Volunteer Sri Lanka - Week 1

Day 111 - 17th August 14

We arrive at Janaka's for dinner and meet some of the volunteers: Olivia and Ellis, 19 and 22 who are sisters; Jenny, 22, a pretty, stylish and demure girl from Liverpool who has just finished a degree in speech therapy; Elizabeth, 23, a fun, bubbly Irish girl, who has been living in Australia and New Zealand working as a nanny; Margaret, a lady in her sixties who is a music teacher living in Oxford; Natalie, a 27 year old primary school teacher, who is cool, confident and very together; a girl and four guys from China who are in their late teens - their grasp of the English language is minimal so they don't communicate much with the rest of the group. Everyone seems exceptionally 'nice'. We expect this to be partly due to the type of person likely to volunteer, but also a byproduct of the atmosphere created within a charitable environment that reflects onto the people in its surroundings.

Amazingly, Janaka does the

majority of the cooking himself. The dinners consist of a large variety of Sri Lankan curries which are mainly vegetarian dishes with rice and Sri Lankan bread. This evening there is a carrot, ginger and orange soup which really is delicious due to the copious amounts of garlic and butter used in his recipe.

We are given our schedule for the next few days, which covers a variety of different projects.

Day 112 - 18th August 14

In the morning, we visit the Senehasa Girls home with Jenny. The girls are imprisoned within the confines of the compound. We are ignorant of each girl's particular circumstance, but we understand they have been placed within these walls for a variety of reasons. They are teenage girls, not yet of marital age. Some of them had boyfriends out of wedlock, with whom they had runaway from home, and have been subsequently shunned by their village; some are pregnant or already have children - one girl's baby lives in the orphanage next door; others are victims of rape - while court cases are ongoing it is too dangerous for these girls to be living in the outside world without protection. The girls have a real mishmash of personalities, with differing upbringings and educational advancement. Some girls are here only for a few weeks, others for years.

In Janaka's home is a room full of materials we can use for the different projects. We take English storybooks and paper plates to decorate. We take it in turns to read with the girls - some can read the words although they don't necessarily understand the meaning, but a few of them have not yet learnt the Roman alphabet. All the girls enjoy the crafts activity, although I wish we hadn't brought the pots of glitter. Everyone demands the glitter simultaneously - they prod and poke me on my shoulder: 'Teacher, teacher, glitter glitter!'. When we leave, half the pot of red glitter is spread out upon the floor and some on my face. There is little structure and much chaos.

Margaret leaves today and at lunchtime Janaka gives a speech, as does Margaret. She's obviously made an impact at the volunteering projects and seems to have taken on the role of a motherly figure for the other volunteers. It's very emotional and there are a few tears. Margaret thanks Janaka for being so incredibly inspirational and for the experiences she has had here that she will never forget.

In the afternoon, we watch Natalie teaching English to a group of Muslim children after school. It's located at the principal's house, in an upstairs room still under construction. The concrete steps run up the outside of the house. Only the brick structure is in place. The floor is dusty with cement. Disintegrating colourful plastic mats are lain on the floor for the children to sit upon. A rabbit hutch sits in the corner of the room. There's a whiteboard propped up at the front of the class and plastic chairs for us to sit on. A beautiful view overlooking the jungle plants and rooftops is seen through the large gaping hole in the wall to our left.

Natalie is an excellent teacher. She teaches the past tense, introducing both regular and irregular verbs and engages the class throughout. There are 8 girls between the ages of 9 and 14. They are exceedingly keen to learn and therefore a delight to teach. We play games at the end of the 2 hour class. Sitting on a floor in a circle we say first ourselves and then someone else's name to rhythmic knee slapping and hand clapping. The game is confusing due to the similarity of their names: Asma, Razna, Shazna, Fazna, Faseeha to name a few.

This evening 3 volunteers have returned from a long weekend away. Jana and Felix, a young, attractive couple from Germany with perfect Aryan features; Rick a friendly guy from Holland. I chat to Rick throughout dinner. He's been working mainly with the ECSAT project at the disabled centre, as this is the area in which he has studied. I tell him my sister and dad are currently wheelchair bound and we discuss the issues of losing independence and the challenges they both face. Interestingly, as part of his learning program, he and a couple of friends had to travel into town in a wheelchair to shop in order to fully appreciate the difficulties involved. He says it was surprisingly difficult to navigate.

