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Ceylon Christian Care |
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News |
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June 5th, 2010 Ceylon Christian Care Terminates the Relationship with Rev Jeyanesan and the CACM
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Dear friends supporting our work in Sri Lanka,
It is with deep regret that we have to inform you that we have decided to terminate our cooperation with Rev Jeyanesan and the Church of American Ceylon Mission (CACM). As result of this, it is well possible that our involvement in many of the projects that we have been supporting will be terminated as well and that we have to look for a solution for the children of the homes. The same decision is taken by our partners Word and Deed and Kindernothilfe, two other organizations that have been active in Sri Lanka for a long time and that have worked with Rev Jeyanesan and the CACM over the past years.
Our decision comes as result of major problems that have been surfacing over the past year, which we haven’t been able to resolve, in spite of several attempts. These problems can be summarized as follows:
First of all there have been problems related to the position of Rev. S. Jeyanesan. For several years we have worked closely with Rev. Jeyanesan. His leadership has been instrumental in many of the projects that have been undertaken, and we are grateful for all the things that have been accomplished. However, about a year ago we were confronted with the fact that Rev. Jeyanesan had been arrested and put in detention. We were informed that this was based on charges of sexual harassment. He got released after several weeks, but the legal process has been ongoing since then and the outcome is unclear as yet. At this moment 4 girls have filed a case against Rev Jeyanesan. Over the last months several people have informed us that the allegations are true. We don’t want to verdict anyone until proven guilty, however, considering these circumstances we felt that it was advisable for Rev. Jeyanesan to resign as chairman of Ladder of Hope and to step back from any official roles in CACM until such time as his name would have been cleared. Initially we were lead to believe that this would be the case, but to our disappointment we learned recently that Rev. Jeyanesan had been (re)appointed as a member of several important committees in CACM and continues to play a very active role. In addition to this he has refused to resign as chairman of Ladder of Hope, which has created an unworkable situation.
Secondly there have been growing problems related to the way we cooperate with CACM. For several years we have pursued a model where we cooperated with CACM, but where at the same time our projects were executed through an independent organization, i.e. Ladder of Hope. This cooperation model has been established with full consent from Rev. S. Jeyanesan, who was the chairman of the executive committee of CACM at the time. He even agreed to be the chairman of the board of Ladder of Hope and took all the necessary steps to get the organization established. However, CACM is now taking a stand where they insist that projects have to be executed under control of CACM. In addition they claim that all properties are owned by CACM.
In March this year we traveled to Sri Lanka to attempt to resolve these problems. We met with several people representing CACM, including the chairman Rev Jeyakumaran and Mr Newton the secretary of the Executive Committee. We discussed our mutual concerns and problems. We were able to reach agreement in principle as to how we would move forward together. We drafted a Memorandum Of Understanding, which was signed by all parties, under condition of approval by the boards of the various organizations. We were very grateful for this result.
However, recently we received a formal letter from the chairman Rev Jeyakumaran of the Executive Committee, indicating that CACM couldn’t approve any of the major items that we had agreed. In addition to this, CACM has started to take one-sided steps to seize control over the projects. Last but not least, all staff involved in the projects received a notice from CACM that they would likely be dismissed by the end May.
After lengthy deliberation, we have concluded as a board that we are left with no other choice than terminating our partnership. We have reached this conclusion with feelings of great sadness. The door to be of use to the poor and needy in the eastern part of Sri Lanka seems to have closed by the CACM. We pray the Lord for guidance as to what path He wants us to take instead, and we hope that another door may open in due time. At this point of time we look how we can take our responsibility for the children of the projects because the CACM has started with closing down John’s Academy, sending away the children from the homes and laying of staff. For the future we still feel that there is a work to be done in Sri Lanka, and if we can continue to be of any use, we would be grateful. We will keep you informed about relevant developments. In case you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
With kind regards, Herman van der Weerd Laurens van der Tang Ceylon Christian Care
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