Here is a link to a video summary of the trip to Sri Lanka with Ocean Stars Trust.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ho7YTVMKd0
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Monday, 9 November 2009
A week on... from Ruth
Well, it's almost seven days ago we said goodbye to Sri Lanka but I can still visualise and hear Janika, Sudha and Ranga our drivers, standing at the table at The Green Cabin restaurant singing their national anthem at the end of our meal. It was very moving and unforgettable.
We have so much to ponder -all the awesome things we saw and experienced. Not least the incredible way we got to Grace children's home. No one could have imagined a more miraculous working out of a series of events that led us there !
The boys were so caring towards each other but at the same time just normal boys when it came to playing games!
Those children in the playgroups, once the novelty of these strange people had worn off, were just like those at home .There's always one who wants to do their own thing and has to be 'guided' back to conform for the good of the rest!
We cried silent tears of sadness and frustration at times when we felt overwhelmed by the unjustice we saw around us-but we had many more times of joy and laughter when we saw what a difference a few small things could do especially the look on the face of the small boy who had his own new shoes for probably the first time.
Then there was the sheer hilarity of the parachute games and Dilanee and Bron giving yet another rendition of 'The wheels on the bus' on the inset morning! The playgroup ladies though were so eager to devour any new ideas that would give their charges a good start in their young lives.We heard later that the afternoon session was delayed as they were crying after we had left---we were quite shaken by that news .
It goes without saying that this charity is making a difference to these folk.A big thankyou must be given to those who supported this venture by giving gifts and finance I saw where it went and I can assure you every penny went straight to those who needed it most.
Perhaps my most abiding memory will be the people who live in such poverty and yet have the ability to give and share their all with strangers . They were so generous to us their hospitality was overwhelming at times and made me feel how mean I am and how much I need to be reminded of the countless undeserved blessings I take for granted each day.
May God bless you Dilanee.
Ruth
We have so much to ponder -all the awesome things we saw and experienced. Not least the incredible way we got to Grace children's home. No one could have imagined a more miraculous working out of a series of events that led us there !
The boys were so caring towards each other but at the same time just normal boys when it came to playing games!
Those children in the playgroups, once the novelty of these strange people had worn off, were just like those at home .There's always one who wants to do their own thing and has to be 'guided' back to conform for the good of the rest!
We cried silent tears of sadness and frustration at times when we felt overwhelmed by the unjustice we saw around us-but we had many more times of joy and laughter when we saw what a difference a few small things could do especially the look on the face of the small boy who had his own new shoes for probably the first time.
Then there was the sheer hilarity of the parachute games and Dilanee and Bron giving yet another rendition of 'The wheels on the bus' on the inset morning! The playgroup ladies though were so eager to devour any new ideas that would give their charges a good start in their young lives.We heard later that the afternoon session was delayed as they were crying after we had left---we were quite shaken by that news .
It goes without saying that this charity is making a difference to these folk.A big thankyou must be given to those who supported this venture by giving gifts and finance I saw where it went and I can assure you every penny went straight to those who needed it most.
Perhaps my most abiding memory will be the people who live in such poverty and yet have the ability to give and share their all with strangers . They were so generous to us their hospitality was overwhelming at times and made me feel how mean I am and how much I need to be reminded of the countless undeserved blessings I take for granted each day.
May God bless you Dilanee.
Ruth
Some more final words...
The biggest thing that has struck me since getting back to England is the enthusiasm with which people listen to my stories. Although it is sometimes difficult to talk about the things we saw and experienced during our time in Sri Lanka, people are so keen to hear, and more often than not they are very quick to grasp the concept of what Ocean Stars does. People are so impressed with the personal touch Ocean Stars maintains with each project and each individual, it feels as if our trip helps people relate more directly to the concept of giving. Although it is unrealistic to think that all the people I speak to will feel compelled to donate to Ocean Stars, I feel that it will encourage them to look more for avenues of charity that share the same principles.Despite these positives, it is still very hard to get back in to my English life with the same passion I found in Sri Lanka – I feel that a lot of this drive will be put to use in organise my 6-8 week trip which looks as though it will almost certainly be happening around March/April. This only gives me a very short time to get the details sorted, so it looks like I might be making phone calls to Ranga very soon.
