Barry News
Barry businessman set for seventh Sri Lanka mission
8:40am Monday 6th February 2012
A BARRY businessman is about to set off on his seventh charity expedition to Sri Lanka.
Cavan Sullivan, 52, is hoping to supply water to more than 30 houses, organise a football tournament for local children, and rebuild a nursery’s playground while he is there, as part of his work for The HAT Foundation.
Cavan and his family, of Park Road, set up the charity in 2005 with the aim of helping people affected by the South East Asian tsunami on Boxing Day 2004.
With his wife Debra and daughter Aimee, he has returned to the town of Hikkaduwa in Sri Lanka every year since 2005, in a bid to help rebuild the lives of those affected by the disaster.
"We are trying to connect as many houses as possible to water this year," said Cavan.
"So far we have connected 67, and we would like to complete another 33 this time to reach 100. Many people have never had a clean water supply before.
"The council has been laying a lot of roads recently, so we may have to pay to dig them up so we can lay the water lines.
"Apart from becoming a parent, there is nothing bigger than having clean water," he added.
"Most of them have got their own wells, but at certain times of the year you might not be able to get water from them."
Cavan, who owns Welsh Window Systems on Vere Street, said they would also be completing work on a local nursery school.
"There’s a nursery there named after the great writer Arthur C Clarke, but at the moment the playground has been fenced off with barbed wire," he explained.
"We are hoping to build them a normal fence, as well as a couple of swings, slides, a see-saw and other things."
Last year they held a football tournament for 400 children, with each player presented with a certificate, as well as medals and trophies being handed out.
"This year the competition is going to last for two days," said Cavan.
"It’s going to be a bigger event as a lot of schools have applied for it, so there should be about 500 children taking part."
The HAT Foundation will also be donating shoes to local children.
"A lot of families can’t afford to buy shoes, so we have donated more than 2,500 so far," he added.
"A lot of these kids have never owned a pair of shoes before, so it makes a big difference to their lives. It’s one of my favourite projects."
He added that The HAT Foundation, which stands for ‘Hope and Trust’, is desperately in need of sponsorship.
"If anyone wants to sponsor us they can go to our website," he said.
"Normally we have to pay for the trips ourselves, but this is the first year that we are using the gift aid and donations to pay for the work."
A black tie ball raised an impressive £8,000 last year, with other funding coming from Cavan’s customers and also a donation from Barclays Bank.
Cavan will leave for Sri Lanka on February 16, spending 16 days there with wife Debra. Daughter Aimee left on Sunday (February 5) with friends Nazia Sethi and Louise Davies, who will all spend 15 days there.
* For more information visit www.hatfoundation.org.uk
* For information about how to sponsor a child email aimee@hatfoundation.org.uk