Work at Athidiya – March/April 2011

We arrived on the morning of Friday the 25^th March in Sri Lanka, the hype of Sri Lanka vs England for the ICC World Cup 2011 was heavy in the air. We were greeted by huge cut out posters of international cricket players at the airport and throughout the city of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Cricket seems almost a religion here and one of the important aspects which glues the whole nation together.

As we approached the exit of the airport we were instantly hit by the weather – hot and humid. It was time to get accustomed to the heat fairly quickly we started to discard our jackets and scarves. T-Shirt weather here we come!

After dropping our luggage and a quick freshen up at the hotel, we were invited for breakfast to Anukshie’s house (one of the ASHA Foundation trustee). We were given kiribath for breakfast. Kiribath is milk rice which is usually served during any festival or celebrations in Sri Lanka, it was very warming to hear that our visit was seen as a celebration.

We then visited Athidiya, where the nutrition workshops were going to take place in the next two weeks. Athidiya is an area of social deprivation, to say the least. Athidiya consists of many families affected by Tsunami and refugees from the war. Both the countries largest ethnic communities, the Singhalese and Tamils live side by side in these communities.

We met with Sister Concepta an inspirational woman, who has dedicated her life to serving the people from this community. We were affectionately welcomed by Sister Concepta and more than 30 smiling children from ages 5-16 in the current centre run by Sister Concepta and her two members of staff, Rosemary and Mrs V. After the short introductions and mass handshakes with all the children we got down to business.

We learnt that the children who attend the centre all come from Athidiya. Sister and her staff run tuition classes from Monday to Friday and a life education session on Saturday. The life education sessions can consists of a variety of topics from drama to card making, motivation and health.

We knew we needed first hand information about the community and their needs. It was crucial for us to establish this so we are able to deliver workshops which are relevant and useful to them.

When Sister Concepta started relating the information, the reality of the situation did not even come close to the preconceived ideas we had about a deprived community. In an afternoon spent with Sister Concepta, we began to realise that our nutrition sessions will need to be adapted to basic messages, not because of the lack of understanding but because of sheer poverty.

The background knowledge Sister provided us was most valuable and we got to hear how their daily struggles mask many other health and/or social problems in these communities. The poverty experienced in these communities are below basic human rights and needs.

We had a walk around the area with Sister, she showed us their houses and their living conditions. Until recently, many of the families were still living in shanties (small temporary buildings made out of polythene).

The government were generous enough to provide these families with the necessary brick and mortar but were told to get on and build their own homes. A non governmental organisation provided the community some support in building their homes. Their houses consist of a single room and a kitchen, no windows or a bathroom only their front and back door for light and ventilation. They have a communal showering area, toilet and taps for water. Their houses are barely equipped, many slept on the floor. In one of the houses we passed by, there we three generations (13 people) living under one roof (I told myself never to complain about my house again!).

We also asked one of the women what she had cooked for lunch, she showed us her kitchen with three pots, a gas stove and cylinder. She had prepared rice, dhal, some spinach and sprats (small dried fish, cheaply available). This menu is not dissimilar to the rest of families in the community.

During our walk Sister also relayed how many families due to tsunami and the war have lost family members and what surprised us most was to hear how there was a huge drug addiction, teenage pregnancy and single parent families in the area. Many families affected by these problems are stuck in a vicious cycle unable to lift themselves out of their current situation. There are no state benefits, community development programmes or community health service for these families. In my mind they seem to almost be forgotten by the rest of the society.

By the end of our first day and with no sleep for more than 24 hours, Kiran and I were overwhelmed by everything we heard and thought this was definitely going to be more than just a nutrition education sessions.

Saturday 26

We were invited to the life education session at Sister’s centre. There were about 25-30 children from ages 5 to 16. The room almost full, however the children were all seated quietly and keen to listen to what we were going to say. We did not prepare a powerpoint presentation, hence our session was very practical and interactive. Sister Concepta translated what we delivered in Singhalese. Although there were a few Tamil children, all of them were fluent in Singhalese. In our session, we got children to draw foods they ate everyday, we then asked them which food groups the foods belong to and explained the importance of the food groups and how their functions in our body. It was a challenging session because of the various age groups, we provided simple messages and the older children joined in to give answers as they already had some knowledge. The session was a interactive all they way, we asked questions and tried to engage all the children.

After the session, all the children who attend Saturday session receive a nutritious supplement prepared by Sister and her staff. The nutritious supplement is called ‘Samaposha’. Samaposha contains, mung beans, soya beans, corn and rice. The dried powder is mixed with sugar and grated coconut to and made into tennis balls size and each child receive two of these balls. Children from Athidiya are mostly undernourished due to the and the lack of food and income their homes. These nutritious balls provide some the of essential vitamins and minerals which otherwise are not received from their daily diet. It’s lucky if a child consumes at least 1 portion of their 5 A DAY.

We brought a big box of celebrations which we gave out to all the children and Sister Concepta said that this was ‘luxury’ for these children. Many of them saved their nutritious balls and chocolates to share with other siblings at home, even the five year olds. It was truly amazing to see their willingness to share what little they have with the rest of their family. I’m not sure if I had such a strong instinct for sharing at the age of five.

We then headed to the school to meet the principal of the local school, Sri Punyakami School......

Tune in for another exciting adventure.....

Buvana & Kiran