Who we are
Our Vision & Mission
The Cavaliere Tilake Abeysinghe Foundation was established to continue the humanitarian legacy of Tilake Abeysinghe through initiatives that advance health, relieve poverty, and strengthen underserved communities.
We believe that healthcare, clean water, nutrition, and dignity are fundamental human needs that should be accessible to all communities regardless of socioeconomic circumstance. Through medical aid, public health initiatives, humanitarian relief, and sustainable community projects, the Foundation works to create lasting impact in Sri Lanka and beyond.
Read our full vision →Health & Medical Aid
Providing essential healthcare access to underserved communities.
Clean Water & Nutrition
Supporting clean water and nutrition programmes across Sri Lanka.
Community Empowerment
Building sustainable futures through humanitarian relief projects.
Art & Cultural Connection
Using artistic heritage as a bridge to inspire compassion globally.
What we do
How the Foundation creates impact.
Cultural art exhibitions
Immersive exhibitions celebrating Tilake's body of work and bridging cultures through art.
Read more
Community outreach
Empowering Sri Lankan communities through health initiatives and sustainable humanitarian projects.
Read more
High resolution prints
Own a piece of art history with high-quality prints of Tilake Abeysinghe's most iconic works.
Read moreOur impact
Projects completed
These five projects were completed before the Foundation was formally established, funded by board members, private individuals, friends, family, and Tilake Abeysinghe himself. They are the proof of concept behind everything the Foundation now exists to continue and expand.
Housing Initiative
This housing initiative targeted extremely low-income families identified by the Ministry of Health in two underserved areas with unsafe living conditions. Working in partnership with the Leicester Buddhist Temple in England, volunteers supported on-the-ground coordination and family identification through local Gramasevaka records.
One key beneficiary family includes two school-aged children (9 and 11 years old) living with their parents in inadequate housing conditions. One home in Henanigala has now been fully completed and provided as a fully furnished unit with electricity, plumbing, and an indoor toilet, ensuring safe and dignified living conditions and long-term stability for the family.
Clean Water Project
The Clean Water Project implemented reverse osmosis (RO) water purification systems across six schools and communities in Polonnaruwa to address groundwater contamination linked to agricultural fertilizer runoff, a major public health concern associated with high rates of chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis.
Completed sites include Alle Wewa Maha Vidyalaya, Sandamadulla, Wavemedagama, Sandunpura Vidyalaya, Kudugala Vidyalaya, and Serupitiya Primary School. The initiative now provides safe drinking water to over 1,000 individuals, reducing ongoing exposure to nephrotoxic water sources and supporting long-term kidney disease prevention.
Malnutrition Fundraiser
This project mobilised friends, family, and community supporters to address severe food insecurity among vulnerable populations in Sri Lanka during the post-COVID economic crisis. High-protein food parcels (including rice, dhal, eggs, and milk) were provided to children aged 6 months to 5 years with faltering growth, as well as pregnant and lactating mothers in low socioeconomic communities.
A total of 939 families were supported across Anuradhapura (410), Divulapitya (147), Minuwangoda (215), and Mirigama (167), identified by local medical officers as high-risk for malnutrition after government nutrition programs like Thriposha were disrupted. The intervention directly filled critical gaps in nutrition access at a time when food insecurity was widespread and government supply systems were unable to meet demand.
ICU Medication Project
This project addressed critical shortages of life-saving medical supplies and essential medications in Sri Lankan hospitals during a severe national economic crisis. Funds were used to procure and deliver items such as endotracheal tubes, chemotherapy agents, insulin, blood gas analyzers, sutures, and emergency cardiovascular drugs to major hospitals across Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, and other regions.
These supplies directly supported intensive care units, neonatal care, oncology, and emergency surgical services. Deliveries were coordinated by a network of physicians across Sri Lanka, Canada, and the UK, ensuring 100% of donations went toward medical procurement rather than administrative costs, resulting in repeated, documented distributions to multiple hospitals with measurable impact on respiratory support, cancer treatment, and emergency care capacity.
View GoFundMe campaign
COVID-19 Ventilator Fund
This project responded to Sri Lanka's severe COVID-19 Delta wave and critical shortages of respiratory support equipment. Funds were used to purchase and distribute 6 non-invasive ventilators, 1 invasive ventilator, and additional oxygen support equipment to hospitals across Sri Lanka, including Colombo Army Hospital, National Hospital of Colombo, Homagama Base Hospital, Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital, and several regional facilities.
100% of donations were directed toward medical equipment procurement with no administrative deductions, ensuring full allocation to patient care resources. Equipment was coordinated with local clinicians and delivered through approved suppliers directly to hospitals in both urban and rural hotspots, strengthening emergency and ICU capacity during peak surges.
View GoFundMe campaignThe man behind the Foundation
Cavaliere Tilake Abeysinghe
(1929–2022)
Tilake Abeysinghe was a distinguished Sri Lankan painter and sculptor renowned for his unique fusion of Eastern ethos and Western sensuality. Born in Hakmana, British Ceylon, he overcame early personal tragedies, including the loss of both parents by age ten. Raised by his grandmother, he pursued education at Rahula College in Matara and St. Sylvester's College in Kandy, where he was exposed to both Christian and Buddhist artistic traditions.
His artistic journey led him to the Heywood College of Fine Arts in Colombo, followed by advanced studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Italy. Throughout his career, Tilake held 84 solo exhibitions across cities like Colombo, Milan, Zurich, Toronto, and Paris. His works, characterized by abstract and semi-abstract forms, often drew inspiration from feminine figures.
In recognition of his contributions to art, he was honored with the title "Cavaliere" by the Italian government in 1984. Tilake continued creating art until his passing in Toronto, Canada, in 2022. His life, bridging Eastern and Western cultures through art, compassion, and service, is the inspiration behind everything the Foundation does.
In recognition of his contribution to the realm of fine arts, the government of Sri Lanka established Tilake Abeysinghe Foundation in 2001 through a special enactment in parliament.
Photograph by Angelo De Mel.