Keith Hall in Sri Lanka for Helplanka July 2007

HELPLANKA FIELD TRIP 5TH – 28TH JULY 2007

DIARY OF EVENTS

Thursday 5th
The day of departure has arrived! My main concern is to get to the airport as early as possible to try to ensure that I get an emergency seat. I am very tall and without a seat with enough space to stretch my legs I would have to spend much of the journey strap-hanging! I had contacted Air Lanka several times to try to get tem to reserve me an emergency seat but each time was assured that this was not possible and that it could only be undertaken on check-in at the airport.
A couple of last minute emails from Sam to download before we leave and off we set at 09:45. The journey from Ealing in West London to Heathrow Terminal 4 usually takes 45-60 minutes. During the journey, we phone Sam to make sure he is up. Up, yes but still working away and hasn’t yet managed the shower! Incredibly, there is minimal traffic about and we arrive at Heathrow shortly after 10:00 just after a call from Sam to say that all we have to do is contact a certain person at the Air Lanka ticketing desk and there will be no problem in reserving the seats we require.
There were 6 or so people queuing at the Air Lanka desk when we reached it and their ticket office was shuttered, showing no signs of life whatsoever. We decided to join the check-in queue and there we stayed until 12:30 when check-in started and the ticket office also opened. Ruth my wife, nipped quickly over to the check-in and found Sam’s contact, only to be told that there was only one emergency seat remaining and that all the others were already booked! Clearly there is a ‘fiddle’ going on – as confirmed by the very nice lady I found myself sitting beside on the plane whose husband ‘knew people in the right places’! Not only that, the good lady had the seat with unlimited space in front of her and I was sitting in the seat with the large bulge in the emergency exit door containing the emergency evacuation slide! Sorry to rabbit on about this but it might be useful for the taller of our supporters to be aware.
To add insult to injury, we chatted to a lady in the queue during our long wait and compared ticket prices. Sam had negotiated hard to get a decent price for the three of us travelling that day and the 18 students and teachers travelling the following week and had been assured that his price of around £550 was the best that could be obtained. Imagine our consternation when we found that the lady in question had paid just over £200 return through a tiny travel agent in Nottingham although it was true to say the three of us had a concession to take 40kg each! In the event, we were way over this allowance and after further pleadings and negotiation by Sam we got though the system without having to pay a penny more.
We were about an hour late leaving Heathrow. The flight itself was uneventful, very smooth, nice stewards/stewardesses, excellent food and the pilot was able to make up some of the lost time due to a strong tail-wind.

Friday 6th
Sam’s birthday. We tried to get the passengers to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ as we disembarked from the aeroplane, but they were having none of it! Nyssa managed her own rendering and we promised Sam that we would find him some presents to open when we got through customs. We waited a long time for our bags but in the end they all turned up and we focussed on the next part of the journey – more duty-free shopping. Sam, as ever, was thinking about all the needy Sri Lankan children and couldn’t move on without loading up on treats of chocolates and sweets to hand out to them during our visits!

We changed sterling into SLRs at one of the many banks stationed strategically in front of you as you attempt to leave the terminal; our driver was there to meet us and we were on our way!
Well, not exactly… We needed so much space for our excess baggage that there was barely room for the driver! We stopped at a convenient garage, filled up and sent the driver on his way, releasing much needed additional space for our journey to Hikkadua and once more, with Sam at the wheel, we were on our way.
Well, not exactly… It was, after all, Sam’s birthday. First we had an important appointment to keep with Sam’s uncle Edward, his wife and family all of whom wanted to be able to see him on this important date and wish him well. I had met Edward on previous trips to Sri Lanka so for me it was a nostalgic reunion. We spent rather longer than intended with the family, chatting away and eating a fabulous specially prepared welcome breakfast of delicious Sri Lankan food – fish, meat balls and various other bits and pieces all of which were really tasty but I cannot remember what they were called! We eventually took our leave and at last we were on our way.
Well, not exactly… Sam’s mother Florence was waiting at Sam’s cousin’s house a further few kilometres on our route to Hikkadua, and we were to call in for more birthday greetings as well as having to wait for deliveries of a number of important items for our visit. Printing is a lot cheaper in Sri Lanka so Sam had ordered business cards for all of us; certificates to hand out to the children; bookmarks; a large sign for the mobile library and Helplanka ‘T’ shirts..

Well, you learn very quickly on visits to Sri Lanka that its people are incredibly welcoming and hospitable. Our trip to meet Florence and more of Sam’s friends and relatives was just that. We chatted while Sam called suppliers to chase them for their important deliveries. It had been our intention to make the visit a short one so that once again we could get underway. Not without singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Sam first and sharing a special birthday cake. Then we found that the all-important supplier deliveries were taking longer than expected. We waited and waited for them to come by which time it was lunchtime. By this time, Nyssa was fast asleep!
Then much to our surprise, our hosts produced yet another fantastic meal, ordered from the best restaurant in Colombo comprising Singapore fish, Sri Lankan crabs, meat balls, special rice with prawns, all absolutely delicious. Nyssa awoke and despite an initial rejection of any more food, tucked in after tentative samplings!

We finally received delivery of our last consignment and took our leave. This time, we really were on our way. Up to that point, poor Nyssa had been stuck in the back of our estate car with the enormous load behind closing in on her as Sam negotiated his way through the traffic where rules of the road and the Highway Code have absolutely no meaning. We decided to continue on our way with Nyssa, seat well forward, in front with Sam. I sat in the space that was left behind, keeping our cargo in place. It worked well once we got out of the busy Colombo area although we did have a few dodgy moments when I had to extract myself from piles of boxes and T-shirts that joined me as Sam braked to avoid one of the many, madly driven, three-wheeler tuk-tuks!

Nyssa and I were getting more and more tired so we decided on a short stop half way at a really nice hotel on the coast where we stretched our legs, had a comfort break and a drink before moving on.

By this time darkness was virtually on us. We thought we had an hour’s driving left before arriving at our hotel in Hikkadua but this was not to be. Within a few miles of our destination, we entered an enormous traffic jam in the town of Balapitiya where it seemed that the whole population was out on the streets celebrating a religious festival. We queued for about an hour before leaving all these festivities behind and finally, finally, arrived at our hotel a 9pm. What a journey – 30-odd hours of travel. Tomorrow is Saturday and we all hope to have a good rest before the serious business starts!


Arrival in Colombo Birthday Cake Cutting ceremony Sleepy-head


Before the storm A relaxing drink

Saturday 7th
Today was to be our recovery day after the previous day’s travels. Having finished yesterdays account of events after midnight the previous day, I fell into bed with the expectation of sleeping at least until 9am. Unfortunately, however, I was awoken at 6.45 on Saturday by a knock on the door by the receptionist with an urgent note to phone someone urgently. I had never heard of the person he said had called and since only Sam and Nyssa knew my local mobile number I decided there must have been a mistake. By this time I was wide awake and couldn’t get back to sleep – the receptionist later apologised saying that in fact the call was for the person who had been using my room the previous day but it was all too late.

