Good news for the Street kids!

We received a text this morning, from Father Mahendra whose Street children project we support. He informed us that 10 of the Street kids have been accepted by the Government school! This is wonderful news, since no school would accept them before as they are considered feral.

This is such a great opportunity for those 10 kids as it will provide a real chance for them to progress even further than they already have since starting school.

This picture shows the kids when we saw them in July. They had come on so much and had developed social skills and communicative skills which was such a change from our previous visit. Being accepted in the government school will help those children to have the same opportunities as other kids, despite their extremely tough upbringing.

If you want to support the street kids and our other projects, then don't forget to check out our Light Up A Life page.

http://www.friendsofdellaanddon.com/page10.htm

Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas from the school

Today we received some pictures from the village school from their Christmas nativity party.

As you can see from the pictures it was very festive and it looks like they had great fun!

Everyone at the village school wishes us a very happy Christmas. If you want to wish them one too, don't forget to visit our Light up a Life page!

http://www.friendsofdellaanddon.com/page10.htm

Happy Holidays!

Light up a life

Hundreds of lives have been changed as a direct result of your generosity in supporting Friends of Della and Don over the past 7 years.  .  With not a single overhead, every Dollar, Pound or Euro collected goes directly to those who need it... Please click on the link to look at the different projects you have supported, read about them and if you are able, make a small donation, leave a holiday message and help us light up lives!  .    http://www.friendsofdellaanddon.com/page10.htm 

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing – Happy Holidays.

Della and Don

NPG vs Biomed Central 10k

September 28^th was a day of unexpected and unprecedented sweltering heat.  It reached almost 30 Celsius on the Regent Canal, London, where 43 runners gathered together for the 2^nd Annual Nature Publishing Group v Biomed Central 10k competitive run. For the second year running the members of the NPG team (23 in all) had agreed to run in support of Friends of Della and Don. 

The aim was to pay for a contractor to put in drainage around our school in Sri Lanka and defeat the dengue mosquito. The female mosquito breeds in stagnant water and unlike the malaria carrying mosquito bites during the day. Dengue has been responsible for several deaths and many seriously ill children and adults in Sri Lanka and South East Asia during this past year.  

The runners were all heroes – the fastest Nature Publishing Group participant completed the course in 48 minutes. An amazing achievement in such heat. So far, nearly £3,000 has been raised by the runners from their sponsors    Thank you so much for anyone who took part in any way at all.

Loads more pics on flickr.

Dengue Fever - Lucy's final blog

A school mural warning of dengue

Dengue (n. den-gee) As suggested by the title this last blog is about the dangers of dengue fever and how easily breeding grounds for that type of mosquito are created. On our final visit to the school we were shocked to discover the condition of the area around the taps at the back of the school. There was rubbish surrounding the taps and stagnant water collecting around the bottom. It was the perfect site for dengue mosquitoes to breed. We also noticed how quickly the area could become dirty as the previous week it had been pretty clean. This is why it is important to find a long term solution and not just a quick fix. I had been reading about the dangers of dengue in the newspapers since our arrival but seeing this filthy water made it clear to me how important it is to stop sites like this from being created.

As a result of this we met with a maintenance contractor who is going to supply an estimate for laying pipes and supplying drainage; this will prevent pools of stagnant water accumulating thus eliminating the risk of dengue. FODAD intends to devote the rest of this year to collecting money to pay for this essential and life saving work.

More about dengue fever:

The disease has symptoms very similar to severe flu and can easily cause death through a complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever. Dengue fever is spread by the bite of infected female mosquitoes. Worldwide, there are an estimated 50 million cases of dengue fever annually. Most of those infected live in Africa and southeast Asia, where the disease is particularly prevalent and is the leading cause of death among children in certain Asian countries.


The Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka has made the third week of August 2011 ‘national dengue prevention week’. The campaign is being advertised on billboards, TV and through the schools, where children are learning the importance of keeping home and community spaces tidy. This is because the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which carry the disease throughout Asia breed mainly in man-made containers, such as metal drums and concrete cisterns used for water storage. But any waste items, however small, such as plastic food containers and jars, or larger items such as old car tyres, provide ideal breeding grounds.


Children and their parents are being urged to make special efforts to clear and clean areas which might offer breeding opportunities for the mosquitoes. An official from the Health Ministry’s Epidemiology Unit felt that with public health, as well as the involvement of the military and police, the spread of the disease can be controlled.

