Grandparents' Gratitude

Bernard and Beryl Brown are regular February visitors to the Mount Lavinia Hotel and we have got to know them over the years. They have participated in our fun days and have grown very fond of the children at the school. Last year we missed them in Sri Lanka and were saddened to learn that they had stayed in Wales as their grandson Corris had Ewing's sarcoma – a type of bone cancer - and was seriously ill in hospital.   Bernard and Beryl asked Corris where he would like to go when he recovered from the surgery and chemotherapy and he said he would like to come to Sri Lanka with them this February.  He is here now with his parents Sheila and Paul and is enjoying himself in the swimming pool and visiting the elephants, just like any other teenage boy.  

Two years ago, Bernard and Beryl had promised the Principal that they would buy a musical instrument for the school when it became secure. Today, the proudly presented her with an electric organ in grateful thanks for the recovery of their grandson, Corris.

Corris handing over the organ

Music teacher trying out the organ!

The Unsung Heroes of our Medical Clinic

In 2005 a local Priest asked us if we could help him fulfil his dream of opening a free medical clinic for the families in our village. Since that date, FODAD funds the clinic which is open every Friday and which is always full of patients. We have been told that they have seen nearly 10,000 patients since they opened their doors.  FODAD pays for all the medication that is dispensed as well as for x-rays and any other tests or support needed. However, there is a pharmacist and an administrator who work there every week and 8 selfless doctors who work in rotation without any payment and who have done so for 7 years. We have not mentioned the clinic often enough in our blogs because there is nothing new to say as it runs so smoothly! It is run through an organization called Neighbours in Christ whom we visit twice a year and who are so efficient and dedicated that they deserve a huge amount of praise.

The doctor at work

Filling in prescriptions 

Guest Blog - Harry's experience

My name is Harrison Maycox. I am 16 years old and I live in Cambridge, UK. I have come out to Sri Lanka to help Friends of Della and Don, which aids Sri Lankans affected by the 2004 tsunami. My family has been involved as Della was on the beach when the tsunami hit. 

Two years ago my sister Lucy met two boys the school which FODAD supports. A year later, due to tragic circumstances they were moved to an orphanage. Our family is supporting these two boys until they turn 18 so that they can have a start in life. 

We arrived at the orphanage which is about 2 hours away from Mount Lavinia when the children were having their lunch. The orphanage holds 20 children. There are 16 boys and 4 girls. The size of the orphanage is quite small but big enough to house that number of children. They are mainly supported by a generous woman in Germany and local villagers who feed them. We were quickly introduced to the people who run the orphanage and some of the children there. We were asked to go into a room where we met the 2 children who my family is sponsoring. Their names are Sanjay and Sanjeeva and they are 15 and 11 years old. They seemed quite confused about who I was. I gave them a cricket set and then went and played cricket with them. After that, I was asked to explain what our family was doing for them. Udaya, who had accompanied us to the orphanage, translated and I think they got the gist of what I was trying to say. Udaya is the “leader” of the local fishing village and knows the boys quite well. 

I was really happy to see that my old bats that my sister took over last summer were still in use. 

We said goodbye to the boys and to Mr Patharana who is known to the children as Papa, and runs the orphanage. I promised to keep in touch and send postcards.

As a conclusion, people say that these trips out to Third World countries change the way you see life back at home and make you realise how lucky and privileged you are. I was never totally convinced by this, but now I have come out to Sri Lanka and seen all that I have seen I can confirm that it does change the way you look at life. 

The Best Fun Day - ever!

One of the highlights of any trip to Sri Lanka is the fun day which we organise at the village school. Whilst we do much to try and improve the education of all the pupils, we also firmly believe that learning should be fun, too, and that there are essential life skills that can be learnt from non-classroom-based activities such as teamwork and leadership. 

The Sack Race

This year, we had three teams: Steve’s Lanka Lions, Della and Don’s Sharks, and Team Scooby Doo led by Gav. The format remained the same – five games, played in the baking heat, although the coconut walking game was a new innovation this year.

Things always seem to take forever to arrange in Sri Lanka but this year’s event was so well organised with pupils, staff and Udaya and the villagers all doing their bit to make it happen. 

