When Dr. Patrick Mendis saw his country destroyed by the tsunami three years ago, he knew he had to take action. Though now an accomplished American educator, author and diplomat, Dr. Mendis grew up in a poor rural area of Sri Lanka, working with water buffaloes in a three-acre rice field.
Dr. Mendis was born in the Sri Lankan medieval capital of Polonnaruwa, where he quickly became a rising star. He received the UNESCO Award in a high school public speaking competition sponsored by the United Nations Association of Sri Lanka and, at the age of 18, won an AFS scholarship to attend an American high school in Minnesota. After graduating, he returned to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, where he later endowed two scholarships in leadership and management studies in 1993. Mendis went on to receive his graduate education at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The December 26, 2004 tsunami took more than 250,000 lives in 11 countries, with Sri Lanka being among the worst hit. Studies estimate that the tsunami caused over $1 billion in damages to Sri Lanka, including 88,500 homes damaged (of which more than 50,000 were completely destroyed), 24,000 boats gone (about 70% of the fishing fleet), and 11,000 businesses destroyed. Power and water supply were also lost.
To help his friends and neighbors back home after the tsunami, Dr. Mendis established a Calvert Giving Fund called the Tsunami Leaders Caring (TLC) Foundation. Through this fund, he created a scholarship program called the “Leader-2-Leader Program,” which connects seniors to scholarship recipients for mentoring and guidance. Dr. Mendis also established a Peace Prize and a Microloan Program.
Dr. Mendis raised money for the TLC Foundation through the sale of his book, “Glocalization,” a collection of original essays that began as a travelogue he wrote while serving as a visiting professor of economics and public policy at the University of Pittsburgh’s Semester at Sea program. The book, Dr. Mendis says, was published for the dual purpose of raising funds for tsunami recovery and bringing more awareness to the work of Sarvodaya, a development and humanitarian movement led by Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne ("Dr. Ari"), considered by many to be the “Gandhi of Sri Lanka.” Dr. Mendis volunteered for Sarvodaya’s development projects beginning when he was 12, and this experience left an indelible mark on his life’s work. “I am very grateful to him and his extraordinary family, who consider me a part of their own family,” he says. Dr. Ari wrote the afterward in Dr. Mendis's book.
Sandun Sammatha, who was left an orphan by the tsunami, was the first to receive a scholarship from the TLC Foundation. He now works as an office assistant at the Sarvodaya Nutrition Centre. “I want to follow the Gandhian philosophy at Sarvodaya and am very thankful,” he says.
In 2007, Calvert Foundation's loan portfolio for affordable U.S. housing grew by 15 percent over 2006, with over $17 million lent out to organizations such as Manna, AHC and Habitat for Humanity D.C. The Washington Post covered the work of Calvert Foundation and many of the groups we support in the DC area that are working to get families into homes and keep them there - through responsible lending, counseling and educational programs.
In a great display of publicity for the community investment industry, popular financial publication Investment News featured an article earlier this month about the growth of community investment. Calvert Foundation is featured in the article, along with several of our friends and partners, including portfolio partner ShoreBank, the Social Investment Forum, and financial planners Andy Loving and Lisa Kirchenbauer. Journalist Deborah Nason writes:
Two of our portfolio partners were recently selected as recipients of the Wachovia “NEXT” Award for Opportunity Finance, created in partnership with The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. We would like to extend our congratulations to 
Mary Houghton (pictured right) and Ron Grzywinski, both founders of ShoreBank, were recognized by U.S. News and World Report as two of "America's Best Leaders." They are in good company too. In total, 16 people were recognized, including Nancy Pelosi, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael J. Fox. These leaders were selected based on their ability to set direction, achieve results and cultivate a culture of growth. We would like to congratulate Ms. Houghton, who also serves on our Board of Directors, as well ShoreBank, one of our longest standing portfolio organizations. Thank you for being a leader!