Power to the People

Regular followers of our trips to Sri Lanka will know how concerned we have been about bare electricity wires hanging from the walls at the Village Nursery.  So as Della, Don and Lucy embark on their last day of good-byes and wrapping things up, imagine how delighted we were to receive this picture this morning.  It looks like after nearly 2 years, the hotel has fulfilled its promise to make safe the wiring.  So this gesture just underlines how busy and successful the three of them have been this trip.  Apart from any last minute update, we're expecting a final blog entry by Lucy to be devoted to the dangers of Dengue fever which she will write on the 13 hour flight back to London on Friday.

On our trip in September 2009, a last minute thing we did was donate $50 for an old man to buy a coconut trolley to help support his family.  We dashed off to catch our flight and never caught up with him. But Della, Don and Lucy managed to track it down on their last day.  It looks like business is good and he is able to still support his family.

Uniformally Proud

Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the band play at the school followed by lots of dancing and performances by the different grades at the school. When we pulled up in our three-wheelers I couldn’t believe it; the band were waiting for us at the school gates in their brand new uniform and it was clear by the expressions on their faces how proud they felt. It was so amazing to hear them play and from what Della and Don have said it seems as if they have come a long way since February. After this the children did many dances and songs; one of which was the English national anthem which caused us some embarrassment as we didn’t know the words past the second verse! Then there was lunch for us, provided by the some of the parents; I had my first try of eating with my fingers which actually did add a lot of flavour to the food! 

Later in the day we went to buy some more energy efficient light bulbs in order to reduce the energy bills of the school. We also bought 2 bins to stop the area around the back of the school from getting so covered in rubbish. I was surprised at the cost of a simple black bin which cost around £40 and explains why there is so much rubbish on the street! 

We also gave the pictures done by the Village School in Hampstead to the principal and they are already displayed on the school walls. All in all, it was an amazing day and seeing the kids at the school who were so enthusiastic and welcoming really made me realise how important all the fundraising is to continually support them and ensure that they have the best education possible.

Food & clothes - life's essentials

Today we started work again, following a wonderful weekend travelling. First off was the school where we negotiated with the principal various issues such as the price and quality of the school meals and the lack of security at the school. It was especially confusing when the teachers started talking in Sinhala whilst we tried to understand what they were saying from their facial expressions! I was surprised at the complexity of these issues – with all sorts of politics involved in what you would think to be a simple decision!  We also saw the children preparing for the end of term celebration that will take place tomorrow.  

After this we went to the bakery to agree a new price for the food for the school; the price of staples in Sri Lanka has risen by about 30% in recent years and this led to a decrease in quality of the food at the school. We negotiated a new price to allow for the increase in price which will hopefully result in better food at the school from now on. (The picture shows Lucy and Udaya negotiating the best price at the bakery)

Later in the afternoon we gave out the clothes donated by people at home to the people of the fishing village. It was a bit of a scrum with several people trying to hoard clothes for themselves but overall it was a fairly controlled event! It was great to see in particular 3 young boys who changed into their t-shirts as soon as they got them.

Lucy & the Orphans

Yesterday we went out with the girls from the orphanage; we took them to Leisureworld which is Sri Lanka’s first theme park and is rather like a very dated version of an English theme park. I was looking forward to this and I was excited to be taking them out since the money from my first ever fundraising for FODAD went towards taking them out for a day. The girls only leave the orphanage when Della and Don come to Sri Lanka (i.e. a couple of times a year) which explains how excited they were when we were approaching the bus! 

The first thing I saw was about a hundred smiling faces followed by screams of ‘Hello how are you?’ I was amazed at the crowded conditions of the bus which involved girls sitting practically on top of each other at the back. The whole way there was filled with the girls singing and dancing whilst we sat at the front looking on in awe (this was not the case on the return journey though, when I dared to sit at the back of the bus....). When we arrived we went on various rides which the girls thoroughly enjoyed; they found watching their teachers go on the rides especially amusing. 

After lunch we sat down and the girls did some singing and dancing; we also did some games which somehow resulted in Don and I dancing in front of everyone as a prize for winning! It was amazing to see the spirit among the girls and the sense of community that they have. After this we were presented with presents and one girl gave a very touching speech in English, expressing their gratitude towards all of us. At one point she thanked me and my friends for all the fundraising that we have done and how they really appreciated going on these days out; it was very moving and really made me aware of how worthwhile all of our fundraising is. The rest of the afternoon was spent on pedal boats and taking numerous photos. 

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of the day was sitting with the girls at the back of the bus on the way home. It’s difficult to put into words the relentless joy and spirit of the girls; this was really clear when they did not stop dancing for the whole of the return journey. When I say dancing, I mean proper Sri Lankan dancing; however it was being done in a square metre of floor on the bus, with the occasional sudden jolt resulting in a pile up on the floor. 

I was extremely sad to leave the girls who I had become so friendly with over the course of the day. All in all it was an extremely enjoyable day which I will remember forever and I would love to come back and see the girls again.

Slumdogs Revisited

We actually came upon the "street children project" by chance when in September we visited our old friend and originator of so many of our original projects.   Father Mahendra had been the man behind our clinic in Ratmalana and before he moved to the other side of Columbo had become a great friend. 

He started a school for street children (slumdogs) last year on the premises of his Church and we visited him again in February of this year with the promise of funding daily meals for the children. We were overwhelmed when we saw them today. They still look poor and dirty but they also look healthy and smiled all the time.  They are shown such love by their teachers that for the first time in their lives they have learned to accept it and return it.

They were so excited when our friend Lucy gave them the cricket bats she had brought with and Father Mahendra was most amused as they are better than the bats the other school children have.  They sat quietly at their desks waiting for their meal and were even entrusted with raffle tickets to sell for their new school building.  They are still illiterate but are trying to learn and next week will go on their first trip outside their slum to a couple of heritage sites.  If ever we needed proof that what FODAD does really makes a difference, this is it!

Nichola & the NYC marathon

In 2009, Nichola Bennett, a long-time supporter of FODAD ran the NYC marathon and raised over £2,500 for FODAD.  She has kindly agreed to run again in this November's event and will no doubt be aiming to beat both the amount raised and her time of 4hrs 43 mins. Please support Nichola by visiting her JustGiving page:
Nichola Bennett is fundraising for Friends of Della and Don

Jungle Fever

When we visited Sri Lanka in September 2010 we took on a new project.  In 2006 a nursery school in the jungle had been set up by an American working in Sri Lanka.  It is the only free pre-school  in a poverty stricken area dependent on farming.  The average salary for a farmer  is 500 rupees (50 US cents) a day and if the women are lucky they may get jobs in a garment factory which is 2 hours walk away.  


The Buddhist Monk who ran the project had run out of money, the American had left Sri Lanka and he was, with great regret, about to close the project.  We had known him for 6 years as his temple in Mount Lavinia is where the fishermen went as refugees directly after the Tsunami. 

We took on the project together with the restaurant owner on our local beach. We have visited them twice to take shoes and uniforms. Today, we took nothing other than a promise of continued help but today was more moving than any of the other visits.   


The kids put on a special procession for us together with an elephant they had made themselves.  They danced and sang for us and we were all very moved.  


We promised commitment, for as long as we are able.

Our Latest Trip

Della and Don arrived in Sri Lanka last Wednesday accompanied by Lucy, aged 16 on her first visit to the country.  As ever, the schedule is proving to be hectic and already they've visited the Village Nursery, Medical Clinic and Village School.


Lucy has kindly written an entry for the blog on her impressions to date:

"I am Lucy, aged 16 and currently travelling in Sri Lanka with Della and Don. We arrived last Wednesday, following an extremely turbulent flight, in Colombo and I was amazed at the traffic and the atmosphere. It was hot, muggy and there were people everywhere as we were driving through the city. I had no expectations before I came. I had some vague ideas but since I have never been to the third world before they were just from what I had seen and heard. 

As we were driving I saw many people walking around with no shoes on and on some evenings we have seen people sleeping wherever they can. I found this shocking as personally, unlike places such as India and Bangladesh, even since the tsunami, I do not associate Sri Lanka with extreme poverty. This was really brought to my attention when we passed over a bridge into Colombo, underneath which there were slums that overran to the edge of the railway line. The next day we went to the fishing village and I was amazed at the destruction that had been caused by the tsunami. People were living in shacks, literally, many without running water. 

