Clinic and the School

The clinic and the children supported by St. Joseph’s Church have been dear to our hearts since 2005 when we started working with them. We visited them this morning and were over the moon to hear that one of the children we had supported since that time is now teaching at an excellent school  in Colombo. The other children are doing well in spite of their tragic circumstances.  One family lives in the mud against the wall.  The clinic was, as usual full with waiting patients and the doctor was too busy for a chat but we were able to see the patients coming in for consultations, which reminded us just how worthwhile this particular project is.
The clinic recently held a free of charge medical camp, which was very successful.

 ‘The Medical camp was a great success and each year the numbers seem  to be increasing. We obtained the assistance of HelpAge for the testing of eyes and they detected over 25 cases of cataract which needed surgery. They have been  referred to their clinic where the surgery is done free of charge. They will also provide reading glasses to those in need. In addition we had Fasting Blood Sugar, Hearing testing, General health and Bone Health checks and nutritional counselling. It took a lot of planning and coordinating for this programme but at the end it was well worth it since so many benefited from this camp.’ [ An extract from an email from the administrator of the clinic]

After this we visited the school to have a chat with the Principal regarding communication and other general matters. It was successful (we think) and the Principal was delighted by the poster from the Village school in Hampstead, London, which we put up in her office.

We also met with the building contractor to discuss the renovation of the primary school area and a computer room. This was a productive meeeting and it was agreed that work will start at the beginning of August, when the school term ends.

From England with Love

We began the day by making a quick trip to ‘Food City’ to pick up sweets and ice creams to treat the nursery children. We arrived at the nursery and to the children’s delight, we distributed the sweets and ice creams and had a chat with the teacher regarding the quality of the food we supply, which she said was good so the arrangement will stay the same for the time being.

Later on in the day we distributed the clothes which were kindly donated to us. This was relatively calm and ordered, compared to previous experiences and everyone in the village was thrilled – the pictures tell it all. A huge thanks to everyone who donated clothes and shoes, you have really made a difference. The end of the distribution was marked by the handing over of a cricket bat which I had promised I would bring from England last time I came, to Udaya, for the village to use in their annual beach cricket match.

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On the way back to the hotel, we were met by two of my favourite boys from the school. They had, unfortunately, missed out on the clothes distribution but we’ll make sure they get some before we leave.

Sports on the beach

Having read Steve and Gav’s blogs about cricket on the beach, I was looking forward to experiencing it for myself! And it certainly didn’t disappoint. We began by playing a game of cricket which was won by Lahiru’s team, much to Udaya’s disappointment. Then came the running race in which I came third in spite of throwing myself across the finishing line in an attempt to beat Udaya. Ginger tea was served along with bananas and biscuits before the final game of football began.

A Year is a long time...

I had been looking forward to taking the girls on their day out ever since last year, so when the day finally came around I was so excited to see them all again. When the bus arrived to pick us up, the girls voices were as loud as ever and music was already blasting from the inside of the bus. I was delighted that we were able to take the girls to the beach because last year many of them said how much they love the sea. When we arrived we had lunch and then we were introduced to Sri Lankan party games, which were thoroughly enjoyed by all. Our favouirte was a game which involved a pair feeding ice-cream to each other whilst blindfolded.

After this it was time to play in the sea, much to the girls excitement. It was amazing to hear the screams of pure joy coming from the girls as they ran into the water. Most of them cannot swim but that didn’t stop them from playing in the water for a couple of hours. Despite our attempts to stay dry, all of us were pushed into the sea by the girls, who were determined that none of us would escape without getting soaked.

Then it was prize-giving time; gifts were presented and speeches were given and it was clear how much the girls enjoyed the day and how grateful they are for our support. It was very sad leaving the girls at the end of the day and as we walked away from the bus we could hear shouts of 'don’t forget us!’. It was an amazing day, and I cannot wait to take the girls on another day out next year.

Lucy


Some comments on the day from Alex (13), Felix (11) and Max (11)

Alex: It was amazing. It was so fun, I really enjoyed it. They sang and danced all the time. The girls were all singing together on the bus, and they knew the Justin Bieber song ‘Baby’ just like me. We played an ice-cream game which was really hard. The best bit was when we went into the sea with the girls and jumped the waves.

Felix: They were very excited and laughing and cheering. And then the show they were doing was great and it was funny when Don, Della, Lucy and Toby had to dance with the girls. The ‘passing the ball’ game was very funny too and also the ping-pong game – which I won. I noticed that the girls had practiced the ping-pong game before. The sea was very warm and we had fun playing catch with the pall and playing football on the beach. When we came back on the bus Alex found some brown thread and we asked Don to throw it to the girls behind us and then they threw it back; some of the girls were quite scared by it.

