Day 3 - Wed 22 Sep

Birthdays should be special wherever you are. But to be away in a place like Sri Lanka makes a birthday even more special for anyone.  So waking up to a glorious morning in fine surroundings was a nice way to start the day; to then find balloons adorning the table, a personalised birthday cake, and singing waiters was even better.  But on Wednesday, it really dawned on me just how true it is that it’s the simplest things which are the most touching.  When you get on a bus full of orphaned girls who burst into their rendition of Happy Birthday as you board the coach, it kind of leaves a lump in your throat.  And especially as I was made to feel like guest of honour on what was, after all, their special day – only the second time outside of the orphanage walls since we last took them out in February.

The girls’ obvious enjoyment and excitement more than makes up for the 4 hour journey on a clapped out, hot and uncomfortable bus as they sang along to their favourite songs – the “Bollywood bus”, if you like!

After lunch on the beach, the girls headed down to the sea and spent a carefree couple of hours just splashing around as the waves crashed about them.  Unfortunately, as the picture shows below, Della and two of the girls were somewhat taken by surprise as a huge wave crashed over their heads – much to the amusement of all the girls.  It was great to see them all so happy again.  Next up was a surprise birthday party for me where I was presented with a birthday cake, huge card and gifts.  There was dancing – the girls were very good, their guests less so! – singing and games.  The amount of effort that the girls had obviously gone to was overwhelming but I can’t think of a more rewarding way to spend a birthday.

 

We’ll be visiting the orphanage again next week to hear the girls play in their band and see how far they’ve come in the last 6 months.  FODAD pays for a music teacher and other vocational studies as well as their only trips out of the orphanage – all thanks to your donations.

Day 2 – Tues 21 Sep

Dangerous exposure

Following a solid night’s sleep, we headed off early in the morning to the Nursery school, just a short walk away from the hotel.  It was great to see all the kids again – the school hosts children  aged from 3 to 5.  We provide food every day  for these children and new shoes so as well playing with them, we were interested to find out if the situation concerning the dangerous exposed wiring had been resolved which we had noticed on our last visit back in February.   

Unsurprisingly it hadn’t and bare mains cables were still exposed and within reach of the children due to wrangling by the building’s owners and the electricity board.  Dan, Don’s nephew and newly appointed trustee,  and on his first trip suggested building a wooden box around the electrical board to lessen the risk of danger  and following agreement, we’re hoping this should be in place and installed this weekend.  

Kids at the Nursery School

 

Next up was to catch up with the kids and teachers at the Village school which is the largest project which we support.  Even after just a couple of hours chatting with them all, we had quickly identified some new ideas to take forward to improve the effectiveness of the school as well as reviewing for ourselves some of initiatives which have been implemented since our  last trip in February.  The new roof is finished and means that classes can go on unhindered by rain water; the partitions are supremely effective in breaking up the large hall and allow more focused classes to take place without distraction.  Some of the things we will look at doing this trip include:

The Village School

• Funding the first-ever overnight field trip for the older members of the school to the tea-plantation area so that they can learn more about the diverse history and geography of their own country (it seems very difficult to imagine children never having traveled outside of their own village

• Ways to brighten up the school and improve the atmosphere in a poorly maintained building which is about 90 years old

• Investigate opportunities such as technical training for  those less academically inclined;

• Look into what would be needed to support those who are academically gifted onto the next stages of education;

The playground is starting to look scruffy - a job for next year?

We had been accompanied throughout by our minders Udaya and Colin – the former being the head fisherman who sorts out so much for us both when we’re in Sri Lanka but also even when we’re not and Colin, the fisherman who saved Della’s life.  During our discussions, it became apparent that there were two areas where we might be able to assist; one would be to help them get the right nets for the forthcoming Seine net fishing season; the other being to fund one person from the village to undertake a Seamanship course at a local college.  This appeals hugely as it would mean for a minimum outlay, someone from the village could graduate after a couple of months training and be qualified to work on the merchant ships which pass along the coast every day.  While it might take them away from their families for periods of times, a starting salary of over $250 per month is a significant amount in this country and offers the potential to earn much more pretty soon after.  We have agreed to fund one student initially and would expect that person to repay the cost of the course over time thereby enabling us to fund others who want to take the course to do so – and it fits in nicely with trying to make the villagers self-supporting.

Dan gets to see the musical instruments donated in memory of his late father declan

It was a busy first day and another early dinner, but we were soon  left in no doubt that we’re still in the middle of monsoon season with the arrival of an almighty storm.  As we watched the lightning out at sea, the rain suddenly started hammering down for several hours and the entire city of Colombo in the distance was plunged into darkness as one strike hit the entire city’s power supply.

Day 1 – Mon 20 Sep

After 22 hours travelling from door to door, we finally arrived in the hotel at about midday with each of us trying really hard to stay awake through the day .  Needless to say, after a very early dinner it was straight off to bed to prepare us for the busy week ahead.   Regular readers will know that the monsoon struck early and with a vengeance earlier this year and it was clear that even our hotel was showing signs of May’s extreme weather so it would be interesting to see how the fishing village and school had coped.

The 10K challenge - part 3

On a cloudy afternoon on September 14th Della's colleagues at the Nature Publishing Group took on their rivals from BioMedCentral. The aim was to see how many of the group could finish the run along the Regent's Canal in less than an hour. The team gathered in Crinan Street and Della wore her favourite outfit of a sandwich board over a green chartreuse coat to cheer them on.

Everyone did brilliantly and lots of energy was expended. More to the point, lots of money was raised to support FODAD. Many thanks to everyone who participated and everyone who both marshalled and organised it. Every penny will go to helping children have a better future.