This was also the case when we went to see some ladies that Della and Don had bought a sewing machine for. They had their homes rebuilt by a charity as they lived in a place that was heavily impacted by the tsunami; they were living without electricity and running water. We decided to buy another sewing machine as the machine was supporting 7 families; with another machine they will be able to support themselves even more and it will mean that they can make more items. Another aspect that has really intrigued me is the pure chaos that surrounds everything. As I said, I came with some loose ideas of what it would be like but I cannot put into words how crazy everything is; there are hundreds of tuktuks and the driving is extreme; for me  all the beeping is very strange, coming from a place where beeping is only used when really necessary and even then it is looked upon with shock! 

The highlights so far have been visiting the nursery and the clinic. The nursery children have one small and dangerous room with exposed wires and at the moment I would really like the money that I raised last term at school to help with building them another room to use. The clinic was very eye opening as I got to meet the mothers and some of the children that FODAD sponsors. Here, especially, I saw how much the families were benefitting from the use of the clinic. Without it they had to travel all the way into Colombo where they would have to pay for the drugs and medical treatment themselves.

We also visited the school where they were taking their midterm exams; it was great to see the children so focused and dedicated on their work. So, all in all it has been a very exciting and eye-opening trip and I will write some more soon!

Lucy  




More updates to come soon!

Fete & Art

Don talking about FODAD's projects

FODAD's friends at the Village School in Hampstead, London have come up trumps again!  Last Saturday they held a traditional summer fete with face-painting, stalls, a raffle and the chance for the children to throw sponges at their dads. Della and Don went along and had a great time chatting to old friends and new.

And then earlier this week, the school held another charity art auction which saw some of the paintings done by pupils at The Village School in Ratmalana sold off in a bidding frenzy with procedes going to FODAD.  On the night over £400 was raised and with a contribution from the fete as well, we reckon the staff, parents and pupils have raised enough to feed the children in Sri Lanka for another two terms, which as weve reported before, makes a real contribution to their well-being and is helping improve results.

And on that note, we had an email from the Principal recently confirming that 3 students have now gone on to start their A Levels which has never, ever happened before!  One student, Gihan, who was previously the head boy and band leader comes from a very poor family and we've offered to help his family so that he can complete his studies and Della and Don will hopefully be able to make arrangements when they're out there later in July.

So thanks again to everyone at the Village School; every penny you raised goes directly to the School and as you can see, is making a real difference.

Lisa's birthday gift

Our friend Lisa, who joined us in Sri Lanka with Lawrence and Callum last February, recently celebrated a special birthday. Rather than gifts, champagne or flowers, Lisa instead asked her guests to donate money to FODAD, specifically to fund the clearance of the back of the school to make a new safe, play area. Thanks to Lisa's kind gesture and the generosity of her friends, we have now raised over £700 towards that goal and hope to be able to make start in July when Della and Don visit Sri Lanka again.

So congratulations to Lisa and thank you to all those that donated. And if you still want to wish her a 'happy birthday' you can do so on Lisa's JustGiving page or by sending a text to 

LISA40  £5 to 70070. Thank you.

Picture perfect

One of the things we did on our last trip was leave materials for the school to paint murals on the exterior walls - it's a Sri Lankan tradition.  Having taken advantage of a break in the monsoon weather, the pupils and teachers have made a start and sent us some pictures of their latest efforts, and we have to say we're very impressed.

We can also report that our supporters at the Village School Hampstead kindly donated money so that the playground which FODAD originally provided 6 years ago could be renovated .  That work has been completed and we hope to be able to share more photos after D & D's next trip in July.

Grave news (in a good way)

Fran Woodcock and John Hewitt from the Wadham College Development Office helped organise a tidy-up of the overgrown church yard of St Peter's Church in the lovely village of Wootton, Oxfordshire on Saturday 30 April.  A large group of villagers all pitched up to help with tools, rakes and other garden paraphernalia on a glorious Spring day. Della and Don turned up to help, too and the results of the make-over were remarkable.  


If you remember our trip back in February, you may recall that we provided a new sewing machine to three ladies who were overwhelmed by the generosity and couldn't stop smiling.  It was Fran's mother who first met the ladies and asked us to find them.

Thanks to the support of people in Wootton and at Wadham College, this spring clean of the churchyard has raised close to £3,000 - you can still donate via Fran's JustGiving page - which is a phenomenal effort and will make a huge difference to so many people.