Back in Action

After a few days of no blogging, we are back in action and ready to report on the latest updates.  Unfortunately Don was unwell over the weekend so we decided that it was best not to go travelling as we had planned, but to stay here and use the time to finish off some bits and pieces. 

On Saturday we visited the boatyard and we were delighted to see that our fishing boat was in good condition and had caught 75kg of Calamari the night before. 

Our fishing boat

The next morning we visited the fish market to see the final stages of the fishing process. 

Colin explaining the process to Della 

    

Yesterday afternoon Udaya and I went to the port in Colombo to buy 5 new fishing nets.  During the storms at the beginning of June, in which there were many deaths, our fishermen were forced to cut their nets in order to survive and get back to shore safely. 

Udaya and one of the new nets

Today we witnessed the dyeing of the nets from white to green, in order to prepare them for use on the boats tomorrow. 

Boiling the water to dye the nets

The dye

Drying the nets

....and here are a couple of photos of yesterday evening's stunning night sky! 

Your donations distributed!

Thank you to everyone who donated lots of lovely children’s clothes, shoes and toys!  As usual, the pictures really do speak for themselves, and convey the chaos that is the clothes distribution.  Every one of the 100kg of donated items went to a deserving home.  

Due to the extreme, rural poverty in the area surrounding the Jungle Nursery, we decided to give the donated toys to the children there, which worked out perfectly with each child receiving one toy.   

Handing out the toys 

Successful Stitching

We hadn't had an opportunity to visit the Sewing Machine Ladies since our visit two years ago when we bought them a second sewing machine.  We were delighted to see them again, and thrilled to see that the machines were supporting 10 families in total.  Nonetheless they still have no electricity, so the time they can work on the machines is limited to daylight hours.  In order to increase productivity and maximise benefit, we decided to purchase another sewing machine, enabling the women to produce more garments, such as the lovely saris that you can see in the photos.  We are looking into the reason why no electricity, sanitation or running water has been provided to their village, which was rebuilt by an NGO following the tsunami in 2004. 

Observations on my First Visit to Sri Lanka - Mary Fugle

Eight and a half years have passed since I anxiously waited for a message that Della and Don were safe after the Tsunami in Sri Lanka.  I have been delighted to be a small part of FODAD from the start, collecting the U.S. donations before there were options other than cash or personal checks that I could hand off to Della when she made a business trip to New York.

After each trip back to Sri Lanka, I heard all the stories, successes and disappointments from Della, Don, and all the many others who have visited on behalf of
 FODAD.  I felt as if I would immediately recognize Colin, the fisherman who saved Della's life, Udaya, FODAD's "boots on the ground," the Village School Principal, and many of the children as soon as I met them - and I did!  Now, I am here for nearly two weeks, meeting all of the above as well as other special volunteers who work so hard to make FODAD a success and make a difference in people's lives, no matter or big or small.

Last week at the U.N., Malala made a speech on her 16th birthday that echos the FODAD vision - education is the only option to make real changes in peoples lives. As Malala noted, one student, one teacher, one pen, one tablet, one laptop can make a difference.  I would add after these past several days, one sewing machine, one Monk, and one "Dad" can also make all the difference as well.  Most importantly, one FODAD school uniform can make a difference in a child's life.  We met a young boy in the Jungle Nursery School who refused to take off his first uniform and book bag when he went to bed.  Many of my friends' children refused to remove their Superman shirt or Princess dress to go to bed, so just imagine the concept that a school uniform can have Super Powers!!!!!

I knew this would be the journey of a lifetime and it has been. as we've realized this past several days, we are humbled by so many here who are part of the FODAD projects and we all must continue to do whatever we can to ensure Malala's birthday message is fulfilled.

Greetings from the Jungle Nursery! 

A Children's Home that's a Family Home

As our regular readers will know, we have a special connection and interest in a children's home just outside Colombo as two boys from our village were sent there last year.  It was great to see the two brothers again, and to give each of them a Cambridge t-shirt.  We spent a happy couple of hours playing cricket and speaking to the wonderful man whom the children see as their father.  The photos say it all...