I went to breakfast and made the mistake of not defining precisely the sort of omelette I wanted. I prefer straight forward omelettes without trimmings but although this one was enjoyable it contained an assortment of onion, garlic, peas, tomato and chilli pepper. Next time I must remember to add ‘plain’ to my order! Toast, butter and jam went down well after that followed by endless cups of tea. At this time, Nyssa was nowhere to be seen and didn’t materialise until around midday. At least one of our party had a good night’s sleep!

Sam had business to attend to in various parts of the region and had suggested that he would find us on his return, when we would have lunch and meet a few people in the afternoon.

A growing awareness of Sri Lankan timing convinced me that meeting Sam in the afternoon might be later than expected so I found myself a recliner on the patio in front of the hotel pool and prepared for spending the rest of the morning and possibly a large part of the afternoon, relaxing in the sun.
In no time at all a young Australian who later introduced himself as Dane, pointed out a large iguana lizard almost underneath my seat. Out came the camera, the photo was taken and there should be a picture of this very large reptile somewhere in this report. This meeting with Dane developed into very friendly conversation, followed by introductions to his mother, father and sister and the family of friends with whom they were holidaying – father, mother son and daughter!
By the time Nyssa arrived at the pool, they knew all about what we were doing in Sri Lanka and who we were etc. I think Nyssa was overjoyed to be among people of her own age, particularly with Dane who seemed to be on a similar wavelength.
We all lunched by the pool having already given up on Sam’s expectation of being back in time to join us and finally got a call to say that Sam was on his way and would meet the two of us in reception at 5pm.
Absolutely no chance! This evening was the time for Hikkaduwa to have its own religious parade. At exactly 5pm we were alerted to the noise of drums banging at the front of the hotel and there, all along the road outside, was an enormous procession (perehera) of drummers, dancers, masked performers, gaudily dressed elephants and a team of boys and men on stilts, some of which must have been 6 metres high. A super photo opportunity and some of the pictures can be found in this report.
After half an hour, right at the tail end of the procession, came Sam and Nalinda our local coordinator in the car – a bit fed up as you can no doubt imagine. Apparently there will be another procession tomorrow – we really must make sure we don’t get stuck in that one!
We joined Sam and Nalinda in the car and set off for Galle with Sam explaining that he and Nalinda had more work to do but it was their intention to drop Nyssa and me at Galle Fort, where the driver of a Tuk-Tuk provided by HelpLanka to replace his original machine lost in the tsunami was to be waiting to show us round the Castle area and there would be just enough time before darkness fell. Darkness over here is not gradual; one minute there is light; the next minute, it’s dark!
Of course, no need to guess what happened – no tuk-tuk driver when we arrived in Galle! Nyssa and I decided to go it alone and set off into the little town on foot. At least we should see something before it got dark! We were to meet Sam for refreshments at around 7pm in the five star Amangalla hotel before returning to our own hotel for dinner.
We had a very interesting stroll around the town and returned to the hotel on time as arranged. Well, we may as well have a drink while we wait, we thought, just in case they are delayed. Half an hour went by, so we thought another drink wouldn’t go amiss… Oh no, another half hour passed… so by the time Sam actually arrived, we had polished off a whole bottle wine!
Back to the hotel and Nyssa and I were starving hungry but amazingly Sam was happy not to eat, having already eaten a large lunch. Where does he get all that energy then?
After dinner Nyssa went off to a disco with her new-found Australian friends, Sam had more work to attend to and I returned to my room to write this.
Tomorrow we are due to leave the hotel at 9am to go with Sam to Nalinda’s house where all our supplies and the mobile library are being kept. There’s a lot of sorting to do, mainly due to Sri Lankan Customs turning over everything from our container shipment on arrival at Colombo and ‘mislaying’ all the inventories from the individual boxes, not to mention the complete disappearance of some specific items. That’s life!


Lizard Elephant Elephant Parade

Parade The stilt men In-trigu-ing… Lighthouse
Dutch Church


Sunday 8th
I went to bed late having spent too much time trying to complete yesterdays report. The cup of tea just before lights-out kept me awake even later so I didn’t get the amount of sleep that I probably needed. Up at six and down to breakfast early in anticipation of an early start but too early for food to be served – the restaurant wasn’t supposed to open until 7:30! No problem at all – the staff rallied round and this time I had a healthy, plain, three-egg omelette cooked to perfection, plus toast and jam to follow.
Sam joined me shortly after when first we filled the car yet again to capacity with all the ‘T’ shirts and various bags of goodies for the schools and then set off for the fish market in Kahawa where Sam hoped to purchase enough fresh fish for our lunch later at Nalinda’s house. Despite our feelings of being early, the fishing boats had discharged and sold their catches some hours earlier, leaving a small market of a limited selection of fish for the likes of us! Nevertheless, after the usual haggling over quality and price, a very pleased Sam emerged with his own ‘catch‘ of prawns and various fish in a large plastic bag.
We then hot-footed it back to the hotel arriving at 9am in time to pick up a rather tired Nyssa who had danced the night away until 3am in the morning at a local club with her newly found Australian friends.
We were due at Nalinda’s house at 9:30 but made it by 9:15. What a surprise! There we met Nalinda’s mother, Mrs. De Silva, who made us very welcome while Sam issued cooking instructions for the fish (as if he needed to!).
Our priority was for Nyssa, the artist amongst us, to make signs in readiness for the arrival of the Richard Huish College students and teachers, for display at Colombo airport and at their hotel, plus some extra signs for the mobile library launch. My priority was to get at least one thousand books sorted and categorised into appropriate age-groups in readiness for the arrival of the mobile library itself, which unfortunately was nowhere to be seen and was promised to be with us by 12:30; then 1:30 and didn’t arrive until 2:30!
Sam spent his time joining in and constantly changing our systems until he eventually got the message and left us to get on with it!
Nalinda provided three helpers to assist in emptying books from boxes, stamping them with the HelpLanka logo and providing a valuable input into which books fell into certain categories. These young guys all worked very hard in very confined and extremely hot conditions without air conditioning or fans and without even stopping for lunch. I was very pleased with their efforts.
Sam, Nyssa and I stopped for a break at lunchtime and sat down in Mrs. De Silva’s house to eat our locally caught (and cooked) fish as well as chicken curry, rice and all the trimmings. We loved it and even more so when we were provided with freshly sliced mangoes for pudding.
After lunch we had to drive to Galle to pick up a large supply of Sri Lankan school curriculum books ordered for the mobile library rather late in the day and only that afternoon, by Nalinda. It was important to have these in the library and in fact, Nalinda felt that there ought to be a much higher proportion in comparison to English books. Only time will tell.
It appeared at first that these Sri Lankan books would not be available due to the short notice but after a lot of pressure on Nalinda we received a promise that if we were at the shop before 4pm, closing time, the business could be transacted. Sam also had to meet a potential new recruit to the team of coordinators, in Galle at 3pm and Nyssa needed to buy some suitable attire to wear before confronting local children at the schools and orphanages so in theory the trip to Galle would be worthwhile.
We left the team behind busily sorting and packing books, this time direct into the mobile library vehicle which had finally arrived. The library looked really smart with some impressively installed racking, so before we left we took a photo opportunity to record the exciting occasion of the first books being put into place.
We headed straight for the bookshop. The staff had already selected and packed the books ready for collection so it should not have taken as long as it did. The trouble was that Sam cheekily negotiated a further discount off the already discounted price, leaving us with more funds in the budget to spend! By the time we left the shop the boot was overflowing yet again; the coordinator candidate had arrived and was waiting for us at the town centre!
Off we went to meet him and then the four of us set off to find Nyssa a dress shop. After nearly giving up with the frustration of seemingly never finding a dress shop with clothing to fit a small American 22 year-old, we finally found just what we wanted and after lengthy deliberations on what to buy, an excited Nyssa emerged with two dresses!
The journey back to the hotel should have taken 15-20 minutes but we had not reckoned on the Sunday parade which was very much like the parade described in Saturday’s write-up except that it was going the same way as us and we were right at the back!
All together, it was a very busy and eventful Sunday. Sam departed with Sanjay the possible new coordinator after a few drinks at the bar to take him back to Galle to catch the last bus to Matara; I went for a quick buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant and Nyssa went for dinner with her newly acquired Australian friend(s) a short walk down the road from the hotel.
I hope to get an earlier night tonight and a much needed sleep.


