Day 3 - Tuesday 9th February

If we didn’t have BBC World on the TV or occasional access to the internet, it would be hard to know what was really happening in the outside world. So it’s slightly unnerving to hear that the President has arrested his only rival in the recent presidential election and dissolved parliament. Such actions can only risk the stability of this country, which just seems to be getting back on its feet with 100% occupancy levels in hotels now that the war is over and confidence had returned.



It was therefore great to spend today with the local kids and villagers to whom the politics matters very little. In the morning we went unannounced to both the local nursery school and then St Mary’s primary school. Both are places where we can see for ourselves the difference that FODAD is still making.

At the nursery school, we spent loads of time just playing with the kids and it’s amazing to see how trusting in us they became. There are now 25 kids registered in the school’s, one-room building. The two teachers do a fantastic job with what they’ve got but had been promised a new building after the tsunami. We called the local Buddhist monk who owns the land and he has agreed to meet later in the week so we can at least find out when a more suitable building might become available. In the meantime, if we can simply get the overhead fan working, it’d make it much more comfortable. Needless to say, the daily meal which FODAD supplies, is still eagerly received as you can see and the teachers said is often the only food or drink they receive.

On to the primary school which now almost feels like a second home. Even though we hadn’t announced our intention to arrive, it was still surprising to see so many teachers “at seminars”… First job of the day was to hand out pastels and paper to 25 kids to do drawings of things that matter the most to them which we intend to bring back to the UK and exhibit and maybe make calendars from.


We also spent a lot of time holding an impromptu English class and finding out more about the students. There are some outstandingly bright children who want to learn.

In the afternoon, our friends Pat and Clive came up from the south of the island where they have been stopping for 4 weeks. They joined us for the 3rd “Ten-ty Ten-ty” cricket match with the coveted “Queen Della” trophy up for grabs. This year’s event had some added prestige given we were using some brand new cricket equipment donated by Callum in the UK who is cricket mad. The locals were especially impressed by the stumps which didn’t get washed away each time a wave hit the beach! So with the sides picked (a record 22 players) and the spectators taking tea on the sidelines, battle commenced. Udaya’s team batted first but managed only 48 runs in the allotted 10 overs. As Steve’s team went into bat it seemed that the trophy would be retained by the English captain. But after some crazy run-outs, and superb catches by the opponents (and glorious ducks by Steve and Gav) victory was Udaya’s.