Donation protected
Please help us raise money to clean these horribly polluted beaches in Sri Lanka. These beaches are home to sea turtles and wildlife and we need your help!
Life Goal is a grassroots organization that is cleaning up polluted beaches and waterways in Sri Lanka and generating awareness campaigns for environmentally-focused organizations. In December 2019, I visited Sri Lanka on a photography assignment that would lead me into a life-changing experience and a bittersweet adventure. The experience you're about to read redirected my entire life and led me to the launch of Life Goal.
Sri Lanka is full of beautiful scenery with abundant wildlife and a rich cultural history that dates back thousands of years. Ancient temples can be found nestled in thick jungles with wild leopards and elephants roaming about. On the southern coast, beautiful beaches line the Indian Ocean where communities of fishermen and villagers congregate to support their families.
It's here where the reality of Sri Lanka's problem became tragically visible to me. Sri Lanka's economy has been flourishing for the last 10 years after a 25-year civil war drew harsh divides inside the countries political system. As western influence continues to expand upon the growing economy, simple problems on the surface are much more complex when you understand the dynamics at play. Small municipal services that we take for granted are the result of years of industry growth and government regulation. In Sri Lanka, municipal services bring about debates that resurface years of conflict and typically result in a stalemate.
The unfortunate victims caught in the middle of these stalemates are typically the beautiful wildlife and the impoverished villages with no means to support themselves. The biggest evidence of this tragedy sits on the beaches, blowing in the wind and washing up on the shores. It's sad to say, but Sri Lanka has a waste pollution problem.
The country at face value appears to be flourishing and the people are as jolly as any, welcoming tourists with warm hearts. These people and this beautiful land inspired me but seeing American brand names littered across what otherwise would be a pristine beach was saddening. A sense of responsibility was the only logical emotional response at the time and I had to do something.
I met a young man named Charles while there. He's a responsible, young, energetic entrepreneur operating a tourism business in Negombo. We briefly talked about my ambitious idea and after a few weeks of discussions, he had agreed to join me in the cause. Charles organizes the local communities to get together once a month on Poya day, a monthly holiday in Sri Lanka that falls on the full moon. He travels around Sri Lanka in search of areas that have serious problems with dumping and ocean plastics washing up in the water. A half a world away, I support him by connecting him with companies involved in environmental protection and providing him with the financial resources he needs to be successful.
After a few weeks of research and some late-night phone calls with Charles, we created a plan to clean up Patanangala Beach in Sri Lanka's Yala National Park. Charles organized a group to remove the garbage from the beach that was shared with wild leopards and elephants. It was a great start for us but there are places in Sri Lanka in far worse conditions. Places where children play and communities are trying to survive. We felt motivated after our first clean up and we started planning for 10 more cleanups throughout the island.
Your donations will help us pay the local communities to take part in the effort and provide them with a daily wage and a meal. It will also cover supplies like rubber gloves, trash bags, and the organization for delivery of the waste to a proper facility. The effort also covers Charles's time while he travels throughout the island coordinating the efforts with the local communities. It's just the beginning for me and Charles, but we are determined to make a meaningful change in Sri Lanka. We are a small organization just getting our feet about us. The more money we raise, the more we can do. Your help and contributions would be effective in helping make change where it matters.
Life Goal is a grassroots organization that is cleaning up polluted beaches and waterways in Sri Lanka and generating awareness campaigns for environmentally-focused organizations. In December 2019, I visited Sri Lanka on a photography assignment that would lead me into a life-changing experience and a bittersweet adventure. The experience you're about to read redirected my entire life and led me to the launch of Life Goal.
Sri Lanka is full of beautiful scenery with abundant wildlife and a rich cultural history that dates back thousands of years. Ancient temples can be found nestled in thick jungles with wild leopards and elephants roaming about. On the southern coast, beautiful beaches line the Indian Ocean where communities of fishermen and villagers congregate to support their families.
It's here where the reality of Sri Lanka's problem became tragically visible to me. Sri Lanka's economy has been flourishing for the last 10 years after a 25-year civil war drew harsh divides inside the countries political system. As western influence continues to expand upon the growing economy, simple problems on the surface are much more complex when you understand the dynamics at play. Small municipal services that we take for granted are the result of years of industry growth and government regulation. In Sri Lanka, municipal services bring about debates that resurface years of conflict and typically result in a stalemate.
The unfortunate victims caught in the middle of these stalemates are typically the beautiful wildlife and the impoverished villages with no means to support themselves. The biggest evidence of this tragedy sits on the beaches, blowing in the wind and washing up on the shores. It's sad to say, but Sri Lanka has a waste pollution problem.
The country at face value appears to be flourishing and the people are as jolly as any, welcoming tourists with warm hearts. These people and this beautiful land inspired me but seeing American brand names littered across what otherwise would be a pristine beach was saddening. A sense of responsibility was the only logical emotional response at the time and I had to do something.
I met a young man named Charles while there. He's a responsible, young, energetic entrepreneur operating a tourism business in Negombo. We briefly talked about my ambitious idea and after a few weeks of discussions, he had agreed to join me in the cause. Charles organizes the local communities to get together once a month on Poya day, a monthly holiday in Sri Lanka that falls on the full moon. He travels around Sri Lanka in search of areas that have serious problems with dumping and ocean plastics washing up in the water. A half a world away, I support him by connecting him with companies involved in environmental protection and providing him with the financial resources he needs to be successful.
After a few weeks of research and some late-night phone calls with Charles, we created a plan to clean up Patanangala Beach in Sri Lanka's Yala National Park. Charles organized a group to remove the garbage from the beach that was shared with wild leopards and elephants. It was a great start for us but there are places in Sri Lanka in far worse conditions. Places where children play and communities are trying to survive. We felt motivated after our first clean up and we started planning for 10 more cleanups throughout the island.
Your donations will help us pay the local communities to take part in the effort and provide them with a daily wage and a meal. It will also cover supplies like rubber gloves, trash bags, and the organization for delivery of the waste to a proper facility. The effort also covers Charles's time while he travels throughout the island coordinating the efforts with the local communities. It's just the beginning for me and Charles, but we are determined to make a meaningful change in Sri Lanka. We are a small organization just getting our feet about us. The more money we raise, the more we can do. Your help and contributions would be effective in helping make change where it matters.
Organizer
Jordan Harvey
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY