The ‘My Friend’ project continues to touch the lives of Sri Lankan children

Children of the 'My Friend' project

The ‘My Friend’ project is an ongoing initiative that supports the educational needs of underprivileged children in Sri Lanka. The project is the brainchild of Fouzul Hameed, the Managing Director of the Hameedia Group and Sri Lanka’s premier menswear consultant who, years ago embarked on a mission to improve the lives of children in need across the country.

Since its inception, the ‘My Friend’ project has funded thousands of less-fortunate school children, helping them overcome poverty and difficult circumstances. The support that the project gives these children enables them to remain in school and improve their future prospects. Regardless of caste, creed or religion, the ‘My Friend’ project sponsors and supports children by providing them with financial aid as well as school equipment and various educational materials. The continued educational support that the project offers these children plays a pivotal role in preventing the common eventuality of school dropouts. 

Some of the children supported by 'My Friend' 

Commenting on the ‘My Friend’ project, founder and chairman Fouzul Hameed said “It brings me great joy to support children through this project. Children are our future and the ‘My Friend’ project remains committed to ensuring that underprivileged children throughout the country complete their education and enjoy a bright and prosperous future. We often take for granted the fact that many children in our society are deprived from basic needs such as education and care. My own parents always stressed the importance of helping those in need and I want to take their legacy further through the ‘My Friend’ project by giving children in need, the chance to be part of a productive society in the future. To have any chance of enjoying success in life, these children need a decent education. We aim to facilitate this by providing them with basic needs, including school supplies and daily nourishment.”

Some of the children supported by 'My Friend' 

In order to fund this project, a special range of “My Friend” branded merchandise is made available at all Hameedia showrooms with proceeds from their sale, alongside a proportion of the sale of ‘FH collection’ designer menswear, being channelled towards the project. Additionally, Sri Lanka’s only men’s fashion show, Concept, will be a fundraising platform to gain support for the project alongside various other initiatives such as the SMS based FH Guide fashion tip program, where Dialog mobile users can subscribe to the service by simply texting “REG FHGuide” to 77000, with all proceeds from this too being channeled towards the project. 

With the help of Sri Lanka Cricket captain Angelo Matthews and Managing Director of Chevron Lanka PLC Kishu Gomes, who are the trustees of the initiative, the My Friend Project has been promoting the message of ‘Staying in School’ across the country for a while now. “As the cost of living rises, it has become increasingly difficult for parents to support their children through school and often children drop out in order to help their families earn an income. This is where the My Friend Project comes into play as it has understood this problem and works towards alleviating the underlying causes for the issue” said project manager Nelushan Gunewardena.

Sharing a message on World Children’s Day, Founder and Chairman Fouzul Hameed stated, “On behalf of the My Friend Project, I would like to wish all the children of Sri Lanka a wonderful World Children’s Day. Today is all about celebrating children and is dedicated to recognizing and honouring children around the world. As we celebrate our children today, we acknowledge that they are our future and hope for a better world. All of us at the My Friend Project look ahead with zest and enthusiasm as we prepare to further support the children of Sri Lanka to the best of our ability.” 

Contact the My Friend team on +94 777 354570 or log on to www.myfriend.lk