Update 22/03/2010

Devastating news: there were no chickens, just envelopes of money which will be used to buy chickens, along with a few bikes, water filters and tables for some of the nurseries and a whole load of shoes! It was quite manic with all the different people coming and going and getting different things - trying to name each person in each photo has proved a bit of a nightmare! But it was brilliant just to spend a whole day giving; being here on my own it's been easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of need i'm confronted with, with very little to actually give. So Saturday was a great chance to see Ocean Stars' money doing what it does best; some of the tables even went to Eruvil nursery whose need we established last year which really demonstrated the direct action the charity is able to take.

Today it was back on the road - about 2 hours on the back of Ranchan's motorbike each way - to visit Tirrukovil nursery. This was the first project I visited in Batticoloa last year so it has stayed in my mind when I was thinking about coming back. I was relieved to see that little had changed - the freedom and joy with which the children play is a real testament to the two teachers' abilities. In the end we spent almost all morning playing with skipping ropes, the parachute and blowing bubbles. Then it was time for the children to have lunch and go home - yet another round of goodbyes. I have 6 more nurseries to visit and a whole host of sponsored children and their families - Ranchan will keep me busy until I have to leave I'm sure!

Thanks for reading and sorry to disappoint on the chickens front

Matt.

From Grace Children's home to Batti playgroups

Since I wrote my last entry, I spent a couple more nights at Grace Children's Home; it was during these last couple of days that the boys really came out of their shells and began to relax around me. My most prominent memory is the night when I attended their prayers; the minister was such an exuberant worship leader and the boy's energy was so strong and focus for the whole hour of worship. After this I sat outside with the boys on a veranda for a long time, the boys taking it in turns to teach me tamil phrases, they seemed so happy and proud of their language, and so appreciative of having someone to share it with. Seeing the minister so enthusiastic in his worship was very hard for me to connect with his home which I visit the next day: about 30Km from Vavuniya city it is in a very remote and difficult area. His home showed the scars of a long and gruelling conflict - it was only just being repaired and he told me that he himself had been made a refugee by the conflict three times. On the long drive over unmade roads and past the infamous refugee camps, I struggled to understand how people in this position maintain faith in their country and can be so generous to those around them. As I left the boy's home I really wished i could have given them more; these boys - unlike the children in the nursery projects - seem somehow more damaged by their situation as they have come to an age where the marks are no longer erasable.

In a sense this makes the work I'm doing with Ranchan in Batticoloa more powerful; with these young children Ocean Stars really has the opportunity to make permanent change. Every day I'm visiting a nursery in the morning and then three or four sponsor children and their families each night; the reception from these families is without fail so happy and so grateful despite whatever the situation of that particular family may be. When asked if they have any messages for their sponsor, the vast majority ask for a family photo - they want to have a real and tangible link with these people towards whom they have so much gratitude - something that Ocean Stars can facilitate, whereas other larger NGO's may not. Even more so than my last visits, it has really struck me how powerful the gift of sponsorship is; the children almost always use the money for extra tuition, and it provides them with a very real sense of future and security.

On Saturday, Ranchan has arranged for the recipients of donations through the gift catalogue scheme to receive these presents - including hundreds of chickens - at his house, which should be a very exciting event.

I am continuing to do this work in Batticoloa for another two weeks, at which point I'll move down to Galle and the south. Hopefully I'll write again soon, thanks for all your comments!

Matt

Grace Children's Home - Vavuniya

I've spent the last few days in Vavuniya at the Grace Children's home. Vavuniya is a less priviledged area of the country and so I haven't had much opportunity to access the internet.

All the boys at Grace were a little shy at first, as I met them at study time, but the bouncy balls Maureen had sent for the boys went down a treat and we spent hours of my first night playing with them! At this point the boys were still calling me master which was strange to me given that I was there to play with them and not to take the authoritative role they are used to men taking. However yesterday they started calling me uncle in Tamil, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. Yesterday I had a chance to watch the boys doing their chores; watering the plants and sweeping up the leaves before they were allowed to play sports. As soon as the chores were done a group of grinning boys ran out to the grass with the parachute donated by Heatherside School last year; they had taken such good care of it and took great pride in showing me the games they like to play with it.

Yesterday evening I sat with the boys while they studied, and showed me the english phrases the knew, as they love to speak english and to hear me repeat the words back. I tried to learn to count to ten in Tamil in a similar way but I could only get as far as 8 before my accent became to funny for the boys. Tonight I think we are going to play cricket in the boys' free time and I have been invited to an hours prayers, which will no doubt be followed by a delicious meal provided by Mrs Nadrajah who has been a wonderful host. I think I'll have time for a couple hours more sleep before the boys get home from school...

Pre-trip thoughts from the airport

It seems such a close memory that I sat in the costa in terminal 4 of heathrow, passing the time until we could board the flight to a completely unknown place. I had no idea then how much of an effect Sri Lanka and its people would have on me, but here I am again, less than half a year later, a few yards from the same costa, waiting to get on the plane. Throughout the trip last year, the blog served us all as a way of sharing what we were going through and helped us all in some way to process it for ourselves. I hope to use this blog for very much the same purpose, perhaps as much for myself as for others: what lies in front of me will no doubt be an exciting and life-changing experience and I am so glad to have a way to share it with those of you who are reading and supporting me.

For mums benefit I have attached a picture of my self at the airport.
I hope to speak to you on the other side of the long-haul flight!

Matt