The MJF Charitable Foundation - Moratuwa

The Rainbow Centre The Rainbow Centre provides holistic development for children with special needs through education and therapy for those with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism and other developmental disorders. The Centre houses a pediatric physiotherapy unit with state of the art equipment while there are full time physiotherapists and speech and language therapists attached to the centre to work with students having speech and sensory impairments. The early intervention programme for the toddlers, special education, life skills and vocational training for the youth have resulted in a marked development in these special needs children. Women’s Development Programme The Women’s Development Programme was introduced in 2013 to meaningfully deploy the young mothers of the programme participants in various activities such as home gardening, cooking, sewing, arts and crafts to support them reach entrepreneur levels in their chosen area of talent. MJF Kids Programme The MJF Kids Programme conducted at the Centre every afternoon brings quality education, skills development and vocational training for children from low income families in and around Moratuwa to help them overcome the challenges confronting them due to extreme poverty, lack of opportunities and guidance. Since its inception, a decade ago, the MJF Kids programme has exposed over 500 underprivileged youngsters to a life of possibility by tapping into their inherent abilities requiring only means of nurturing. Empower Culinary & Hospitality School A premier culinary and hospitality training facility, the School has the objective to create new avenues for underprivileged and marginalised youth with empowerment through education in the gastronomy and hospitality industry of Sri Lanka. The school uses an intensive training method with visiting international culinary professionals supplementing the Sri Lankan faculty to provide the students with comprehensive knowledge and global perspectives on cuisine and hospitality. Curtiss Institute of Design and Technology Established with the support from Dilmah Partner Daron Curtiss of New Zealand, the Cutiss Centre for Design assists youth from low income families excel in the area of graphic design. The unit, equipped with 48 computers, has the capacity to provide training in Graphic Design and MS Office for around 329 students, per year The MJF Centre Moratuwa was established in 2011 to support Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando’s vision of sharing the success of his Dilmah brand with the less fortunate and the poor. The Centre is located on a sprawling urban estate in Moratuwa, a populous city in the Colombo District. The MJF Centre houses the MJF Kids Programme, the Rainbow Centre for children with disabilities, a centre for women to seek support and solace, the Curtiss Centre for Design, Empower Culinary and Hospitality School and the Dilmah Conservation Sustainable Agriculture Research Centre.