Something fishy More fish Sam – negotiating The HelpLanka Tuk-Tuk


Mobile Library arrives Beautiful racking! Both sides! Sam and helpers


Initial chaos! The first book! The proud team

Monday 9th
According to the programme outlined by Nalinda the previous day, we were to depart before 9am to visit two schools in Rathgama and then on the Galle to collect and pay for two new photocopiers before visiting a woodcarver who had been commissioned by Sam to do some special work.
However, it was first necessary to visit the Sunils Beach Hotel, where the students and teachers from The Richard Huish College in England would be staying, to make sure the Manager was happy and that no problems were likely to arise. I travelled in the HelpLanka mobile library with our newly appointed driver Chamil, while Sam and Nalinda followed behind. The hotel is just a short walk from our own hotel but it was a good opportunity to test the driver’s skills in manoeuvring in and out of the hotel entrance and he did well. He was previously driving vehicles in Dubai so I reckoned if he could do that, the Sri Lankan roads would be relatively easy!
With all the arrangements to make with the hotel manager; ensuring the rooms were appropriate to our and the students’ needs, listing names etc. to ensure speedy registration on arrival etc, time passed us by such that our meeting at the first school did not take place until much later and our programme was adrift by several hours. If you are reading this and have any intention of visiting Sri Lanka you must remember that timing here is different from what you may be used to particularly in the West. If an appointment is for 9am; the likelihood is that it could either be several hours later on not take place at all – it may even take place somewhere other than that originally arranged! Patience and understanding is the answer – it all comes together in the end!

Our first school was a college at Rathgama. There are 1,000 boys and girls there aged up to10-11 years. The school is entirely Buddhist. As we walked in the gate, it was playtime and as soon as the children spotted us they were over like a shot – all smiling away and trying to shake hands and saying ‘what’s your name?’! I think I must have shaken hands with at least 500 children and it really was difficult to get away.
The principal made us very welcome and I sat down with him to explain why we were there and that we would like to tour the school and identify how the goods and equipment provided by HelpLanka were benefiting the children.
The original school was very badly damaged by the tsunami and UNICEF has funded the construction of new classrooms and facilities adjacent to where the old school still stood. Accommodation for the children and school staff during the construction period was difficult but they managed without serious interruption to the school curriculum. Rather oddly, we learned that having spent 90 Lakhs on partially refurbishing one of the old buildings, UNICEF declared the building unsafe and condemned it!
We toured the school and were treated in the school hall, to some energetic dancing by a team of boys practicing for a special prize giving event the next day. One real surprise was the apparent lack of understanding of the specific needs of children when building a new school without local knowledge. As an example, the urinals in the boys’ toilets were so high that they couldn’t reach them – they would have been almost too high for me! The locks and handles on the toilet doors in both the girls and boys toilets were completely broken and totally unsuitable!

Our second school of the day was a Buddhist Junior School with a history going as far back as 1918! In complete contrast to the first school visited, this school had a total of 184 children of which 91 were boys and 93, girls. There are 13 teachers. The Principal had only recently been appointed and was not very well appraised with the work and donations provided by HelpLanka in the past. He was, however, aware of HelpLanka’s impending donation of a new photocopier! I asked Nalinda to make very sure that we expected this new machine to be used properly and continuously for the benefit of the children and the school and that proper maintenance and repairs (if any) must be carried out regularly – we wanted to see this still working at the time of the next and subsequent visits.
I noticed that the notice board that we supplied was very high up relative to the height of the children. The principal agreed but said that this, like the other posters around the library walls, had to be high enough to be out of reach of the children otherwise they would pull them all down and ruin them! The teachers, however, use the posters etc. to teach the children and they are very useful.
One class of initially shy children very proudly showed us their efforts towards making The Art of Peace pictures for the London exhibition in September. They were all very good and we expect that some of them will be chosen for framing, exhibition and sale in London with the proceeds being used to reinvest in the needy children of Sri Lanka.
We stood in a couple of classrooms and listened to groups of children singing to us – the tunes I recognised but they were clearly the Sri Lankan versions!
Ever onwards, we returned to Nalinda’s house to pick up paper and felt pens to make a welcome sign for the Richard Huish College for use at the airport and a second banner (made from a roll of lining paper) to welcome the College to their hotel.
Sam and Nalinda went off to Galle to finish some work there and I returned to the hotel where Nyssa and I made the poster and banner. We felt very good about this work and it will now be very intriguing to see how the hotel will be able to string our 30’ banner across the front of the hotel! Tell you about it tomorrow…


Sirisumana School Sri Dharmarama (SD) SD children with pics Goodbye and thankyou!

Tuesday 10th
Up early, ready for action but found Sam in the hotel lobby having an audience with a doctor. Sam has been spending too much time worrying about all and everything without having regard to his health. I had mentioned to him already that he should be drinking more water and eating regularly. The diagnosis was dehydration and blood pressure caused by too much work! A few injections and tablets later, and Sam was claiming to be feeling much better. I warned him to take it easy to allow his body to re-adjust to make sure it didn’t happen again.
We quickly rescheduled our programme in the hope of relieving Sam of the pressure but because he was feeling a lot better, he was reluctant to leave everything to myself and Nalinda and spend a few hours in bed.
The rescheduled plan meant that Sam and Nalinda dropped me off at the next College at 9.30 am with the promise that they would return an hour (or so) later to collect me in time to be at the Sunils Beach Hotel to welcome the students and teachers from Richard Huish College.
This was how the day started – I was introduced to the School Principal, a few brief words from Sam and I was on my own! One of the English teachers was summoned and she accompanied me on a tour of the school. It was striking to note that this teacher had difficulty in understanding my English, which by all accounts is relatively ‘pure London’. I helped her with her pronunciation of words, which she very much appreciated but imagine how difficult it must be for the children who are learning ‘Sri Lankan English’! How much better it would be to bring a few of the English teachers over to the UK on an English immersion course for even only a few weeks. This would be expensive but what a difference it would make!

