Yalies for Sri Lanka

~ This fundraiser is organized by Sri Lankans at Yale, in partnership with Dwight Hall at Yale and Yale South Asian Society ~

The Crisis

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic downturn since its independence. Years of political corruption and irresponsible policymaking have left the island with skyrocketing inflation and a plummeting Rupee. Our homeland is, in effect, bankrupt. 

This has resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with energy supply, food security, and public health being the most affected. Families face severe fuel shortages, 13-hour power outages, soaring basic goods prices, and disparate medical supplies.

As a wave of peaceful protests began erupting across the island, the government responded with police brutality, a state of emergency, and a social media ban. Most recently (as of 20th April 2022), police forces opened fire at a crowd in the town of Rambukkana, murdering one and injuring at least a dozen others.

Given the nature of this crisis, international pressure is essential to the people’s immediate demand for a qualified caretaker government that would guide Sri Lanka on the path of recovery. As our people back home fight for systemic and lasting change, our goal is clear—to raise funds and awareness from within the Yale community. 

Yale's influence is global, and our impact can be mighty.

Our Requests

1. Make a donation, big or small!
Mind that USD$1 = LKR330 (and rising) = ~2 packets of food. Every dollar counts.

2. Spread the word!
Here it is again: gofundme.com/yaliesforsl

3. Educate yourself and the Yalies around you!
One of the many proud products of the ongoing revolution is this digital library (bit.ly/LKCrisis)  of resources on the crisis.

4. Pressure our institutions to pay attention!

Our Goals

At this time, our primary focus is to aid those directly affected by the crisis. Several people have died waiting in long lines for basic necessities, so we will initially help fund efforts that directly tackle this. 100% of the donations from this site will be transferred to our fiscal partner, Dwight Hall, who will donate to charitable organizations and grassroots campaigns on the ground through Wise (a payment platform that is established in Sri Lanka).

As a community of Sri Lankan nationals and diaspora, we plan to leverage our contacts and resources on the ground to verify the organizations we assist. We will adhere to complete transparency on our fundraising efforts through a regularly updated list of donee organizations on this site.  As the situation evolves, we may decide to alter donation destinations and post updates accordingly.  Additionally, we are willing to listen to and consider donor-specific preferences on funding destinations, so long as the donation would directly aid ongoing relief efforts.

NOTE: A previous effort by SLaY managed to raise USD $694 through personal Venmo donations. We would like to sincerely thank every single one of these donors for their generosity, and pledge to account for this amount in addition to the funds collected through this site.