Lime & Spoon Race

Musical Chairs

On to the competition itself and there were 5 events and a score allocated for the best decorated team house. We started with the sack race which was followed by the lime and spoon race – a far more interesting take on our egg and spoon version. Next up came the new coconut walking game which was hilarious and then we got marked on the best houses. Throughout this, the lead had changed as many times as there were events so the competitive instincts of the team leaders and children was really showing through by now. There was all to play for as we embarked on the final two events: musical chairs and the balloon dance. In fact during the final game, any of the teams could win as the points were so close and each team had one couple remaining in the dance-off. 

Balloon Dancing

But, for the second year running, it was to be Gav’s Scooby Doos who were ultimately victorious and every one of the team was presented with a medal by Della and Don.

Team Scooby

This was the fourth fun day we’ve held; we all agreed that it was the best ever and the smiles on the children were ones we’ll all treasure forever.

Guest Blog - Emma & Charlie

Emma (a friend and colleague of Steve) and her daughter, Charlie, are here for the first time and the Village Nursery school has already won a special place in their hearts. This is what Emma wanted to post:

Charlie teaching English Nursery rhymes

Each day this week, my daughter Charlie and I have been to a small nursery school in the fishing village which was devastated 8 years ago, where we have been playing with the children who are really enjoying the new toys we have taken for them. There's been singing and dancing, teaching numbers and colours in English. We've thoroughly enjoyed our time there and have got to know them all well. They are very kind, sweet, normal, three to five year olds despite coming from the most under-privileged backgrounds. They have loved us going to see them and have huge smiles on their faces when we turn up, leading the teachers to ask us to visit the next day, which - of course - we have. They are such warm and loving children: I can’t stress enough how welcome they have made us and how much joy we have had interacting with them.

Four others live in this single room shack

Last night we were walking down the beach and saw where these children lived. They ran out of their homes to us and welcomed us in. I was shocked by what I witnessed, and my heart went out to their whole families. I had no idea the very same children we have got to know, went to live and sleep in these awful places after nursery class ended. 

The "bed" for the family

They seem so uninhabitable at least compared to what we're used to; a whole family shares a bed - specifically a piece of old foam on the floor, and many houses don’t have roofs.  I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I left, I had no idea these children had to live in such basic conditions, and it’s simply not fair. 

The "bathroom"

Walking back towards our Hotel I couldn’t get the images of these homes and how these families live out of my mind. I couldn’t go back to England and not do anything, knowing these children are living like this. Like most people, if I had seen these homes before getting to know the families that live in them, I would have thought these homes belonged to people that had no respect for themselves. But they are far from that, they are lovely, decent, warm people that have been dealt a bad hand. 

It's an injustice that by virtue of geography and circumstance a child and their family should live in such conditions. We would be outraged if it went on within our own neighbourhoods, and distance is not an excuse to see these warm hearted people and not consider their predicament.

New Boat Launched

Della and Don bought a fishing boat 8 years ago on their first trip back to Sri Lanka after the tsunami; they thought that was going to be that and never imagined in their wildest dreams that they would still benefiting so many today.  

Eight years is a long time in Sri Lanka for small boats especially when there are two monsoon seasons a year and so time was taking its toll and the original boat was beginning to take on water and the engine was costing the fishermen a lot of money to repair they could ill afford.  So Toby and his colleagues at the ALPSP set about raising money for a new boat, engine and GPS equipment towards the end of 2012 raising more than half towards the total needed.   We then launched the end of year appeal and successfully raised the remainder by New Year’s Day 2013.

This is the result:

The fishermen now have a new, reliable and safe boat from which they can fish and provide for their families.  From them, thank you to all who helped us reach our goal.

A Shoe-perb Day!

At the heart of FODAD is the belief that all children should benefit from an education. In Sri Lanka, if you don’t have a uniform or shoes you cannot go to school. So, we try and remove any of the obstacles that might prevent a child from attending by providing shoes and uniforms for everyone.  On Friday we did just that, handing out uniforms and shoes to every pupil at the Village School and 25 pairs of shoes to the children at the the Village Nursery school. We also provided shoe vouchers for all the teachers, too.