This College was one of the schools in the area badly affected by the Tsunami. Luckily, however, a Japanese NGO (non-government-organisation), JAICA, is providing the funding for a new school some 3km distant. Work is already underway having started in October 2006 and is due for completion in December 2007. Not surprisingly, the school wants to replace much of the internal fixtures, fittings and school paraphernalia with new so they will have a huge list of requirements as December looms.
The school has already benefited from donations from Government and also a very rich benefactor. The Richard Huish College has also played its part in providing resources to the school.

Having survived my first school visit, Sam and Nalinda returned from their travels and picked me up so that we could be back at the Sunils Beach Hotel in time to greet the students and teachers from the Richard Huish College. The flight had been delayed but more-or-less as recalculated, the group of travel-worn kids and teachers arrived at around 3pm. They were all so pleased to see our welcome sign – so much so that there was a promise to have a team photo in front of the hotel following day!

Welcome sign

I was amazed to see that rather than disappearing into their rooms and staying there until later, our newly arrived friends dumped their bags and were soon frolicking in the pool! Oh to be young again!
We had intended having an induction meeting later that evening but decided against it so that dinner could be taken fairly early followed by a good night’s rest. The induction could take place on Wednesday. The school’s team leaders had also decided to spend their first full day visiting all three schools involved their programme to familiarise the students with the schools and to give them a choice of where they would be teaching for the next two weeks. The teachers intended dividing the students into three separate groups working independently at three of the schools.
A flash of brilliance from Sam and it was agreed that in conjunction with the Richard Huish school visits, we would troop along to the same schools with the mobile library. This would enable us and the students to have dry runs at using the mobile library facilities and sort out any problems that we might come across. Well done Sam!

Wednesday 11th July
More or less on time at 9:30 that morning we were back at the Sunils Beach Hotel with Sam preparing for a brief induction for the students. The Richard Huish College is a college of some 2,000 students so not surprisingly very few of them knew each other. Sam had me; the teachers and students split into pairs and spend 2-3 minutes telling each other something about themselves and an important moment in their lives. Each of us then had to tell the group about our new-found partners. This was really great fun and everyone joined in with great enthusiasm!
Then came the moment of group photos at the front of the hotel followed by a grand departure to our first school. Sam and I were in our car at the front; ten tuk-tuk three-wheelers full of students and teachers next and the mobile library following up at the rear! A really impressive sight, probably never to be seen again in this part of Sri Lanka!


Richard Huish College Sam – Geography lesson Sentence making

Our arrival at the first school was equally impressive! Children and teachers crowded around the mobile library. The doors were opened and the students selected books to use in their reading and teaching to the schoolchildren; departing into shady spots in the grounds with 20-30 children each! Sam climbed aboard the library and began showing a large group of excited children maps of the world and other teaching aids; involving them in everything he did and fixing them under his teaching spell. Sam clearly loves teaching children and is excellent at overcoming any shyness. The children loved it and responded accordingly.
My turn came when Sam asked me to teach the children juggling and to perform a few simple magic tricks. It was great fun and the children’s faces showed how much they enjoyed it all!
The reaction at our next school was very much the same as the first and we all began to find ways of streamlining the system……

Thursday 12th July
Our first port of call this morning was a School located several km from the sea on a slope in a beautiful country area looking down over paddy fields. We were greeted by the principal, a very lovely Roman Catholic lady, who insisted that first we should sit and have tea and cakes with some of the staff before the children entertained us! This was not what we had intended because we wanted to use the time to demonstrate the mobile library and teach the children. I mention the principal’s religion because Sam explained to me later that it was most unusual for a non-Buddhist to teach in a Buddhist school.
The children’s entertainment was really very good, with one young girl acting as master of ceremonies and introducing each act in excellent English. Sam was so impressed that he asked the principal if they could all perform at tomorrow’s mobile library launch – which she readily agreed to do.


Childrens’ entertainment Donations School assembly

Then we were shown a display of all the pictures drawn by the children for Helplanka’s ‘The Art of Peace’ project. I was really surprised at the standard and quality of this work – the pictures were excellent! There were so many that we were unable to judge there and then which were the best ten to receive certificates but we took them all for display in the school hall where the mobile library launch was to take place and promised that certificates would be awarded either then or at least before our return to the UK.
Time was running out so the mobile library was opened up and the children were let loose on Sam! Immediately in his element, Sam had these initially shy children eating out of his hand; answering his questions; finding countries on the world map, making sentences out of word cards etc. I in turn showed a group of older boys my laminated ‘slide-show’ of my family and home in the UK and when that was finished, Nalinda and I tried to teach juggling. The latter turned out to be quite embarrassing when one of the boys demonstrated that he could juggle with four balls!
Way later than intended, we still had to make a formal presentation of the new photocopying machine donated by Helplanka to the school and finally got away well after 2pm.
We decided to take the opportunity before moving on to our next school, to sit with Nalinda over lunch and review the arrangements for the next days’ important activities. We went through the whole programme together and agreed responsibilities. We and Nalinda’s team of helpers would be at the college where the mobile library launch was taking place, at 9am in order to ensure that everything was ready for a timely start at 2pm.

That done, we set off for the school for handicapped children where Sam’s friends Faroukh and Charlotte were working entirely without resources or support from anyone other than their own. Sitting in dark, humid, poorly ventilated classrooms, these two are giving their all to children with autism, downs syndrome and all-else – they deserve a huge medal for their tireless efforts to give love, comfort and education these highly neglected but needy children.
The school shares the same grounds as an adjoining home for adults with severe mental problems, some of these adults are extremely violent and restraints are used. Imagine my horror when Charlotte told me that 40 of these people were drowned, chained to their beds when the tsunami struck. One of the carers was able to save a number of lives by swimming into the building and bringing unshackled people out. Of all the occupants of those premises, she was the only one who could swim! I suggested they should find this lady and that if possible Helplanka should award her a certificate for her courage and bravery.


