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.

Fran Woodcock is fundraising for Friends of Della and Don

Fran Woodcock is fundraising for Friends of Della and Don

School makes the grade

It's sometimes hard to measure the impact of the work we do - especially when you're 5,500 miles away. But recent indicators have shown us that FODAD really is making a difference to the children at the Village School.  At the end of our last trip a team of government inspectors visited to check on the health of the students. They commented that they had never seen such healthy children from such a poverty stricken environment which must be in part down to the fact that we have been feeding them a nutrious meal every day for over 6 years, and for some it is the only meal they get. And kids who aren't hungry will concentrate more.

This, combined with the changes we've made to the school such as the introduction of partitions, has led to 4 students passing enough O Levels to go onto further education and study for their A levels. This is a fantastic result and the first time ever that any pupil from the school has made such an achievement. We will try and actively encourage those who passed to continue their education by supporting them in some way.

And finally, the school has recently undergone its annual inspection and the report noted the discipline of the students, the cleanliness of the school and how well turned out the kids were.


So, we really are making a difference and providing hope for a better future! Thank you.

The school band has given teachers and students pride in their school

The introduction of an annual merit prize has given the children something to strive for

Partitions have helped reduce distractions during classes