Last week I posted a
blog about our new classroom on the beach and there will be more on that before we leave Sri Lanka at the weekend but here is more that we have been up to.
On Wednesday last, we took the girls from an orphanage we have supported since the Tsunami to the beach. The only time they go outside the walls of their orphanage is when FODAD visits. They look forward to these days so much, as do we and have the most fantastic time together. We have known some of the older girls for 9 years now. We have paid for their home economics classes including cookery, embroidery and English. 4 of them were trained as nursery school teachers and a couple have married and had babies. We hope that we can continue to support the girls for years to come.
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In the sea with the girls
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At the weekend, we distributed toys and clothes all of which had been donated by friends in New York and Oxford. The kids were thrilled to bits
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| New clothes and new toys! |
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| Brand new clothes |
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| No, we are not too old! |
We also visited our dear friend Doreen. We have known her for 9 years as she is the devoted parent of 2 of the children at our school. She lost her leg in a tragic accident just over 2 years ago. We are paying for a prosthetic. The first dummy has been delivered and I was moved to tears when I saw her stand on two feet for the first time.
Today we visited the nursery school in the Jungle at Girilcola. We have bought uniforms, shoes and books for these children for over 5 years now. The Buddhist Monk who also has a Temple where we are based in Mount Lavinia introduced them to us. Their parents are really poor farmers who often have to wade in several feet of mud in paddy fields. We gave the 5 year olds school bags and books to give them a head start at their new schools.
More to come!