Matt
It’s been a week now since our return from Sri Lanka. A week of what constitutes normality for us. For me it has been a time of reflection. I’ve tried and am still trying to come to terms with all that I have seen and experienced with OST ’09. As I returned to teach in school my thoughts constantly ran to the children in the pre-schools in Batti. As my children here in Fleet played with toys, painted pictures, rode bicycles and read umpteen books I thought about those dusty floors, the plastic chairs, the empty cupboards. As I walked around my own home I remembered the family of six we visited last Thursday who live together in one room the size of my garage and who sleep on a concrete floor. They appear to have so little and yet they have so much. So much warmth, so much kindness and real courage. They humble me completely. I feel truly grateful for the experience they have shared with me. I’m challenged and encouraged to do all I can to support them and to fight the injustice of their situation. In all it has been a privilege. A privilege to have lived and worked with Dame Dilanee and each member of the team and a privilege to have had time with some very special people. The memories live on…
Maureen
Maureen
Final words from Ruth...
Amazing sounds sights and smells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What a mad whirl of activity. How do you choose which vendor you will buy from ? Sri Lanka must now earn the name of a nation of shopkeepers!
What a contrast to the other world we left yesterday.I wonder what the children from the playgroup would make of this.I wish I had a video in my head to replay all we’ve seen. I shall never be able to articulate or adequately tell everyone what it has been like for me. We talk about life being a journey this has been a marathon one for me.
At the start of this trip I said I had thought I would be taken out of my comfort zone==== now I feel like James Bond’s martini - shaken and stirred . I hope I won’t become complacent—but I fear I will.
My life has been touched and I feel truly fortunate and privileged to have been here .
Ruth
What a contrast to the other world we left yesterday.I wonder what the children from the playgroup would make of this.I wish I had a video in my head to replay all we’ve seen. I shall never be able to articulate or adequately tell everyone what it has been like for me. We talk about life being a journey this has been a marathon one for me.
At the start of this trip I said I had thought I would be taken out of my comfort zone==== now I feel like James Bond’s martini - shaken and stirred . I hope I won’t become complacent—but I fear I will.
My life has been touched and I feel truly fortunate and privileged to have been here .
Ruth
Day 9 - Kate and Bron go to Galle
Saturday. 5.20am. UGH! But Ranga was calling for us (Kate & Bron) at 6 to go down south to a project in Galle. The rest of the team had been quite sorry for us to be ‘working’ on the last day when they were shopping, but actually it turned out to be a very interesting and varied day. We stopped off for a coffee break then travelled on to meet Rev Dareeju, a Methodist minister in Galle. We struggled with his name – practising to get it right when we met him, only to find that he greeted us with ‘Hello, I am Leslie’! Oh, well! J He took us to see a small village who were living in new housing about 15k inland. They had all lost their homes in the tsunami, and all the 50 families had been given lovely new homes. All good, you may think. But these were FISHERMEN! 15k from the sea. A bus runs twice each day, but to fish at night, there was no transport. One of the temporarily unoccupied houses was being used as a school run by 3 lovely young teachers – as additional lessons for the children. They were asking for help with the school, which was being ‘repossessed’ last night and given to a family. But this wasn’t an existing community – just a collection of families who didn’t know each other before, thrown together in this isolated village. So they also asked for help with building a temporary community centre with many uses – not just the school but also a possible playgroup and for meetings of the community. We left feeling sad at the situation but inspired by the teachers and the efforts of the community leaded to try to help everyone. On the way back to Galle we saw rubber trees, each with its own little cup, a small tea plantation a cinnamon bush and rice plants, none of which I had seen before other than in pictures. Having dropped Leslie back at his home, we set off back to Columbo. We had a paddle on the glorious beach along the way, visited a turtle research station – tiny, two day old turtles up to old gentlemen turtles. We saw a memorial to the lives lost in a train in the Tsunami – a terrible, graphic depiction of the train and the people. We arrived back at the hotel in a torrential thunderstorm – Yasmin took a brilliant a picture of the lightening, and the thunder was so loud.
A day of contrasts – but I preferred it to shopping and returned in time to get ready for our final meal in Colombo – a party of the English and Sri Lankan members of the team. A good time was had by all – it was a lovely evening.
A day of contrasts – but I preferred it to shopping and returned in time to get ready for our final meal in Colombo – a party of the English and Sri Lankan members of the team. A good time was had by all – it was a lovely evening.
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