BELGIAN PHILANTHROPIST’S ENDURING BOND WITH SRI LANKA

BELGIAN JOHN VAN DIJCK TRANSFORMED A 1995 SRI LANKA VISIT INTO A LIFELONG PHILANTHROPIC MISSION, BUILDING HOMES, SCHOOLS, AND SUPPORTING THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN VIA ADOPTIE SRI LANKA VZW FOR OVER TWO DECADES

John Van Dijck, a retired Belgian educationist, discovered a profound purpose in Sri Lanka after an accidental visit in 1995. Inspired by local needs and the work of Adoptie Sri Lanka VZW, he embraced a lifelong mission to serve the underprivileged. Now 90, his twodecade philanthropic journey has transformed countless lives, building homes, schools, and fostering wellbeing across the island.

When a young Belgian man named John Van Dijck first set foot in Sri Lanka in 1995, it wasn’t as a philanthropist or a seasoned volunteer. It was a kind of an accidental encounter— an invitation extended by a friend and tour leader, Gaston Dillen, a man known for his deep affection for Sri Lanka as a beautiful island. After his first visit, he fell in love with Sri Lanka not for romance but for purpose.

Already bound by a life shaped through resilience—having survived a life-changing road accident decades earlier—he arrived with a spirit both humbled and strong. A calling from society awaited him here —to serve the underprivileged, to give back to the people who had so generously opened their hearts. Inspired by Dillen’s example and the remarkable work of Adoptie Sri Lanka VZW, the Belgian couple chose not to return home unchanged.

Adoptie Sri Lanka VZW, a Belgian non-profit founded in 1989, empowers impoverished Sri Lankans regardless of background. Operating with just 2% administrative costs and Belgian volunteers, it collaborates with local NGOs to implement projects.

By 1996, he had taken on the mantle of Secretary-General of the organization. What began with one journey has become a lifelong mission.

“During our eight journeys to Sri Lanka (1995-2015) my wife and I were in a position to meet one of the friendliest peoples, its culture, its religion and traditions - all this in a very cordial atmosphere,” he recalled, in response to an email query by Daily Mirror

His first project was the construction of the girls’ home ‘Sinha Sal Sinha’ in Mattegoda in the Colombo district, which was financed by him together with a befriended family.

“With the valuable help of the late Desabandu Andrew Kariyawasan, then honorary consul for Belgium in Sri Lanka, and his son Mahen of Andrews Travel the building was finished in about a year and was ceremonially opened by both families on July 27,1997.

“There were ten orphaned children, left destitute by the ravages of the northern conflict. The ‘Sri Lanka-Belgium Orphan Children’s Trust’ was established, of which Mahen Kariyawasam is the president and managing director.

“Since then also children of which the parents cannot take care properly of their children are accepted. Nowadays an inhouse matron and staff take care of 24 girls and the home is recognised by the Department of Probation and Child Care Services.

“Adoptie Sri Lanka vzw sees that the children get proper feeding, clothing, medical care and schooling, maintains the building and pays the salaries. When they are 18 years old the children have to leave the home,” he said.

Delving further into details about his social service, he recollected how late Deshamanaya Amaradasa Gunawardana, then President of the ‘Sri Lanka-China Society’, stressed him in the year 2000 the need to develop a remote village which he described as a neglected poor hilltop hamlet in Gampaha, without basic facilities.

The absence of a preschool was felt more.

Amaradasa had an architectural plan, but not the necessary funds to construct the school.

Although we couldn’t have children, we know that children are a nation’s real wealth and its future. If one does not take care of them properly they will be ruined. Society will suffer. So, we decided to sponsor the construction of a preschool with the necessary furniture, as well as 15 houses and the renovation of 13.

‘Sri Lanka-Belgium Association’ thus came into being. The hamlet came to be known as ‘Vana Meekanda’. The school and the houses were officially opened on August 11, 2002.

“Since beginning, Line and I took care of midday meals for the children, the salaries of teachers, shoes, school bags and stationery for children and the maintenance of the building. Every year, we sponsor a scholarship scheme. We have done it so far for 2, 310 children,” he said.

Thunthalawa was the second village development project initiated by him in a hilly region.

That village has neither pre-school, nor basic amenities. The school they sponsored was declared open on October 14, 2007 and a scholarship scheme was introduced.

So far 1,287 scholarships have been granted.

“In 2011 Amaradasa Gunawardana, who was also president of ‘Sri Lanka Council for the Blind’, told us he had a dream and asked us for help to construct a new building for their headquarters instead of the dilapidated housing in which their present offices were located then. We agreed and it was ceremonially opened in our presence on January 15, 2015. After Amaradasa’s death, he was succeeded by his friend Dayasiri Fernando who is the former Director General of Trade and Commerce.

“Our next project was a preschool in Rusirugama, near Udatenna, at the request of Chairwoman Geethanee Korahakagoda and project co-ordinator Wattegedara Jayawardane of Shanthi Nikethanaya. The school was opened on April 16, 2010.

As a matter of fact since 1995, his association sponsored hundreds of projects amounting to about EUR 4,000, 000 (Rs.1.3 billion). It has adopted 3, 234 needy children.

In the twilight of a long and accomplished professional life, most people seek rest, but for John Van Dijck, as a retired Belgian educationist and philanthropist, retirement became the further extension of a deep and enduring relationship with Sri Lanka and its people. Today, at 90, John remains active in charity work, recently being invited to meet Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Brussels. “It is better to give than to receive,” he says, quoting the old adage.