Lack of Conversation Class

The children at our school are really disadvantaged in that they rarely have the opportunity to hear and practice spoken English.  During one of our visits, we took a class of 8 grade 6 students who were without a teacher that day, and tested their conversation abilities.  We realised immediately that they have not been taught to speak even the most basic English, as questions such as 'How are you?' and 'How old are you?' were met with blank faces.  It was clear to us that the children were eager to learn, and this is something that FODAD needs to address urgently, since the children will become even more deprived as the new curriculum will also be testing spoken English. 

A Morning at the Orphanage

A personal highlight of any trip to Sri Lanka is visiting the girls at the Orphanage.  This project is particularly important to me as I’ve known many of the girls for a long time now, and I cannot wait to see them every time I come here.   On my past two visits we have taken all of the girls on a day out, however as it is currently Ramadan and the girls fast during the day, we were invited to visit the orphanage for a morning of games and activities.  It was great to see them all smiling and enjoying themselves so much, and it was lovely to chat to the several girls whom I keep in contact with throughout the year via email or letters.   We had a hilarious morning full of songs, games, jokes and dancing and as usual, saying goodbye to everyone was terribly sad as we wished we could have stayed for longer.

 Lucy

A few words from Mary and Caroline…

Caroline:

Visiting the girls at the orphanage was a particularly moving experience for me, as this is my first time coming out to see the projects of FODAD in Sri Lanka.  I saw just how much the charity affects the lives of these wonderful people, supporting their many talents through education and giving a home to some who might not otherwise have had one.  Being the same age as some of the girls and seeing how they cope, always keeping a smile on their faces, was eye-opening. They are amazing people, and I thank them so much for immediately befriending me.

Mary:

As with all the people I’ve met since arriving for my first visit, I’ve been so impressed at the joy the girls expressed despite coming from the dire situations they experienced before coming to the loving care of the Mrs. Mohammed, the Principal, and her teaching staff.  The girls were delighted with their Eid gifts  of costume necklaces and earrings for the smaller girls and watches for the older ones, that Della and Don presented to them.  What touched my heart most of all was that the girls kept asking me if I remembered their names.  The desired to be acknowledged is universal.

Caroline (left) and Lucy (right) with the girls 

Mary playing a game 

Annual Medical Camp

We've been running the medical clinic for 7 years and although we visit every time we come here, we've never had the opportunity to see the free medical camp that takes place once a year.  Today we were lucky enough to see it in action and together with Mary (Della's friend from New York) and Caroline (my friend from Cambridge), both of whom are with us in Sri Lanka for the first time, we were able to witness the amazing health-care opportunities on offer to the community free of charge.  The camp opened at 9am and by 9.45am 129 people had already arrived to have free blood tests.  In an adjacent room there was a general health doctor and a skin specialist attending to patients, as well as a full dispensary of drugs donated by pharmacists.  FODAD together with Neighbours in Christ hope to continue the running of the camp in future years as it is an invaluable service for the local community. Della, Lucy and Don will visit the clinic on August 2nd when they will see the results of the tests. 

A Welcome Relief

A month ago, a horrendous storm hit Sri Lanka, killing many fishermen at sea and destroying homes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22837768.  We had been in contact with people in the village and although nobody we knew personally lost their lives, we knew that the impact on our fisherman and their families had been severe.  As a result we had no idea what to expect when we arrived in Sri Lanka late on July 10th. 


Thanks to the generosity of our supporters we had been in a position to send immediate relief to the families in our village for food, and also because of the lunch-programme at the school none of the children had gone hungry.  So thank you on behalf of our fishermen and their families!  Sadly, there is still no fishing as it is far too dangerous to go out.


In spite of the recent hardship, we were delighted to see full-attendance at the school when we visited in the afternoon. All of the improvements that we have made over the years mean that the school is now a clean and safe environment. And because of our recent O-level successes, the children now have real goals to strive for and realise the value of education in giving them hope for a better future.  We spent a really useful couple of hours speaking to the Principal and the teachers, as well as playing with the children.  Overall, a great start to the trip! 

Working hard

Mary, Lucy and Caroline handing out the school lunches