Week 9 - Hello 2018
- Jan 3, 2018
- 4 min read
I have now completed my 9th week here in Sri Lanka, and had my second full month in this wonderful country. The last few weeks in all honesty have felt a bit like a dream to me – I cannot believe I’ve spent Christmas and New Year in Sri Lanka, with some of my favourite people. I won’t deny it has been weird to be without my family and UK friends during this festive period, and especially as the holidays tend to be the perfect time for catch-ups and hangs, it feels very different for this not to be the case this time around.
A real mix-up, but overall, I’ve loved it.
This week has entailed some great adventures, revisiting families, heading to new places and meeting new people which I always thoroughly enjoy. I think my favourite visit of this week would be going to Ranjini’s house in the Internally Displaced People’s Camp. Since my first visit to Sri Lanka in February 2016 (almost two years ago now), Ranjini has had a special place in my heart; her sad eyes, her desperation, but commitment to see her family lift out of poverty is truly inspirational. Unlike many, she doesn’t sit and wait for help, but is an active pursuer of seeking ways to improve her family and their living situations. It was by her own determination, which led her to Paalam Project, and then The Dust Project. After having lived in the IDP Camp for many years, she approached the local Gius, who granted her ownership of her section of land, provided her with the deeds and then spoke to Paalam, who have since been helping her by delivering food parcels, getting all four of her children sponsored through The Dust Project and raising funds to build a toilet, well and house.
Before I came to Sri Lanka, I requested family and friends to donate to Ranjini’s well, which I decided to try and raise enough funds to provide this family with fresh drinking water. With your generosity, we were able to reach the target, and this week myself and a Dust Project team, headed to her house, with food parcels, to tell her she would be receiving her well in the near future. Alongside this, at the Winter Ball in November run by The Dust Project, enough funds were also reached to provide her with a house too! A double whammy announcement for her.
Another highlight for me this week was having the opportunity to visit a house, and attend the opening ceremony, which was funded and provided by Knox Trust for a family who live out in Point Pedro. After starting their home 18 years ago, their efforts were destroyed by the Army during the war, where their building work was stopped, the house torn apart and the materials they had bought were stolen. Alongside this, they re-started building work once the army threat had left the area, but the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 completely washed away the progress they had made – left rupee-less and disheartened, their efforts to have a home vanished. With the help of Knox Trust twinned with Paalam Project, Reigin and his growing family, have a safe place to sleep, plastered walls and a real lock on their front door, all in time for 2018.
The celebrations at the opening ceremony of the house were fantastic; we prayed for the family, the home and the neighbourhood, ate lots of food, drank a lot of fizzy pop, and had an opportunity to learn a few more Tamil phrases.
With New Year falling in this week, a lot of my experiences have revolved around this event: buying dodgy homemade fireworks, eating feasts and lots of dance/drama shows.
Costing only £35, the amount of fireworks used to bring in the New Year, and celebrate the end of 1st January, entertained the crowds for over an hour on each occasion, and they were definitely highlights for a lot of the kids in the village! We had sparklers, crackers, rockets, spinning wheels and a few HUGE explosives. The boys were in charge of the display, and ZERO efforts were made to ensure health and safety regulations were met. We had cases of burnt fingers, singed eyebrows and manic running (mum/grandma, don’t worry, I didn’t go anywhere near the lighting of these things!).
2018 was welcomed in with a huge church service – almost as big as Christmas Day; worship, prayer, sermon, communion and of course a huge party! There was dancing, singing and fun and games. Esther danced in the program, and she was fantastic – the more time I spend with her, the larger my heart for her gets. She is wonderful and truly is one smashing girl! As custom in Sri Lanka, a new outfit is expected for big events, for example Christmas, New Year and Easter – thankfully I was prepared, and in Colombo I had already expected this and dressed in a Punjab top with leggings. In the manic and eventful evening, I didn’t even think about taking pictures, however, I am sure I will be wearing it again in the future!
Wednesday 3rd marks the start of the second term at school, where my real work begins. During the day I will be working at school, overseeing classes and being the eyes and ears for Angel who is based in Colombo, and in the early evening my ESL lessons will take place. I think this next few weeks will be a case of getting myself organised, making sure I know what to expect, but I’m excited to properly get to work! Relaxing is nice, but getting stuck in is better!
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