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In Sri Lanka, especially in the North and East, separation of children from their parents has resulted from the death of one or both parents, abandonment, displacement due to conflict and simply the inability of the family to provide care and protection for the child.
Consequently, a large number of orphaned and vulnerable children are under informal arrangements of kinship care. This is, children are being cared for by their own relatives. These kinship care arrangements place tremendous strain on the already limited resources and capacities of people who are caring for these children. 
It was revealed in National Child Protection Authority’s field assessment, that the economic strain placed on these household members due to the kinship care arrangements force the carers to sell their lands, cattle and other belongings or to be engaged in income generating activities to meet the demands of these children, especially in respect to their education. Consequently, children tend to drop off school early to find jobs or are admitted to children’s homes for care.
Both these consequences are undesirable in the child protection context, and these economic constraints have an effect of violating the child’s right to education and their right to family. To meet these problems, the ‘Surakna’ kinship care scheme which provides a grant of Rs.750/= per month for the most deserving kinship carers in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Presently under this scheme 191 children are receiving a monthly grant of Rs.750/= in Kilinochchi, Mullativu and Mannar districts each month.
This programme has so far been supported by donations of private individuals who are sincerely concerned about these children. There are more than thousands of families and children who can benefit under this programme. National Child Protection Authority expects to expand the number of beneficiaries in the near future.
Through an official written request to the Chairperson of the National Child Protection Authority you can obtain more information about this programme.