Charlotte & Faroukh Mobile Library

Our last call of the day was a small school for orphaned boys out in the countryside of Rathgama. A team of students and teachers from The Richard Huish College were already at home there working with the children and our arrival coincided with the end of several hours’ sports activities. How they manage so much activity in such heat and humidity, I don’t know and even then, the boys and students were still up for more – organising water balloon games and generally chasing about.
The mobile library was opened up and off we went again. The students helped to organise an ‘art class’ and focussed on getting the children to produce ‘The Art of Peace’ pictures. Such talent! In no time at all five large drawings of the letters P-E-A-C-E had been created with one young boy in particular showing an exceptional ability to draw all and anything with a steady and for his age, such an experienced, hand.
Photography is not allowed at this school and it was interesting to note that for the whole time we were there, two government anti-abuse representatives were ever present.
Altogether a very busy day, full of excitement and varied emotions – we were very tired when at last we reached our hotel.

Friday 13th July
This might be a dubious date for us Europeans but meaningless as far as the Sri Lankans are concerned.
With Sam delaying our departure from the hotel to reach the School by 9am, we thought that our late arrival at 9:20 would be embarrassing with Nalinda and his team already there. However, there was no need to worry – we were the first to arrive and Nalinda didn’t turn up until much later despite our trying to contact him to find out where he was.
Nyssa also failed to turn up on time due a misunderstanding of the arrangements. Sam thought she was going with the students when they left for their schools and then getting the tuk tuk driver to drop her off; Nyssa thought we were picking her up! Nyssa then had to take a tuk tuk to the school on her own but went to the wrong school and had to take another to reach us! All part of life’s experience!
Preparations soon got underway. Nyssa, helped by a number of volunteer teachers masterminded the display of the many ‘The Art of Peace’ pictures collected and Nalinda organised the hall decorations, stage set-up etc.
One disappointment was that despite Nalinda being fully aware and in fact being present, when Sam paid for the fresh flower decorations for the hall and the food for guests, he had not told the teachers. The result was that these people had spent much of their time preparing their own flowers and food for the event – all at their own expense. Sam was furious (with Nalinda) but calmed down eventually!


Hall preparations Flowers Flowers More Flowers

At 1pm I needed to go back to the hotel and change into my ‘glad rags’. Sam was ‘too busy’ to leave then so Nyssa and I returned to our hotels for a 15-minute shower and change before tuk-tuk-ing back to the school. Sam had already departed by the time we returned thank goodness!
At 2am the school Principal came rushing up to say the Governor of the South of Sri Lanka, Mrs. Kumari Balasooriya had arrived and the band was about to start its procession! No sign of Sam – a quick call and he said he was on his way. I went with the Principal to the main gate and introduced myself to the Governor who was standing in the hot sun waiting for something to happen and introduced myself. The whole town was waiting patiently outside to catch a glimpse of all these important people, the children were all lined up inside – it really was an impressive sight. The Governor is a lovely lady and thank goodness was very understanding and agreed to wait a while. Still no sign of Sam so we adjourned to Principal’s office to await Sam’s arrival where, together with the Governor, Buddhist priest and the Protestant priest we discussed various subjects including cement! There was a suggestion that companies like Holcim were keeping cement prices high in Sri Lanka so, having already visited Holcim and seen the amount of assistance and free cement they have given the country, I defended them and the cement industry strongly – it went down well. I also mentioned that Holcim hoped to embark on a project aimed at diagnosing diabetes for the people of Sri Lanka, saying that over 20% of the population suffered from the illness. To my surprise, the Governor and the priests thought the figure was more than 30% including some of them!
Finally, at 2.30 Helplanka’s Chairman, Mr. Sam Goonetillake arrived and we were able to commence the proceedings. We followed a band of dancers and drummers all in national costumes to the hall and took our seats. There were formal proceedings involving the ‘lighting of the lamp’ in which all the VIPs participated, followed by a line of pretty little girls dressed in bright yellow costumes who lit their own candles from the lamp and processed down the centre aisle of the hall holding their flames high.
Both priests made speeches and said prayers and then accompanied by the VIPs went out to the Mobile Library and the new tuk-tuk to formally bless them before the Governor cut the tapes.
As Sam had predicted, the priests left at that point leaving only the Governor to hold the VIP fort.
Then it was the Governor’s turn to speak, which she seemed to do so well and eloquently even though I didn’t understand a word she said. All this with a background of some 500 excited children chattering away at the back of the hall!
Sam made his speech, which I realised was practically identical to my thank you speech for the end of the proceedings, that he had asked me to prepare some weeks earlier and let him have so that it could be translated!
The students from The Richard Huish College and Nyssa were all presented with certificates as a memento of their work in Sri Lanka. A candle was lit beside the photograph of Sam’s late Mother-in-law, Teresa (who died last year) and after whom the mobile library had been named. The children from the previously mentioned school performed their dancing even more beautifully than we had seen before and then Sam decided that it was time for an interval.


Pre parade drummers Art exhibition Governor’s message Children dancing

Food was available for all but by the time we returned to the school hall the Governor had already left, the band was already playing and the chairs had been removed for dancing! No speech for me!
Nyssa decided to start the dancing off and grabbed the first available children onto the floor. After that, pandemonium! Every child seemed to join in. The Richard Huish students and teachers demonstrated their latest techniques in disco dancing, the children copied; they formed circles and chains and for the next half an hour or so, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, especially the children – and after all, that was what it was all about.
I fell into bed that night feeling very tired. Tomorrow is Saturday - I should be able to relax somewhat. More tomorrow.

Saturday 14th July
Day to relax, no pictures, walked beach with Nyssa. Dinner with Sam & Nyssa high up in the hills above Galle – very nice.

Sunday 15th July

Sam had his own programme having cancelled his proposed trip with a children’s school to the turtle farm and sanctuary. I decided to go anyway and take Nyssa but she chose to chill out. She fancied going later after 3pm but I like to do what I want to do when I want to do it, so I left her behind and went on my own!
The tuk-tuk driver was excellent, pointing out a special area where huge fruit bats congregate in their thousands; the Japanese Buddha memorial to the tsunami victims, various villages destroyed by the tsunami; the turtle farm and hatchery, which was really interesting; a moonstone mine ‘The New Moon Stone Mine, where they mine, cut and polish moonstones of every size imaginable and at the same place, of course they have a large gemstone jewellery shop where they pressurise you very hard to buy jewellery and other stuff. On the same site is a factory producing cinnamon oil from cinnamon leaves and cinnamon sticks from the bark – I found this really interesting particularly as the methods used were so primitive.


