Who we are
Founder Trustee
Sharadha de Saram
Sharadha de Saram is a Communications Specialist by profession and works as an independent writer chiefly for electronic media. After completing her film studies in Berlin, Germany, she worked as Film Editor with Sender Freies Berlin (now Berlin Brandenburg Broadcasting) - the national TV station of Berlin, and later with The Social Development Commission and the Agency for Public Information, Government of Jamaica, West Indies. With the introduction of television to Sri Lanka Sharadha returned home to head the Current Affairs Division of the State Television Station, Rupavahini. She has scripted and directed numerous documentaries on development issues for both Government and Non-Government Organizations. She later, moved onto focusing on children’s issues when she worked as Media Consultant with UNICEF, Sri Lanka. Her interest in children led to her writing the book. ‘One Country & One People’ an illustrated story book for children. The book has been published in all three languages – Sinhala, Tamil & English.
It was her continuing interest in issues related to women & children that she, along with a group of others established The Sunshine Charity. Among its most recognized projects is the establishment of The Sunshine Day Care and Preschool to take care of vulnerable children living in the eastern province of the country. www.sunshinecharity.org
In 1989, she was awarded the Zonta Club of Sri Lanka’s Woman of Achievement Award – The Arthur C. Clark Award for Television Direction and Production.
In 2005, Sharadha de Saram was appointed Post-Tsunami Consultant in Sri Lanka for Give2Asia, established by The Asia Foundation to promote philanthropy to Asia. Subsequently, she was appointed the Sri Lanka Country Advisor, Give2Asia - a post she held till 2021. In 2011, she was invited by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to participate at the International Women's Leadership Workshop in Jerusalem, Israel where she spoke on 'Can traditional and religious giving lead to social change?'. Sharadha served as Member of the National Board of Habitat for Humanity, Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2010. In 2008, she was appointed Project Director of the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation which will preserve the documentary film heritage of Sri Lanka. In 2017, The Salvation Army invited Sharadha to be a Board Member of the National Advisory Board, Sri Lanka. Sharadha is a former student of Bishop’s College, Colombo.
sharadha.desaram@gmail.com
Trustee
Roshan Peries
Roshan Peries is currently the National Project Coordinator for the International Trade Center. In 2024, she was appointed President of the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan for the period 2024-2025. Previously, Roshan was the Consumer and Retail Business Manager for the Consumer Testing Services of the Swiss based organization, SGS LANKA (PVT) LTD. As Chairman of the Lanka Prison Fellowship. Roshan works with prisoners from 11 prisons island-wide for their spiritual, moral, physical and social wellbeing.
Roshan did her undergraduate studies at the University of Houston, Texas, USA graduating with a BA in Management. She also has an MBA in Management/ Marketing from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She served as Member of the National Board of Habitat for Humanity, Sri Lanka from 2003 to 2009.
Roshan Peries is a former student of Ladies College, Colombo. An avid cyclist Roshan cycles for numerous charities close to her heart.
rsporange@gmail.com
Trustee
Ishviyan de Saram
was born and raised in Sri Lanka. A former student of The British School, Colombo, he left to the United States to pursue his final 3 years of high school at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, USA. Upon graduating, Ishviyan attended Rollins College, Florida, USA, earning a degree in Economics. He recently left a career in Operational Risk Management to pursue new business ventures. Ishviyan currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and two children.
ishviyan.desaram@gmail.com
Trustee
Kamini Mukunthan
After leaving College Kamini joined Air Ceylon as a Stewardess and was absorbed later to Air Lanka when she was designated Chief Stewardess.She joined the garment buying house, Banaras as a Merchandiser and later worked as the Country Manager of British VAT. Kamini joined the Wijeya Newspaper Marketing Team and went on to be the Events Manager of the same group, an appointment she held till 2020.
Kamini’s interest in charitable work paved the way to joining Lion’s Club International. Since 1998, she has been a Cabinet Officer serving as International Youth Chairperson and the International Club Twinning and International Youth Exchange Chairperson in the Lion’s District 306C2 Sri Lanka.
Kamini served as a member of the Past Pupils Association of her College - Bishop’s College and the BC Auditorium Committee.
mukunthankamini@yahoo.com
Trustee
Tesalia de Saram
Tesalia grew up in Sri Lanka and lives in New York with her husband and three sons. Tesalia was a student at the The British School in Colombo, later attending boarding school at Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts, USA. She received her B.A. from Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. Tesalia worked in marketing at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in NYC before joining her family business, Joyride Coffee Distributors, where she worked in Human Resources. Tesalia currently serves on the board of the Douglas Manor Association.
tdesaram@gmail.com
Milestones of Our Journey
Under a Mango Tree
The 2004 Boxing Day Tsumani creates our first project – The Mango Tree project. A group of 18 children between the ages 2-6 years living in the Kuchchaveli camp, Trincomalee district are able to spend a few hours under the shade of a nearby mango tree thanks to a teacher turned volunteer, residing in the same camp.
Our Dream
To own a piece of land and build a permanent day care centre to implement a sustainable project, providing them with suitable space to regain their childhood and a committed and trained staff to manage the day care. With generous funding from local and international donors we purchased a 50-perch block of land in Sambalthivu, Trincomalee.
Constructing a Second Building
With widening the scope of our work and increasing the number of children admitted, the construction of a second building is necessary.
Granted Preschool Status
A well-trained staff takes us to the next level. The Preschool Bureau, Eastern Province grants us preschool status. Providing numerous creative opportunities, a nutritious mid-day meal, art and reading workshops, health and wellbeing camps, uniforms and a playground, parents are encouraged to send their children to preschool. Twenty years on, we are still here!
