Our second week in Sri Lanka

 

On Sunday February 9th David Hoole arrived in Sri Lanka for 10 days.  He has been a generous contributor to FODAD taking part in several sporting events to raise money.  

We introduced David to the school first thing on Monday morning, and after watching the children who had played in the band and performed in the National Day Parade proudly receiving their certificates of participation, he went to “inspect” the toilets and the shower s which had been built through FODAD with the proceeds of his efforts.

We then bundled him into a van and took him to the children’s home where we have sponsored two boys.   They used to live in our village. Much to our amazement David even played cricket which was a first for him. The two boys were so pleased to see us and insisted on having their photos taken with me (Della).

On Tuesday, after visiting the school in the morning, we distributed the clothes and shoes we had brought from England for the fishing village.  The parents were thrilled with the children’s clothes – so thanks everyone and please keep them coming!

On Wednesday, we took the Galle Road down South to see the women for whom we have now bought 3 sewing machines.  We were thrilled that nowadays they have a little tailoring shop. Each of the machines is supporting at least eight extended families.  A real success story! They gave me a beautiful sari but I am sure I will never learn how to wear it.   

We left there and went to show David the memorial to the 1270 Tsunami victims who were killed on a train and in the adjoining village.    It is a beautiful work of art and very moving.

On Thursday we had a wonderful morning at the orphanage in Colombo.  The girls had organized a show which was both touching and hilarious in equal measure.   There was a new girl from Jaffna who danced like a star from a Bollywood movie.  She was very small and full of expression.  We all got up and danced afterwards - I doubt that she was very impressed.     On our last week here we will be taking them for a day out.  They are really looking forward to it.

Friday was Poya – full moon day – which is always a public holiday in Sri Lanka though we did briefly visit the clinic we support in the morning.     The February holiday is very special and involves parades of dancers and elephants through Colombo.

The week finished with a wonderful “Big Girl Party”.  Throughout Sri Lanka huge parties are thrown when a girl starts to menstruate.  An astrologer will determine the most propitious date for the celebrations.  Udaya is the fisherman who does almost everything for FODAD in Sri Lanka. His daughter’s party was on February 15th.  It was a wonderful celebration. Held on the beach with an almost full moon, it was just like a wedding.  Everyone was dressed up, the food was wonderful and we danced the night away underneath the stars on the sand.

..Teach a man to fish...

“Buy a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” Confucius

When we arrived in Mount Lavinia at the end of June 2009, the fishermen in our village had only been able to launch their boat once in the previous 3 weeks. The monsoon which will last until November makes the sea far too dangerous for them to take the boat out very frequently and when they do, they fish with rods and lines.

No-one can change nature but we want to be sure that they can maximize their fishing options when the sea is calm and make enough money to carry them through the monsoon season. We are helping them introduce seine fishing to their village.

The technique requires around 40 people to haul in the nets and is normally operated by a co-operative of villagers but a large percentage of the profits from the haul going to the net owner.


Now, thanks to a generous individual donation, the Friends of Della and Don is the joint-owner of a net which will be used by the fishermen of the village. This opportunity will provide employment to around 40 villagers who now have a vested interest in making it work. In addition, with a part-share of the nets, we’re able to re-invest directly back into projects to help the village.

The Friends of Della and Don want to do more than provide immediate relief and assistance and help provide the villagers with employment, a wage and a long term sustainable opportunity to create and share a better way of life.

If you would like to help us continue to fund sustainable projects, you can donate via the website using PayPal.

Thank you.