Baby turtles Sri Lankan Mask Japanese Buddha Making cinnamon oil

Monday 16th July
Today we travel to Matara and arranged to meet at 07:00 for an early start having amended the original start time from 05:00! True to form, Sam arrived 1 hour late at 8am so together with a comfort stop and tea on the way, we were well behind schedule. We were due to link up with Sam’s local contact and voluntary coordinator Kumari, who runs a special women’s organisation called Healing Hands. Kumari uses part of her home in Matara to employ women in making garments, bags and many other items which are sold to raise money to help run a small school for tea plantation workers’ children.
We had difficulty in finding the venue but were greeted on arrival with a fine spread of Sri Lankan snacks including bananas and the equivalent of our flapjacks pressed between large green leaves. Something to mention about tea in Sri Lanka - unless you like very sweet tea, you must always remember to ask for ‘plain tea’ stressing ‘no sugar’ otherwise it comes with varying degrees of sweetness and seldom without sugar!
Our first call was to a small primary school in Matara where once again the mobile library was the centre of attention with Sam doing his stuff with yet another group of initially quiet but subsequently quite animated children. Due to our late start we ran out of time very quickly and had to move on to yet another school in the area to catch the children before they finished school for the day. We had just about enough time for Sam to demonstrate his skills at the mobile library while I did my by now, well rehearsed ‘life in the UK’ slide show before we were off again!
The next mission was to stop off at our hotel on the beach to leave our laundry before heading along the coast to the home of a fisherman who had lost his fishing boat during the tsunami. Helplanka had decided last year to replace the lost boat and give it to this fisherman not simply because of his loss but also because it had been discovered that this man had helped so many people in his village both during and after this dreadful event.
Sam had asked the fisherman to give us a meal of freshly caught fish before taking us for an outing in his boat and this was precisely what happened. We were greeted by the entire family and fellow fisherman and given the most delicious meal of a variety of fish, rice and vegetables. I’m not too good at eating simply with the fingers of my right hand as most people do in Sri Lanka – there’s a knack that I suppose comes with years of practice and it looks so easy. Nevertheless, I tucked in and enjoyed everything on offer even though I could have done with a bath afterwards!
Next came the much awaited boat trip in the fisherman’s new boat. We climbed aboard this very narrow craft with its single outrider float – a bit like a half catamaran, with a very nervous Sam insisting that we only sail round the inland waters and not out to sea. Having done the inland waters bit, Sam’s confidence had increased so he opted to stay on board while we sailed out and over the reef. It reminded me very much of the Kon Tiki sailing out of Easter Island all those years ago. You could feel the boat being held off until the right space occurred between the waves, rapid acceleration when the gap appeared and then we were through and out onto the high seas! What an experience and Sam survived!
Instead of driving straight back to the hotel we then did a detour to visit the giant Buddha at Matara followed by dinner at the hotel where I discovered that Nalinda was retuning home in order to complete unfinished work in his area and also that we were only staying the one night at the hotel. We then had to collect our soaking laundry before going to bed; it had been washed but due to the heavy rain was probably now wetter than when it was first done and we had to leave the hotel first thing in the morning!


Sam teaching Happy children Fisherman & family Voyage over

Tuesday 17th July
Our first school on this day in Matara was a primary school of 185 pupils up to Grade 7, which turned out to be somewhat disappointing. The teachers lazed around and showed little interest in the mobile library and virtual reluctance to participate. Not surprisingly, the children also appeared dull and of very low educational standard. Sam, ever enthusiastic, soon had the children involved in everything he was doing and in the short time available raised their spirits and overcame their shyness. What a difference more of the same would make to these children.
Next, we drove for some time inland and up onto one of the many tea estates where a little school for the children of the tea plantation workers had been set up by Kumari and her husband Sumedha,. The families are very poor so the children wear the same clothes day and night. They come to the school every day of the week and often bring their younger brothers and sisters whom they have to look after while their parents work. Babies are suspended in saris from the ceiling in a make-do crèche and slepp the time away quite happily. Most of the children don’t know their birthdays so the school gives them a date to celebrate and some don’t even know their own names! The school’s classroom is located on a plateau high above the office and kitchen areas and the children climb up and down a steep pathway several times a day to reach it. We climbed up and down only once by which time all the muscles in my legs were aching not to mention falling over at one stage on the way down and disappearing into the bushes – much to the consternation of the rest of the team!
The carers told us of an occasion when the children were taken away for the weekend to visit an animal sanctuary and on doing the rounds of the dormitories that night, the children were found to be fast asleep on the floor under the beds – they preferred the hard floor to mattresses and it was dark – just like home!
Face and hand painting went down very well with the children here they were just the right age to appreciate the butterflies, ladybirds, flowers and other pictures we painted.
We gave food, toys and clothing to this very needy bunch of kids and came away very sad, they were all lovely – we would have brought them all home with us given the chance!



Wednesday 18th July
There were originally two schools on our schedule for today but with the second cancelled at the last moment, we were able to plan to devote more time at the first which was a pre-school facility named after Sam’s daughter Harriet. Disappointingly, there were only twelve children attending the school when it had been anticipated that there would be considerably more. The teachers advised that the reason was that only 100 yards away, another school had been set up by another charity, CCF, where the teachers are paid good salaries and there is no charge for the schooling. The teachers at our school work for nothing and have to charge in order to be able to maintain the school. The parents naturally send their children to the free school. It is dreadful to find that charities are competing with each other in this way and in this case particularly, that the CCF school just appeared on the site without having entered into discussion with the existing school.
Here, Sam spent some time motivating the children and winning over their confidence; he had them moving about instead of just sitting and soon they were all enjoying themselves. We checked on the various donations we have provided in the past – desks, chairs, cupboards and toys – all in good use and being well looked after. Lucky dip, face and hand painting all went down very well.
From here we drove to Tissamaramaya where we had anticipated having a swim in the hotel pool before dinner. None of us, however, liked the look of the green slime in the pool so a shower had to suffice! Jayasinghe our local coordinator joined us here and before dinner, we set about reviewing all the ‘The Art of Peace’ paintings (some 500!) he had collected from the schools in his area. We chose ten paintings from each school and from these the first, second and third places for each. The top ten from each school were to be given book tokens and certificates on Friday next at yet another official launch of the mobile library!



Thursday 19th July
This time we managed an early start and called at a local pre-school with 60 children and 3 teachers. English is taught throughout the school day and the school is said to be the best pre-school in Tissamaramaya. Parents have to pay for their children’s schooling. The children were very shy at first but soon warmed to Sam’s teaching methods. We were treated to some singing and we reciprocated with face and hand painting and one or two conjuring tricks from yours truly. This was a nicely run school with no apparent immediate needs apart perhaps from a fresh supply of English books.
Sam was having trouble with his bank in the UK (or at least, the bank’s computer) constantly restricting access to his account due to his regular cash withdrawals in Sri Lanka. We then had to spend the next hour in town while he tried to sort matters out so our next school appointment was much later than expected.
This time the school was a Buddhist school of 350 students and 26 teachers two of whom taught English. Helplanka had previously rebuilt a toilet, supplied musical instruments, books and three computers.
The school looked relatively well supplied compared to some of the other schools we had visited but we were asked to consider funding for a multipurpose classroom facility to be housed in the shell of a building paid for so far through funds raised by the school’s parent teachers’ association. There was clearly a lot of work yet to be done so we suggested that a detailed quotation be obtained and passed to Jarasinghe for consideration by the Trustees.
The mobile library was opened up and children crowded round eagerly trying to get to the front and join in the action. Once again I managed my ‘life at home in the UK’ slide show which the children really seemed to enjoy; they gasped at the size of our double bed and the picture of my car! Juggling and conjuring tricks also went well but we were absolutely mobbed when we produced Helplanka bookmarks to hand out to them all!
All done for the day and a long journey back to our hotel so I jumped at the opportunity to drive for a change. Poor Sam and Jayasinghe hadn’t reckoned on my aggressive driving though. By the time we arrived at out destination they were clinging to their seats and wondering whether to change their underwear! They had never done a journey so fast!


