Last post this trip

These are my last couple of days – I fly out tomorrow evening – and I’ve been trying to get through that list of tasks I arrived with. Had another meeting with Sister to discuss current projects and then went back to Punyakami school to feed back some of the decisions Trustees had made at last week’s board meeting. All good. I then went to visit another school Asha supports: Koralawella School serves another poor community and we got involved when we met a teacher who told us that a few children regularly faint in school, due to hunger. We provide a drink of milk for half the pupils and a meal for the 50 of the most deprived children. And no-one faints any more. We also funded a small group to attend tuition– it's very common, apparently essential, for children to attend these after-school exam preparation sessions – and the Head proudly told me today that they had the best results in years last year, so much so that they were featured in the newspaper. Five pupils passed their O levels, four of whom had benefitted from the Asha-funded tuition, and all these young people were now doing A levels– a first on both counts. Last year only one person passed, but her family needed her to go out to work so she was unable to continue her education.

This afternoon, we went to open a bank account for the building project. To be honest, opening bank accounts for charities and community projects in the UK is a bureaucratic process, and of course it’s no different here. But after 2 ½ hours of form filling and answering questions, Sister, Beulah, Anukshie and I emerged rather jubilant that we had done it!

Tomorrow I will meet the architect to collect the BOQ (bill of quantities, an itemised breakdown of the costs for the building) and make one last visit to the Centre in Athidiya, to say goodbye to the children and the team.

It has been a wonderful trip, and I can’t believe I got to be here, working with these amazing people. Steve is coming across at the end of March, and we are bringing a group out here in July – lets hope the building is well underway by then.