Day 113 - 19th August 14

At ECSAT, the people are extremely welcoming, smiles lighting up their faces. There are a mixture of ages and disabilities, but they are all ambulatory. Some suffer from down syndrome disorder and two people from cerebral palsy, but I am ignorant of all the cases. One guy loves to shake peoples' hands, and he shakes each of our hands at least 20 times within our 2 hour stay. Another guy appears to understand English at first until I realise he is just repeating the sounds I say to him: 'You like to dance?' 'Like to dance' he agrees, nodding his head.

We sit in a small computer room. The computers were donated by the government, but as nobody knows how to use them, they have simply been neglected. I play a hand clapping game with one of them and soon they all involve themselves - the room resonates with the sound of slapping skin. Rick organises a ball game outside. He's spent time teaching the rules over the last few weeks, so both games are a success. Rick has built up a relationship with a severely autistic young boy who now allows him to hold his hands, helping him to catch the ball, so he is able to participate with everyone else.

A previous volunteer had thought to set up a bakery school to teach for the Senehasa girls, to provide them with a skill to earn money later in life. It is unlikely any of them will be married now that their reputations are tarnished, due to the cultural society in which they live. Janaka enabled this idea, installing a large kitchen area in his home. In the afternoon, we should be teaching one group English while the other group bakes. However, the class today has been cancelled so Jenny, Natalie, Han and I head to Jungle beach to swim and sunbathe.

Day 114 - 20th August 14

The Elders home comprises of two separate living areas for the women and men. Large dormitories house their beds, and surrounding these buildings are concrete porches. They sit on the porches on a mismatch of plastic, wooden or wicker armchairs, the decorative cushions fraying with age. Felix brings along a CD player and plays a Bee Gees album he has found in the store room for an accompaniment to their stretching exercises. A few of the women copy us halfheartedly, vaguely attempting to lift their hands in the air, but stopping when they've had enough. One of the ladies appears to have Parkinsons. She has little control of her shaking limbs and constantly moves her mouth, but she's evidently mentally able - she smiles and waves when we enter and makes a real effort to copy every movement despite her disability.

Hannah and I spend the next hour moisturising and massaging the women's arms and legs. 2 of the women speak a little English. One lady is obsessed with Christmas, and while I rub moisturiser onto her dry, rough skin, she asks 'When is Christmas?', although it is only the month of August. She's excited to learn I am English as she's always wished to visit our churches. It is a Christian nursing home and they have a bizarre chapel-like space at the back of the home in the shape of a blue plastic grotto housing the Virgin Mary.

Felix has brought a magazine for the other lady and they sit together to read. He plays the memory game with a giant pack of cards with two of the younger ladies and we join him in the last 15 minutes of our stay. One of the ladies has an excellent memory and it requires concentration to compete with her.

In the afternoon, we join Olivia, Ellis and Elizabeth at the nursing training school. There are forty girls in the class in their early twenties, all dressed in pristine white uniforms. They are studying nursing and on Wednesday's they have an English lesson. The teacher asks us to stand up and introduce ourselves. The class can then ask us questions about ourselves. These are invariably: 'Are you married?' and if this question is not answered in the affirmative: 'Do you have a boyfriend?'.

A girl gives a short presentation in English. Her voice is barely audible and heavily accented, but we understand her speech is about lymphatic nodes. The teacher provides unproductive feedback. It seems he is a little egocentric as he goes on to talk directly to us for 10 minutes, completely ignoring his class, as if revelling in this opportunity to show off his language skills in front of his pupils. After a short explanation of correlative conjunctions, he splits the class into groups so we can assist with the exercises. The answers are ambiguous, sometimes both options could work in the sentences, so it is no surprise that the students are a little confused.

Today, Ori has arrived at Janaka's place. He is from Israel and has recently completed his 2 year compulsory army service. He was relaxing in Arugam Bay on the East Coast of Sri Lanka where he met a girl who was heading to Janaka's to volunteer. He got in touch with Janaka asking if he would be welcome to come and join for a week. He is travelling with a friend, who won't be joining until tomorrow, as he was waiting for his laundry in Arugam Bay. We are a little confused as to why he couldn't wait for a day so they could travel together. He says he was too excited to wait and it is only later that we learn the real reason. He has some funny little stories to share and he entertains us with his vast music playlist.

In the evening we stay up late chatting with Ori, Natalie, Elizabeth and Rick. Elizabeth is happy to be the brunt of the joke and entertains us with stories made hilarious in the telling. She has her own special vocabulary - she uses the word 'tick tock' instead of 'indicator' in a driving story she is telling, which has us all in stitches. When I go to bed, my belly is brimming with laughter.

