.

To begin sponsoring the Grace VTC, click here or download a sponsorship form here and mail it in to VeAhavta.

Thank you for your support. With your help, we can continue to provide our neighbors with the skills they need to pull themselves out of poverty and have a chance at living more meaningful lives.