Friday 20th July
Today was expected to be a very busy day, with five school visits in the morning and yet another official blessing ceremony and launch for the mobile library in the afternoon including prize giving for the many paintings from the schools that we had judged the previous evening.
Not a good start, however, with Sam having first to go yet again to ATM machines in the town to get hard cash to pay bills etc. Each bank rejected Sam’s credit card, so in the end we had to give up – Sam would have to phone his bank in the UK again to see what was going on. For any of the intrepid travellers reading this document, you should note that it is advisable to let your credit card company and/or bank, that you are travelling to Sri Lanka and that you will be drawing money or paying bills using their facilities. Sam had done all these things but his credit card was nevertheless suspended – we were yet again without HelpLanka funds with Sam having to pay a number of people already and more to come when we take 100 children on safari!
Our first school visit took us to a Muslim school, which is twinned with a school in Barnsley, Yorks. The school was closed for the day so no children were present but the two teachers stayed on to show us how HelpLanka’s donations had helped. The school has 28 students, all tsunami victims, 100% Muslim and two young teachers who for the last few months have simply been working and teaching the children without any payment except some support from the local mosque which pays for electricity, water etc. The school was originally funded by CARITAS who recently withdrew their support – we were unable to find out why.
Helplanka has already supplied a nice outdoor playground facility, cupboards, locks for doors, water bottles and satchels for the children, a radio cassette player and other teaching aids for spelling, English etc. but the school will be unable to survive unless the teachers receive salaries for their work (about 5K Rupees per month per person which equates to £50 sterling per month in total or £600 per annum). We would have to discuss such funding with the Trustees but in the meantime, Sam agreed to supply the school with some books from our Sri Lanka ‘store’ and possibly some new music discs for the player.
Next we visited another primary school which had been selected by Jayasinghe the local coordinator, as a school for possible future investment. The school has 70 students and is located in a very poor area of the region. Their requirements are fairly simple – stationery, light bulbs and a lick of paint to the outside of their buildings. The children appeared very bright and enthusiastic so we stayed longer than anticipated while Sam took over a geography lesson and I gave my laminates presentation of life at home in London. We finished with a little magic and left with a school of smiling children and teachers all waving us goodbye!
The next school (all these schools were way out in the country, quite a distance from the town of Tissamaharamaya, the nearest town), was a big school with 360 students, grades 1-10. This school’s needs related to scientific instruments such as test tubes, pipettes, scales, and microscope etc. for their laboratory. This was another of Jayasinghe’s recommended schools for possible future investment.
Ever onwards we then travelled to another Buddhist school which is a State school twinned with a school in Scotland. This school has 70 students (39 boys and 31 girls) and 11 teachers including one English teacher. This is the only school in the local area and they are desperate for a computer room (to be supplied by SRI another UK charity with whom HelpLanka is associated) as well as a new toilet facility. We agreed that a sponsored school trip would be of great benefit to the children as well as a visit from the mobile library (we had not been able to take the mobile library to any of these schools since it was involved in the official launch which was to take place at the last of our schools today).
We arrived at the last school before lunch to check that the preparations for the mobile library launch for the Hambantotha District were underway while I made a tour of the facilities to check on the situation regarding the donations previously made by Helplanka which included a children’s playground, books, stationery, office supplies etc. All looked to be in good order so we left for lunch and returned exactly on time (!) at 2pm.
After the inevitable long delay in getting started, the proceedings commenced, first with blessings from the Buddhist priests and the lighting of the flame, then cutting the tape across the back of the mobile library and inspecting the inside followed by a long procession through lines of children to three flagpoles where flags were raised to the Sri Lankan National Anthem. The Buddhist priests then inspected some 500 ‘The Art of Peace’ paintings displayed in three classrooms before we all finally gathered in the school’s main hall for speeches and awards. What a day!



Saturday 21st July
This day had been reserved for a trip to the Yala (Ruhuna) National Park with around 100 boys and girls from the schools already visited. We all met inside the game reserve and set off in safari wagons loaded with around 10 pupils in each. For the next two hours or so we bumped along rough, dusty roads, all keeping a look out for anything that moved. Luckily I was in a truck at the front of the procession so most of the dust went over all the others! We saw crocodiles by a number of lakes, several elephants, loads of water buffalo, a few monkeys but unfortunately none of the leopards for which the park is famous. We stopped at a point close to the sea where the park’s head ranger had lived but which has now become a memorial to him and some 40 other persons all of whom lost their lives when the tsunami swept in so unexpectedly. All that was left of what must have been a fine mansion house was the concrete base.
The journey back was extremely rough and particularly dusty – this time we at the back of the line and we were covered!
We said goodbye to the children and then made our way back to Hikkaduwa in readiness for the following day’s activity which involved more ceremonies for the official handover of 11 houses, funded mostly by the Goonetillake family, to poor families in Ahangama.



Sunday 22nd July
This was the day for ceremonies for handing over 11 houses to poor families in Ahangama. The lucky families had been selected following visits and inspection of the families’ existing living accommodation to make sure that the most deserving were chosen. There was one central event with Buddhist priests present who undertook their blessings followed by speeches including yet another in perfect Sinhala, from Sam. That done, the head of each household was then presented with a wooden carved nameplate for his house together with a large and very heavy box filled with gifts of various foodstuffs – all put together by Mrs. Goonetillake and her friends.
We then had to visit each house for an official tape cutting and lighting the lamp ceremony. Each house had prepared food for their guests so we then had to partake of some of that before moving on to the next. I have never eaten so many bananas in one day!
All these activities were watched closely by a large crowd of locals, some of whom came over and handed Mrs. G. letters requesting houses to be built for them – in fact she received 37 letters in all.





Monday 23rd July
This was the day for revisiting the three schools in the Rathgama area (as on first week) to say goodbye and award certificates for art, plus book vouchers. I also took the opportunity to assemble 11 of the largest lads available to play a game of football wearing the Liverpool Football Club colours, shirt, shorts and socks that had generously been supplied by LFC. The boys were very pleased, especially when we told the games mistress that the school would be able to keep them! Some of the boys played in their bare feet – they didn’t want to get their new socks dirty!
It had been a very hot day so we were all by then looking forward to a dip in the Pool back at the hotel only to find on our return that the pool was out of action due to a major leak! That’s life!
Tonight was the Richard Huish College students and teachers’ last night before departing for Colombo then London early the next morning. Rob had organised a party at our hotel and we were all invited.
The party was super. Such a nice bunch of 18 year olds and teachers who had all bonded so well with the children at the schools where they had been teaching for the last two weeks, all happy and laughing despite some of them having picked up conjunctivitis (from the children – apparently there was an epidemic running at the time). Rob gave amusing accounts of each student’s highlights of the fortnight and had everyone in stitches. Two of the boys retaliated with accounts of the teachers’ highlights, with similar reactions from the rest of us. A local trio played popular songs and had everyone up and dancing late into the night.



