Photos of the project

Emma Holloway and Alex Hoffmann running after-school activities for the children of Aththudawa pre-school

Aththudawa pre-school

Some of the Project Sri Lanka team painting the inside feature wall of Aththudawa pre-school

End of Project Reflections by Laura

I am writing this diary in an internet café in the beautiful scenic city of Kandy in Sri Lanka, the last ancient capital of the kings.  It is hard to believe that the Project Sri Lanka 2011 programme is over and in a few days time, I will be flying back to the UK.  It doesn’t actually seem real yet.  Sri Lanka feels like my home, perhaps more so because I spent the whole of last summer here too.

This year’s programme has been a phenomenal success and I am so proud of all that the team has achieved over the past few weeks.  Everyone in the team has worked incredibly hard, leaving early in the morning to teach at our various projects and often planning lessons for the next day until very late at night.  It has been a tiring few weeks, but very rewarding because of the amount of effort that has been put into making the programme successful.  The quality of the lessons taught and the appreciation shown by the schools and villages we have been working in speaks for itself.  We have been such a close team that it has been hard to say goodbye and even after a few days apart, I find I am missing everyone.

It’s hard to pin point any one things which I have enjoyed the most this summer, as I have so many ‘favorite’ memories.  It was lovely to go back to Kirelawela, the village I fundraised for last year, and see it functioning so well.  Aththudawa was an amazing village to work in as it is such a beautiful, rural area and the people are so welcoming.  It was also really useful that the teacher their spoke good English and could translate things to the young children when we were teaching them if necessary.  Anura Vidyalaya school in Matara was a last-minute addition to the programme organized by the team whilst in Sri Lanka.  As a student primary teacher, I was very nervous about teaching grade 12 (sixth form students) at the school, but it ended up being one of the most enjoyable things I did.  I also very much enjoyed teaching grade 6 (Y6) children at Siddartha College in Weligama, though the noisy environment and large classes meant that it was a challenge at times.  I certainly feel these experiences have developed me as a teacher though.  What is most rewarding about teaching in Sri Lanka is how much the children appreciate learning from us.  Siddartha College invited us to a thank you meeting which was attended by over 60 grade 3 and 4 children and their parents.  The feedback we received was that before we came, the children had not enjoyed learning English in school.  Having lessons with members of the team over the summer has changed this and the children have developed confidence in speaking in English and an enthusiasm for the subject.  They particularly enjoyed learning English songs and learning to speak English through games.

Apart from the children I have taught and the friends I have made in Sri Lanka, I am definitely going to miss the food here.  After becoming accustomed to the spices here, English food is going to seem dull and bland in comparison.  Sri Lankan food is so simple and healthy and the prospect of stodgy British cuisine is rather unappealing!  I’ve also got very used to the warm and sunny climate and am dreading the inevitable chilly reception awaiting me at Birmingham airport in a few days.  The only consolation is that Sri Lanka feels so much a part of my life now that I can’t imagine staying away for long.  Until I return, I will always have that longing in my heart ‘to come back home’.

Goodbyes at Aththudawa – 31.08.2011 by Laura

Today was the cultural show at Aththudawa which marked the end of the 2011 Project Sri Lanka programme.  It was a variety show with performances from both the Team and the children of the village; a celebration of all that we have learnt from one another over the summer.  Everyone in the Team wore traditional Sri Lankan dress, the girls in Sari’s and the guys in sarongs.  Us girls needed considerable help in putting the sari’s on as it involves many a complex wrap, pleat and innumerable safety pins to hold it all in place.  Some of the local women and university students who lived close to our accommodation came to help us dress for the occasion.

When we arrived in Aththudawa, a huge number of villagers and children had arrived for the occasion, more than could fit into the small pre-school.  However, the remaining guests were happy to stay outside and watch through the windows.  The ceremony was opened with a speech of thanks from Phil, which was translated into Sinhala so the all of the villages could understand what was being said.  Sarah, who is an extremely talented dancer, had learnt some traditional Sri Lankan dance moves from the dance teacher at Paratha children’s home and then choreographed a dance for the girls to perform.  This proved to be extremely popular as the Aththudawa children sang along and clapped to the music as we performed.  It was actually very difficult to dance in Sari’s as they are tight around the legs and so long that stepping on them risked pulling the whole thing off in public!  Perhaps the most special and moving performance was a song the boys had written themselves about our experiences in Aththudawa.  Chris played the guitar and all four of the boys sang.  They put so much time and effort into producing an original way to express the depth of our feelings about Aththudawa and I know it was hugely appreciated by everyone there.  Many of the villagers asked for the words to be written down so they could keep them forever.

The children who attend the pre-school performed a number of the English nursery rhymes we have taught them over the summer, whilst the older children who had attended our after-school programme performed a short play in English.  This must have been quite nerve wracking for them as it is very difficult to perform in front of a large audience in a language you are only just learning.  We very much appreciated their efforts though, and also the humorous nature of their performance.

Once the cultural show had finished, came the hardest part of the day – saying goodbye to the many children and older members of the community we have come to know and care for over the past 9 weeks.  The villagers gave us all a gift of beautifully carved wooden pictures of Sri Lankan animals to take home with us.  We gave them a memory book, filled with photos of our time in Aththudawa, along with notes of thank you from the team and the words to all the English songs we have taught.  Our hope is that it will help the community to remember us for years to come.  It was incredibly emotional to say goodbye.  Some of the children cried and this made is tearful too.  The only consolation is that I know they mean to keep in contact with us.  We gave out our email addresses and have already received messages from some of them.  Although it was heartbreaking to say goodbye to the people who have become like family to us, it was also warming to know that the time we have spent in Sri Lanka has meant so much to the people of Aththudawa.  We feel we have been able to make a difference there to the many friends we have made and also by providing a pre-school for the children and a building which is now used by the whole community.

Emma Holloway and Hayley Barwick dancing with some of the older Aththudawa school children

Emma Holloway and Hayley Barwick dancing with some of the older Aththudawa school children

Aththudawa Photos