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.