Yesterday afternnon I visited the school at Koallawella. We are presently supporting this school with a feeding programme and some tuition to help some of the student get through the O levels . The feeding programme has only been fully operational for about 2 months but already there;s been a big impact. Before 3 or 4 children would faint from hunger on a daily basis, but now no more fainting. Which is just brilliant . There's also those spin offs like better attendance at school and 2 women who cook the food and organise the children get a small allowance.. in one case this is enough to pay for the rent.
In the school grounds they remains 10 families who were displaced by the tsunami ... unemployment is very high and kids were clearly mal-nourished. One little girl ( in the yellow dress)is 8 looked but looks no more then 5. When you start to scratch only the surface the needs just keep on coming!!
In the morning I met Luckshmi who has recently set up a small centre for disabled kids- 5 of the kids we know from Athidiya are now placed there. Luckshmi has an infectious smile which is just so wide. She has a burning desire to enable these children develop and get somewhere towards Independence. The place is very under resourced but there's a lot of luv being spread around.
Steve
1 comment:
Wow - amazing! In classic Sri Lankan style, the kids in the pic are well-turned out, dressed with care - yet they are in a school where kids faint with hunger! Just brilliant that our small feeding programme has helped with the malnutrition - now what about the rest of the family? Are there younger kids, also underfed, but not getting our meal? A mother, perhaps pregnant, also malnourished - scratch the surface and there's a mountain of work to be done...
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