Della handing out shoes at the Village Nursery

Another one of the 25 pairs handed out at the Nursery School

Della and Don handing out uniforms

In order to provide an incentive to actually attend, four years ago we also set up an annual prize for attendance and good behaviour in memory of the Sarath de Mel, who was Della and Don’s guide during their trip when the tsunami happened in December 2004. Sarath believed in the importance of a good education and so on Friday his widow and son joined us in handing out prizes to those who had excelled over the past 12 months.

All the winners of the annual prize

One of the prize winners

The day also marked an important day in the school calendar when the new prefects for the forthcoming year are chosen and the prefects’ blazers are handed over to them.  Proud parents also attended and beamed with joy and pride as their sons and daughters donned their blazers.

Prefects taking the oath

It was a long day but one very worthwhile. We reflected later on how much has been done to build the strongest foundations for a child’s education.  By removing the reasons for non attendance and providing incentives to actually go – a daily meal, annual prize, a good environment – we’re sure Sarath would approve.

The SLashes - (Sri Lankan Ashes)

An expectant crowd gathers

A highlight of any trip is the annual local village “tenty tenty” cricket match which takes place on the beach at the Fishing Village.

A new trophy was up for grabs this year – after Lehiru, last year’s winning captain and our tuk-tuk driver, refused to hand it over, so proud was he of his accomplishment. So Della and Don had gone out bought a new trophy which is even more “bling” than the last. The match was hotly contested with two captains each keen to lift the new trophy.  Steve, Harry and Gav joined  Lehiru alongside 8 other villagers and were pitted against Udaya and his side. 

As is usual, there were fine displays of dodgy Sri Lankan bowling and iffy decisions by the umpires but with an accomplished over by Harry and despite Gav’s fielding, Lehiru’s side was  victorious to bring the score to 3-3 in the series – it’s amazing that this event has now been running 6 years – and this was probably the best supported ever.

Della did the honours and handed over the new trophy to Lehiru and his team, wondering if we’ll ever get that one back.  It’s a great afternoon of fun, and helps bring the community together and in such a wonderful setting.

Harry tries a yorker

Della challenging the umpire

Local hard-hitter

It's a Six

Della presents the trophy

The victorious team

A Picture Speaks a Thousand...

They say a picture speaks a thousand words so these pretty much capture the spirit of the Orphans’ day out.  But for any new readers, thanks to the dedicated efforts of some of our supporters we are not only able to provide vocational and academic studies for a girls orphanage but give them with their only trip outside of the orphanage twice a year.

Clearly, on this visit, we had nearly as much fun as the girls themselves!

90 girls - standing room only - for 2.5 hours

Ritual Humiliation

Chicken or Monkey?

Harry Della-Fonte

Lots of laughs

So glad to be out for the day

50 Shades of....

Too tired to write up all the latest but two images stood out when reviewing all the photos...

50 Shades of White Shirts

(from the Village School)

United Colours of FODAD

(from the annual village cricket match)

An amazing transformation....

It’s been 7 months since the last FODAD visit to Sri Lanka.  With everyone now in country, we went along to the Village School to see for ourselves the work which had been done whilst we’ve been away, thanks to the many donations and grants.

As we approached, it was eerily quiet. Normally, there are children scattered around the classrooms and the playground but this time, they were all in class, being exceptionally well behaved and you got a real sense that there was a lot of learning going on.

We went first to the back of the school which houses the primary children and which has been subject to the most building updates over the last 6 months.  Regular readers will know just how dilapidated this part of the school was but the transformation has been amazing. We’re still talking about a very basic school, but the classrooms had new ceilings, cupboards and desks and chairs, as well as a completely new roof and gutters. Three nights ago, there was probably the worst electrical storm that many could ever remember; the school remained dry and water-tight, even through this, which is something we're really proud of!

Then we visited the new computer room.  Again, this is so far removed from what we might think of as a computer science lab, but there were three laptops, one connected to the internet with students doing research online.  It was a great space to see, and very conducive for study.  We pay for a teacher to teach 3 days a week but unfortunately some of his time is spent teaching maths as there is currently no teacher for that subject.  There is some work we need to do to try and speed up the laptops which were donated to us as they're struggling in the heat despite the desk fan mounted to the ceiling!

Walking back out through the rest of the school it struck as just how much had changed over the last 6 months.  We still have reservations about the quality of English being taught and will have to investigate that further but it was a really positive visit and we left feeling real progress had been made.