Day 115 - 21st August 14

It is Natalie's last day volunteering and the girls at the Senehasa girls home make her little cards to say thank you and to tell her they will miss her.

In the afternoon, we visit the orphanage for the first time. This is by far the most difficult project emotionally. There are around 30 babies here, ranging from a few months to 2 years old. The room they are housed in is large and filled with cots. The floor looks clean, but the air is filled with the stench of urine. The children are all eating bits of banana when we arrive, their hands and mouths covered in a sticky mess, which is cleaned off with a dirty rags before they are dumped into the pen area. They are adorable, some with large round eyes looking longingly at the comfort of our arms. Their skin is covered in ringworm and warts. I make the mistake of picking up 2 babies, who I can't now put down without triggering hysterical crying. They are simply craving adult touch and attention.

One baby is sleeping on my lap when I feel a warm liquid spreading out over my legs. In the bathroom I wash her and dress her in clean clothes. Since I am now covered in urine, I spend the remainder of my time in the bathroom washing babies. It's a constant battle to keep them clean. There's only a large rag to be used to clean up urine and poo, which is smeared and spread over the floor. The babies' immediate reaction on seeing the urine or faeces is to splash their hands in the liquid or to squish the solid mess through their fingers so it's necessary for us to all help each other out.

The babies don't wear nappies. Janaka did buy nappies for the orphanage in the past but these were sold by the staff for money. Even after he removed the nappies from the packaging, they would sell them separately. He tells us that the orphanage receives a ridiculous amount of money in donations, very little of which is actually filtered down to the babies in need, as money is removed at every level. The orphanage is riddled in corruption. Tanya, who has spent every afternoon in the orphanage for the past month, would like to adopt. However, the adoption process is so complicated that it can take up to two years to complete. Janaka is convinced that due to the amount of money the government makes through donations for the orphanage, the application procedure is made difficult on purpose. Without orphans, there would be no donations. It's thoroughly depressing.

It's an exhausting afternoon both physically and emotionally, especially as the babies cry at our departure. Some members of the female staff are unkind. A lot of the girls have been upset by the behaviour they have witnessed since they have volunteered here. The babies are smacked often and the girls have been shouted at for holding and cuddling the children on occasion.

Omer, Ori's friend, has arrived today. They have been friends since early childhood and this is obvious by their close bond. They are a comical pair, both a little below average height with stocky builds. Omer has brown hair whereas Ori has sandy colouring. They are both entertainers and it's nice to sit back and listen to their singing and comical storytelling.

Day 116 - 22nd August 14 fri

This morning we are teaching the girls from the bakery. We join Ellis and Olivia. Margaret had had the idea for the girls to paint their own t-shirts and Ellis & Olivia are letting them finish this craft, so it's unnecessary for us to teach English. We sit around helping where needed, but there certainly doesn't need to be so many of us here, while they are sewing on buttons and painting.

Hannah and I plan an English lesson for the children from the Muslim school. It is our first time teaching English, so it is fortunate that they are so eager to learn. Fasna is the oldest - she has a good understanding of the English language so is able to explain what is required to the younger children. We are teaching the First Conditional, so we ask the children to pick a country they would like to visit and to tell us what they will do there if they go. Fasna's proffered sentence is: 'If Fasna goes to Saudi Arabia, she will visit Mecca'. Her choice is interesting and relevant and signifies to me the importance of their religious beliefs.

It is the Chinese groups last day. Miranda is competent in the English language, so she stands up and gives a speech, thanking Janaka. She is pretty, and she's wearing a cool black pinafore dress. After much encouragement, the 4 boys reluctantly attempt to say a few words in English. They are shy and embarrassed - I empathise with them. One boy says simply: 'I am Miranda's boyfriend. She wanted to come here, so I followed her.' It makes me laugh but it's really quite sweet. Rick and Natalie also leave today and we're sad to see them go. They both give heart-warming speeches. Natalie's staying in Unawatuna so we hope we'll see her again before she leaves.

Day 117 - 23rd August 14

We've arranged to go on a boat trip through the mangrove swamps a couple of hours away with Jenny, Elizabeth, Ori and Omer. We spend a lot of the journey singing Hannah Hunt by Vampire Weekends, which Ori has been playing on repeat for Hannah, so the lyrics and tune now spin repeatedly in our heads.: 'If I can't trust you then damnit Hannah, there's no future, there's no answer, though we live on the US dollar, you and me, we've got our own sense of time'.

