The Yamu Foundation

Kindness, connected to the places that need it.

The Foundation is how YAMU returns a portion of every win to the places our team comes from. Direct, operator-run projects in Sri Lanka and beyond, structured the way we run accounts: small dollars, maximized reach, audited outcomes.

Current Fundraiser

100% of donations to project · 0% to overhead

Current fundraiserSri Lanka300 Villagers, 15 Years

Life-saving clean water for 300 villagers.

Become an early supporter. Every dollar counts. Don't worry if you can't donate $200, donate $1. It still matters.

Donate Today View on GoFundMe ↗

Sri Lankan village where the clean water project will be built — The village, photographed by Kanishka, September 2023

The Project.

This village is next to the one I grew up in. While I was in Sri Lanka last month, a distant relative came to say hello while holding on to her grandchild. She was on her way to our village with two buckets in her hand, to fetch water from an old well with so much bacteria. That's when I asked about it and learned how her village hasn't had access to clean water in years. They drink river water, or make a two-hour journey to nearby villages and use abandoned, unmaintained wells to get drinking water.

How the funds get used.

With $5,000 we can construct a deep well on the local school grounds, so the school can maintain it once it's built. We then connect a water filtration system to that well, providing 1,000 liters of clean drinking water daily. The volunteer group I have curated will form a board of locals to collect monthly dues from the villagers, pay the electricity bill, and manage maintenance for the next 15 years.

$5,000Deep well + filtration system, school grounds

1,000LClean drinking water, daily output

15 yrsLocal board maintenance horizon

300Villagers served, generationally

What clean water can do for this community.

Immediate relief

No more daily struggle for survival. No more fear of waterborne disease, or hours spent walking for water.

Health & well-being

Clean water is the cornerstone of good health. Improved health, fewer illnesses, longer lives.

Education

Children stop fetching water. Schools focus on teaching. The next generation gets a brighter future.

Economic empowerment

Adults engage in income-generating work. The cycle of poverty breaks. The village builds.

Legacy

The system you help build serves this community for at least 15 years. Present and future generations.

Our story

My name is Kanishka Wanninayaka.

I grew up in one of the most impoverished villages in Sri Lanka, without access to basic infrastructure like electricity and water. Ever since moving to the States and getting into entrepreneurship, I've observed the desire the community around me has to give back, to support people in places like where I am from.

I am eternally grateful for the unique circumstance life has placed me in: to be a connector of kind and giving people like you to places that are in need. Over the past few years, with your help, we have been able to accomplish so much.

Through these initiatives, I have assembled a team of volunteers in Sri Lanka who take the money we donate and maximize its reach. They use it only to buy supplies and rely on volunteers to do as much of the work as possible, so the impact compounds.

“If we can spend the cost of one meal to create generational impact, why wouldn't we?”

Impact to date

What your dollars have already built.

Built

school

for children

Built

homes

for homeless families

Put

kids

through high school and college

Prevented

people

from starving by providing food and supplies

All projects independently coordinated by volunteers on the ground. Receipts and photos available on request.

The archive

Past fundraisers.

Every campaign closed and accounted for. The dollars are documented; the people who received them are real.

№ 012022

Life or Death Critical Medical Supplies

$3,365 raisedof $50,000 goal

We raised funds for 5 hospitals in Sri Lanka in impoverished villages with no internet access. During the country's crisis, hospitals lacked key medicines like anesthesia for C-section births. Average monthly family income in these areas: $60. All donations went through a 501(c)(3) called Heart Shelter.

Read the full story ↗

№ 022021

Christmas 2021: Getting 10 Kids Out of Poverty

$5,000 raisedof $5,000 goal

Malnourished, unhygienic, one step from homeless. We followed these kids through the next 2 years of their lives, making sure they didn't drop out for any financial reason. $350 puts one kid through one year of higher education. Every one of them is still in school.

Read the full story ↗

Every dollar counts

Don't worry if you can't donate $200. Donate $1.

It still matters and counts. And just as importantly, please share. It takes one click on LinkedIn or Facebook, and that share is half the battle.

Donate Today Talk to Kanishka