The first three past the post

Setting off

A keen bunch of runners

Before she donned the Chartreuse coat

Success: the next 10k event is completed successfully

Saturday, September 4th and Don and his trainer, Tess were up bright and early to start their challenging walk on Shotover.   Luckily it was an absolutely beautiful morning and after the mist had lifted and the sun broke through, the walk was too pleasant to be a real challenge.    Although they had been training for 5 months, Don had never actually completed 10k.  Both he and Tess had badgered their friends and family into sponsoring them so there was a lot at stake. 

They finished the walk in well under 2 hours, a major achievement  in Don's case as he  could not walk around the block at the beginning of the year.

On the walk the met lots of dogs some of whom they knew from their training sessions and a horse and its rider.  Della, managed to do the first half of the walk but then sat in the car on the pretext that she needed to send some text messages.  Thanks to everyone who gave both moral and financial support.  "The lines are still open"  

The next event in the 10k for 10k challenge moves on to London and  is on September 14th when NPG take on BioMedCentral  in support of Friends of Della and Don.

£10k for 10k - the Next Event

The next event in this year's £10k for 10k calendar takes place on Saturday.  Don and Tess, having been in training for months now, take to the hills in Shotover, Oxfordshire and embark on their own 10k challenge.

Tess has been a (mostly!) patient trainer for Don whilst he's made steady progress on his fitness.  Considering this time last year Don was just undergoing the first of three major operations, the size of the challenge shouldn't be underestimated; 6 months ago he had only just regained enough strength to walk and neither have done more than 6k so far.

Lots of people have already been really generous supporting both Tess and Don; if you feel you'd like to show your support you can do so by visiting their justgiving page.

And keep an eye on the blog - we hope to bring you pictures of them both in action!

Schools out... but the roof goes on

The kids at the Village School are now out for a couple of weeks - nothing like the 6 weeks in the UK - but during this time, the School roof is being completely replaced, thanks to all the kind donors to the Friends of Della and Don.  If you remember, the monsoon struck particularly early and with such force back in May and we reported on the terrible conditions that were affecting all the villagers: rain pouring through during lessons and the fishermens homes practically destroyed on the beach. 

With your help, we've funded a completely new roof for the school which should not only stand a better chance of withstanding future monsoon periods but ensure the children can continue lessons even when it's raining and mean that the computers and instruments which we've already provided won't get damaged.

The pictures hopefully show just how bad a state of repair the roof was in and the work which started today.

In the meantime, just because school's out, it doesn't mean that learning stops... these pictures also show members of the school band coming in to continue their band lessons. 

We're really looking forward to hearing the progress they've made since our last visit in February and will look to see what else we can do to improve the school environment when we visit again in September.  One idea on the cards is a mini-makeover to decorate the shabby classrooms and add more light to the dreary school.

New engine & new school roof

We reported recently on the difficulties faced by the fishermen this year over the extreme monsoon conditions which had prevented them from fishing for more than 5 weeks. In a desperate attempt to earn some money for their families they took the boat out during a lull in the bad weather. Unfortunately the storm returned unexpectedly and the boat capsized leading to the loss of the engine and generator. Luckily there was no loss of life.

 We have just sent out money to pay for a new outboard so that the fishermen can once again start earning and support their families in the village. Also, money has now been sent to replace the roof on the Village School as it was clear that they would have a long wait for the local authority to act. This will not only mean the students can learn in a dry environment but willl ensure the longevity of the instruments and computers we have already provided.

One of the great things about FODAD is we provide support and assistance throughout the year and we aren't restricted to just to the times we visit.

FODAD assists in life-saving Op

One of the pleasures of supporting the Nursery School is seeing the happiness and innocence of the kids - they're too young to know just how difficult their lives will be growing up in a poor village - and they derive happiness by playing with the little they've got. The school is in pretty poor repair too; despite a number of promises to provide a new building, nothing has yet happened and this will be one of the priorities for our next trip in September.

One of the kids which has always stood out with his beaming smile was Gihan.  But on the very last day of our visit in February, his parents told us that he needed urgent heart surgery. His father is a road-sweeper and earns next to nothing and couldn't afford to pay the 25,000 Sri Lankan Rupees to pay for the operation. The Government had agreed to pick up the remainder of the bill. It was a no-brainer and over the last few months we obtained the medical reports and sent the money for the op.

I'm pleased to say that Gihan has now had his surgery and is making a full recovery. Without the supporters of FODAD, who knows what would have happened to this little lad. £150 to save a live...? Priceless.

The 10k race

Team FODAD - Gav, Dan, Beck, Danielle and Tom - completed the Frampton 10k event last night.  After a hot weekend, the conditions were perfect and with large crowds gathering on the village green, there was a sense of anticipation as we warmed up at the start line.  Some were contemplating setting personal bests; others just finishing. 

We set off and waved as we passed all our followers - if there were a prize for the best supported team, we certainly would have one that!  As the race continued, experience began to show with Dan and Beck striding forward and up there with the leading pack.  For those of us who had never done 10k before, we were now regretting our lack of preparation!

Meanwhile, the supporters started munching on a picnic, the scale of which drew envious glances from many around.  But 40 minutes later, the smoked salmon had to be put aside as Dan entered the finishing straight and, despite having been ill, was the first team member across the line followed closely by Beck.

A while later, Gav put in a final sprint to cross the line in a time much better than he had ever expected followed closely by Danielle and Tom who had put in a herculean effort and had to run the last mile with no trainers.

It was a great evening out for both runners and their supporters.  There are too many people to thank individually but thanks to the generosity and support of our sponsors, we expect to have raised well over £2,000 for The Friends of Della and Don.

And there's more to come... Don & Tess doing their 10k walkathon and David and the gang at Nature.com with their 10k in September!!