Ori and Omer fight to tell the correct version of a ridiculous story: Omer's ex-girlfriend was sick in a restaurant after a night out when Ori was first introduced to her. The 'joke' appears to be that Omer finished his delicious sandwich first, before getting up to help and look after her. They get so caught up in the details, that they don't realise the story itself isn't particularly interesting... but the way in which they recount it amuses us all the same.

We have an early lunch in a small restaurant. There is a rancid smell in the wooden hut, but the lady who is cooking is delighted to host us. She provides us with a large plate of fried rice and veg with a spicy curry sauce. Jenny has been feeling sick, but food helps to revive her.

Elizabeth barters down the price of the boat tour by telling the boat owner in her cheeky Irish accent: 'We're volunteers, we live here. We're not tourists anymore. We should get local price'. Our bus driver joins us for the ride. The waters are murky. Our boatman points out a water monitor laying on the trunk of a mangrove and a little kingfisher perched on a branch. As the channel opens up into a larger expanse of water, three eagles circle high overhead.

The heavens open. We quickly pull the plastic roof over our heads, although the rain still lashes through the sides. Jenny is sitting under a hole in the tarpaulin through which water is gushing filling up her plastic chair. We escape the rain through a thin channel through the mangrove, tunneled with branches. The rain has stopped. We first visit a small Buddhist temple and a then a man on a small island, who shows us how to prepare cinnamon sticks, and the plant weaving used to roof huts. We pass under very low bridges and Omer, who is sitting on the bow of the boat, lies down as we are convinced he will now be low enough to fit beneath, but he is very nearly flattened, while the rest of us suffer from hysterical laugher.

Ori and Omer take a bus onwards to Colombo to buy a skateboard and the rest of us head to the turtle sanctuary on the way back to Galle. The son of the owner gives us a tour. 3 concrete square pools imprison baby turtles: split up by age into 1, 2 and 3 day old turtles. At the end of the third day, they are released into the wild. They are incredibly cute and surprisingly captivating. Their strong flippers paddle against our fingers when we place our hands in the pool.

A few disabled turtles are kept here, that have been injured by a boat's engine or their flappers trapped in fishermen nets - they wouldn't survive in the ocean now. There are also two turtles housed in their own pool for display for the tourists. I'm unsure I agree with keeping them confined in such small spaces, even if they would be unable to defend themselves in the wild.

Turtle eggs are buried in the sand in the sanctuary. The sanctuary removes their eggs from the original nest to protect them from poachers. A nest of eggs has hatched today and we watch as our guide uses his hands to pull over 50 newly born turtles out of a small hole. They squirm and wriggle in the bucket before being washed and placed in a tank. Jenny and Elizabeth have paid to release 10 turtles into the sea, naming each one before freeing them into the wild. Despite being initially disinterested, I am now totally entranced. It is a magical moment watching these tiny little animals determinedly waddle down the sand into the sea, only to be swept back by a mini wave breaking on the shore, with the backdrop of the sun setting,

pink behind the clouds. As we leave we hope at least one will survive the trials and dangers they will face in the beginning phase of their lives.

Day 118 - 24th August 14

Today we sunbathe on the beach in Unawatuna, where Natalie joins us. We spend the afternoon laughing, swimming, eating and drinking Corona. Natalie has promised Janaka to make a Sunday roast today, so she disappears off on her scooter and we follow shortly after to assist her. I help by making the Yorkshire puddings and gravy. When we eventually sit down for dinner, it tastes incredible. Natalie has stuffed the chickens full with lime and there's plenty of food to go around, including apple crumble and custard to finish with. I can hardly believe that Ori and Omer have never heard of custard before and try to explain this thick milky, yellow vanilla flavoured hot sauce

to them before it appears on the table.

There are two new volunteers today - Jo and Rosie: They met through their boyfriend's, but although Jo has since split up with her ex, they have become good friends. Rosie arranged to spend 2 months volunteering here - she has the time off between her midwifery course ending and her new job starting. Remembering that Jo was adopted and was originally born in Sri Lanka, she emailed her on the off chance that she was interested in joining her. Jo works in the HR section of an investment bank, so she has an understanding of my previous job and the type of environment I worked within. They are a little surprised to be eating a Sunday Roast as they were looking

forward to their first Sri Lankan curry! We say bye to Natalie, wishing that she could stay for a little longer. We've all promised to travel to Israel together to visit Omer and Ori.