Tuesday 24th July
Today we first visited a primary school of 200 girls and 1100 boys grades 1-8. After a very heavy downpour of rain we arrived at the school at around 10:30 and stayed until 1.15pm! The boys were extremely unruly and had to be constantly controlled by the principal who threatened them with a large cane he carried by his side! They didn’t take much notice and constantly mobbed us as the numbers grew to see what was going on. By this time Sam was performing at the back of the mobile library, Nalinda and I were juggling and conjuring and Nyssa was trying to face and hand paint! The girls were much quieter and less aggressive. A visit to the school’s art department showed evidence of a lot of artistic talent but unfortunately, the school had not been advised of the ‘Art of Peace’ paintings request. Apart from one excellent painting in black and white drawn by one of the girls in the school, we came away with no other paintings.
With no other schools to visit in the afternoon because of exams, we stopped for a quick lunch at a local hotel and then went for a boat ride around a lake where we were lucky enough to see crocodiles sleeping in the branches of the mangroves, a large monitor lizard, several iguana lizards and a bright green tree snake.




Wednesday 25th July
Today took in two schools of the same name, one for girls only, twinned with a girls’ school in Wales and the other boys only. The girls’ school was very well run and well, organised. Full records were kept of all the donations made by Helplanka to the school with receipts for the money spent where applicable which made our audit that much earier. The school has an impressive IT room where students spend a lot of time researching and downloading data from the internet. The domestic science room was spotless and clearly well looked after. Amazingly, the school still uses an ‘old fashioned’ Roneo stencilling system for producing large runs of printed materials like exam papers etc. –they say it is far cheaper than using a photocopier or printer (I am sure it is!). Unfortunately the school playground is in a very bad state such that it is impossible to use it after heavy rainfall because of extensive puddling. Here the girls were quiet, responsive and showed great interest in the mobile library and all we had to offer – a really nice school.
Typically, the boys’ school was less well organised and the boys unruly compared to the girls. An audit of or donations was undertaken and I was given a general tour of the facilities. The library was in a real mess with books all over the place and many with their backs missing or placed upside down on the shelves. This was attributed to an attack of termites in the bookcases which had to be hastily emptied but I think there was more to it than that. The mobile library was once again a real hit; I managed yet another ‘slide’ show and more of the same conjuring tricks as well as juggling with Nalinda.
That afternoon Sam and I had a meeting with the principal of the charity Serve together with a number of Western Province principals. Much to our surprise they showed a very negative approach to the use of the mobile library and insisted that approvals must first to be obtained from the Department of Education before it could be considered. They found time to have a look at the facility although by that time, the Serve guy had already departed. However, it was agreed that we return tomorrow at 3pm to give a demonstration to the children.
By this time we had worked our way back along the coast and were now checked in at the Mount Lavinia Hotel where uncle Edward, daughter and husband joined us for dinner that evening – a nice relaxing time in excellent company!



Thursday 26th July
Our first call of this morning was to a tiny school in Moratuwa comprising 18 children of local fishermen/others. The school is run by a distant relative of Sams. It caters for children of very poor families, most badly undernourished, and very small for their ages (4-6). They were all very timid but eventually after lucky dip and presents, began to trust us more. We played games in the small schoolroom then outside - ran about in a long line, dancing with Nyssa. Had a break of Jacobs cream crackers – not the best for children who are also terribly thirsty – it just dried their mouths up! Cool milk in packets soon solved the problem but half an hour later when their lunch was served (rice, boiled egg, dahl etc.) they left quite a lot because their tiny stomachs were still full!
One child was said to be taken by its mother every Sunday to the Protestant church in the centre of Colombo where they both stood outside asking passers by for money. Nothing could be done by the school to stop this illegal practice because the mother would take it out on the child if she learned that the child had exposed the issue. The child would most likely be beaten and taken away from the school with little food thereafter.
We said goodbye to some happier children, with large lumps in our throats.
The next stop was a junior school for boys and girls from ages 5 – 16. The school was used for 3-months after the tsunami to house survivors while schooling was continued. Conditions are very cramped for the children and teachers; they have two computers that don’t work; no art or music classrooms. We had given books, vouchers and money which was used to pay a security guard, and to pay for wire mesh to protect classrooms from thieves. Exams were just finishing for some of the students at the time of our visit so the children began to take notice of our arrival. It became apparent that the staff had absolutely no control over the children who wandered about the playground unsupervised and swarmed when the M/L was opened. Groups of children followed us about chanting ‘money, money, money’ – they snatched bookmarks and stickers from our hands like vultures grabbing meat from a dead carcass – the result, we think, of post tsunami NGO’s turning up with lorry loads of goodies, throwing them to the kids and then departing without considering the longer term implications.
We were forced to close the library, withdraw to the relative safety of our car but were still followed down the road by chanting children.
After lunch, we returned to the small school on the Serve charity premises where we had hoped to demonstrate the mobile library. Unfortunately, rain stopped our doing anything in the open air but we went inside and spent two very enjoyable hours doing our thing with the kids; around 20 in all, ages from 5 – 16. Between us we covered geography, English, life in the UK, face and arm painting and magic. The children were very responsive and thoroughly enjoyed this special event in an otherwise fairly basic school day. We left hoping that the kids’ enthusiasm would rub off on some of the adults!



Friday 27th July
This morning, we had (or thought we had) an appointment at a Catholic orphanage named after a very famous lady who worked with deprived children in India and was Sainted following her death a few years ago. We stopped on the way to buy toys and milk for the children and presented ourselves to the Mother Superior who was not expecting us – she was new to the post and no-one had told her! Sam soon talked his way into her confidence and we were eventually allowed in to meet and play with the children. They loved it! The orphanage takes in young 13 and 14 year old pregnant girls to assist them through their pregnancies, following which the babies are put up for adoption whilst the girls return to school. The school seems to survive on donations from generous benefactors and presumably donations from grateful parents of the adopted children. Sadly, some of the children are handicapped, reducing their chances of adoption but they are very well cared for.
That evening, Sam, Nalinda, Nyssa, Chamil and I sat down for dinner at the hotel and reviewed activities for the last three to four weeks. We were certainly more of a team than when we started, we had learned a lot and undoubtedly if we did it all again, would probably manage things better. Overall we were pretty sure that those children we had met had experienced a special moment in their lives that maybe they would remember for a long time to come and hopefully experience again on our next visit.



Saturday 28th JulyBack to the UK. Tired but pleased that we had made a small contribution to