Tim BooN SUPPORTS CHARITIES IN SRI LANKA Tim Boon, the former Leicestershire batsman and coach, has been helping charities in Sri Lanka by delivering cricket kit and clothing collected from his local village in Leicestershire. Boon, now an England Development Programme coach based at Loughborough, has an association with Sri Lanka that goes back to 1982 when he had a spell playing club cricket on the island. Boon has many friends in Sri Lanka and decided to organise the kit and clothing collection to help reciprocate the help and support he has received during more than 30 years of visiting the country. ” I have incredible memories that have helped shape who I am and 35 years later I have remained connected with friends in Sri Lanka,” Boon said. ” The Sri Lanka people have such a good nature. They have very little financial wealth, but a wealth of generosity and contentment. ” I wanted to help in some way so I contacted a couple of charities out there and then with the support of people in and around my local village in Leicestershire, we organised collection of kit and clothing which I took out to Sri Lanka recently. ” I chose the Temple at Waskadua and the area of Kalutera to make a very small difference in people’s lives. Whether it be a container of goods or a game of cricket on the beach or in the schools with local kids. ” Ten minutes of inspiration can be the catalyst for dreams to be formed and a pathway to follow if we can find the time and make that connection.” Boon also met with Samantha Liyanawaduge the Chief Executive of Help Age Sri Lanka whose work includes providing mobile units for the treatment of cataracts and other eye problems. ” Time is a precious commodity and yet this group of people are prepared to make a difference to safeguard the future of the Sri Lankan family values and the health and well-being of its elderly people,” Boon said. ” In cricket the values and principles of a team are the foundation to build everything else, and the team identity is shaped by the players’ beliefs and commitments which in turn sets the culture. ” I admire the family values I see in Sri Lanka and the connection between the young and elder family members, particularly the due care and genuine concern they have for each other.” {{ak_sharing}}
