The Emerge Village

The Emerge Village will be a supportive community for girls who have survived sexual abuse in Sri Lanka, enabling them to reach their life goals through education, leadership development, and vocational training. Due to lack of facilities, many minors are kept in the prison system for their own "protection" as they testify in court against the man who raped them, who is often their own father. Many live in prison with their newborn children for years before being released. These young women deserve love, safety and education. Emerge strives to provide them with the opportunities to become confident, contributing members of society.

Below is a diagram for our model of the Village. Emerge strives to use direct support and resources, represented by the large arrow, merely as catalysts, enabling a cycle that supports the individual and sustains the whole organization. Emerge will use these funds to provide for and maintain the school and residence, and also to provide services for the co-op and the community resource center. The school and residence will nurture the women of Emerge through a strong foundation of social support, in addition to skills, vocational and leadership training that will enable them to realize their own potentials.Additionally, the co-op and resource center will generate more revenue to sustain the organization. Through its revenue generating activities, the Village aims for self-sufficiency.

Please click on the boxes below to learn more about the Village Program.

The central education provided by the school will include literacy in Singhala and English, and financial and vocational training. Beyond basic life skills, the school will also provide classes and sponsor activities that promote leadership and creativity. Guidance councilors will be available to the students throughout schooling to provide support. In the final two years of schooling, students will also have the opportunity for in-depth, specialized vocational training. Emerge guidance councilors will work with community partners to match these students with employers after graduation, and the councilors will also support the students in the transition to the working world.

The residences will be divided into family units. Each young woman and her child will be part of a multi-aged family consisting of four young women and their children, and a house mother. Structuring the residence in this way will provide the women with a social support network. The house mother will work to guide the women, and aid in child care. Every member of the family will contribute to the upkeep of the house.

As required by law, security will be present at all times to ensure the safety of the village residents.

The cooperative will be designed as a community for women older than 18 who have grown through Emerge and choose to stay in the village.

Among other facilities, the resource center will include a library and computer lab which will be open for public use. With help from partnerships with MIT and other local universities, it will also offer services like technical training and other classes to the public. Through the resource center, Emerge aims to foster understanding and awareness by means of a natural exchange of experiences and ideas with the local community and local partners, while also providing services to bring revenue back to the Village.