Editing Muttiah Muralitharan (section)

==Philanthropy==
Muralitharan, along with his manager Kushil Gunasekara, established the charitable organisation Foundation of Goodness in the early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite news |title= The Foundation of Goodness website |url= http://www.unconditionalcompassion.com/sub/ManagementChart.asp |access-date= 23 January 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080131212652/http://www.unconditionalcompassion.com/sub/ManagementChart.asp |archive-date= 31 January 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> The organisation is committed to the wellbeing of the [[Seenigama]] region (in southern Sri Lanka) and supports local communities through a range of projects across areas including children's needs, education and training, health care and psycho-social support, housing, livelihoods, sport and the environment. Murali's Seenigama project raised funds from cricketers and administrators in England and Australia. Canadian pop-star [[Bryan Adams]] donated a swimming pool.<ref name="Mankulam Project">{{cite web|url=http://development.lk/news.php?news=1192|title=Murali Initiates Projects to Build Mankulam|publisher=Media Center for National Center of Development of Sri Lanka|date=30 March 2011|access-date=3 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814134517/http://development.lk/news.php?news=1192|archive-date=14 August 2011}}</ref>

Muralitharan also planned to build a second sports complex for war-displaced civilians in [[Mankulam (Sri Lanka)|Mankulam]], a town located 300 kilometres from north of Colombo. The two-year, $1 million dollar project aimed to build a sports centre, a school, English and IT training centres and an Elders' home.<ref name="Mankulam Project"/> While the Sports Complex remains the main project, Foundation of Goodness also plans to help educate children, youth and adults. English cricketer Sir [[Ian Botham]] visited Mankulam with Muralitharan, and later addressing the media in Colombo on 27 March 2011 said that he will consider a walk from [[Point Pedro]] (the extreme northern tip of Sri Lanka) to [[Dondra Head]] (the extreme southern tip of Sri Lanka) to raise funds for the project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cricketique.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/botham-considers-a-north-south-walk-across-lanka-for-charity-and-reconciliation/|title=Botham considers a north-south walk across Lanka for charity and reconciliation|author=Rex Clementine|publisher=The Island|date=29 March 2011|access-date=3 April 2011|archive-date=14 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814021632/http://cricketique.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/botham-considers-a-north-south-walk-across-lanka-for-charity-and-reconciliation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2004, Muralitharan also joined the United Nations [[World Food Program]] as an ambassador to fight hunger among school children.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 June 2004 |title=Murali an ambassador for United Nations |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ausvsl/content/story/139558.html |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=22 January 2008 |archive-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707053004/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ausvsl/content/story/139558.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

When the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] devastated Sri Lanka on {{Nowrap|26 December}} 2004, Muralitharan contributed to the relief programs.<ref name="Cricket relief">{{Cite news |date=3 January 2005 |title=Cricketers help relief programme |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/144986.html |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=22 December 2007 |archive-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119213451/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/144986.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He himself narrowly escaped death,<ref name="Tsunami escape">{{Cite news |date=28 December 2004 |title=Malinga and Fernando affected by tsunami |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/136260.html |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=22 December 2007 |archive-date=21 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121094552/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/136260.html |url-status=live }}</ref> arriving 20 minutes late at Seenigama, where he was to give away prizes at one of the charity projects he worked on. While international agencies were bringing food in by air, Muralitharan paid for and organised three convoys of ten trucks each to get assist in the distribution.<ref name="Murali relief">{{Cite news |last=Austin |first=Charlie |date=5 January 2005 |title=Murali leads from the front |url=http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/145035.html |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=22 December 2007 |archive-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130120011750/http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/145035.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He persuaded those who could to donate clothes, and supervised the delivery himself.

During the rehabilitation efforts in the tsunami's aftermath, cement was in short supply. Muralitharan promptly signed an endorsement deal with Lafarge, a global cement giant, that was a straight barter, where cement would be supplied to the Foundation for Goodness in exchange for work Muralitharan did. During the first three years since the tsunami, the foundation raised more than US$ {{Nowrap|4 million}} to help survivors, and has built homes, schools, sports facilities and computer centres.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vasu |first=Anand |date=22 December 2007 |title=The Nice Kandyman |url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne221207Nice_kandyman.asp |publisher=tehelka |access-date=23 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912034124/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne221207Nice_kandyman.asp |archive-date=12 September 2012 }}</ref>