Two years ago, towards the end of Corona time, Nishantha (one of the volunteers) did a project at a nursery school in the North East of Sri Lanka.
He took the bus (it took him 8 hours) to get there and he could stay the 2 nights at the army compound. With help of the teacher and some parents they developed a water system so the children could clean their hands, the garden could be watered and there was water to flush the toilet (well hole in the ground of course). It was hard work and they did it during the evening as the parents were day labourers.
May 2023 I had finally time to go back there again and see with my own eyes what they had done. It was also good to see the teacher again and how the village had changed for the better. I had not seen the village and school for 5 years and the transport costs to go there are very high.
We gave the nursery school in the last 10 years:
• a playground
• the outside was decorated with animals by our volunteers
• many play-items for the school
• a purifier for clean water
• 2 cupboards
• water stock tank and a new watersystem. (see also the photos)
The resettling village (where the nursery is) got:
• 65 bikes
• a clean water system for all the people in the village
• a repair shed for the bicycles
• some machines to repair the bikes.
All by all this has been a big project over the last 10 years. It was then great to see how the place changed from a few huts into to a village again.
This village was torn apart during the war and with help of the government and the army the people could build simple houses again, and so form a village again . It was and is a special project to help this village.
On the end of our visit we were invited to come to eat at the teachers house. She lives there with her husband, son and her mother/father.
Very special for them and me.
Natasja Lammers