Max: Going to the beach with the girls was fun and I discovered that one of the girls was a big Ronaldo fan so we played football on the beach. We were invited to play cricket by some local boys which was very fun, but Alex managed to bowl me out. Ms Mohammed said to me at the end to say hello to mummy and that she hopes she gets better soon so she can come next time! The girl said it was great to be able to play football with me because none of the other girls would play with her.

Return to the Village

After a long and typically exhausting flight, we arrived safely in Sri Lanka yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. I’ve been waiting to come back to Sri Lanka ever since we returned from last year’s trip, so it feels amazing to finally be here. This year we have the pleasure of being joined by the Green family, who will be accompanying us until Friday and visiting the various projects with us.
Today was our first full day which consisted of a relaxing morning followed by a trip the village. As we were walking up the beach, we spotted Colin’s distinctive shape in the distance and we knew immediately that we were in safe hands. We were treated with fresh ginger tea and King Coconuts – hand picked from a tree by boys in the village.

We have a new blog

It’s been a while in the making, but our new website is now live, just in time for the next trip to Sri Lanka later in July. All the existing content is there along with more pictures, videos and information about the work we do and how we’re helping. Also, it incorporates the blog within the website so you can find out the latest news without having to visit another site.

We hope you enjoy the new look – please sign up to get regular updates delivered to your inbox so you don’t miss anything – and feel free to pass on your comments about the new look or ways which we can improve the site.

Thank you

Village School Fete

 June 23^rd saw the annual fete at the Village School in Hampstead, London.  Since 2005 the Village School has been a huge supporter of Fodad.  The parents and staff encouraged by  the Principal, Miss Gay  have generously supported fund-raisers  enabling  Fodad to open a school playground in Ratmalana as well as feed the children at the school  every day for the past 7 years. The fact that the children are fed means that not only are they as healthy as those from better off families but that their parents are encouraged to  send them to school knowing that they will at least have one good, nourishing meal each day. 





The fete at the school is the major fund-raiser for FODAD and luckily it did not rain.  Once again the parents went out of their way setting up stalls selling wonderful cakes and sweets and ensuring that there was  lots of fun and activities for the children, including an inflatable slide, clown performances and workshops, sponge throwing, as well as an amazing blend-your-own smoothie by bike stall.  

Della and Don arrived to find that the Friends of the Village School had printed a beautiful poster which no-one could miss as they came into the school.   Times are hard, and we understand that before this summer’s fund-raisers there was less than £5 in the coffers.  So thank you everyone at the village school – your support has been consistent and absolutely amazing!  Without you we could not possibly have achieved so much.

English is on the up!

During Della and Don's most recent trip to Sri Lanka in February, they noticed that the lack of a good English teacher at the village school was causing a huge problem, since speaking English opens up so many doors for children in Sri Lanka. 


However, they managed to enlist the help of the principal's daughter as an extra teacher for the time being, and hopefully a permanent English teacher will be found soon. She seems to be doing a wonderful job and she's extremely enthusiastic and dedicated to the childrens' education.


Below is an extract from a letter that the teacher wrote, expressing her thanks: 

'The first few weeks i did only speech and songs with the children; but later i had to follow the text book because they had to be prepared for the government exam. I think i have won the love of children, they long for my lessons, and come to fetch me to their class. This has been an encouragement to me.At the exam there were at least a few in every class who had obtained more than 50 marks.At the Wednesday assembly all the children join in an English song. Three children....are been trained to speak in English at the assembly. A translation of what is said in Sinhalese'

In other news, several students from the village school took part in a general knowledge contest and three of them were so successful that they've been selected to take part in the next round. 
And to top it off, there is a new science teacher who now comes to teach at the school 3 times a week, which be hugely beneficial for the children.


These may only sound like small things, but they make a huge difference to the kids at the school and help to create a better and more stable learning environment for them. 

Top Class Results

We received some wonderful news last week that two of the girls who we sponsor have achieved excellent G.C.E (GCSE) results.

One girl got straight As in her 9 subjects and the other got 5 As (distinction pass), 3 Cs (credit pass) and one S (ordinary pass). These are truly amazing results and it means that both girls can now go on to study at GCE Advanced level (A-level).

A special thanks to all of our supporters - it's because of you that these two girls can continue in further education!

                                     

Low flying bats

When we do get a day off, one of the highlights is the annual "tenty tenty" cricket tournament on the beach in Sri Lanka.  What simply started as the fulfilment of a boyhood wish of Steve has now turned into a feverishly fought competition between us and the fishing village.  This year, a new, more impressive trophy had to be fought over as the original went missing!  


After the closest game anyone could remember since we started in 2009, the "tourists" snatched a last over win to make it 3-2 in the series to Udaya's team.

Cricket can be dangerous!