An inspirational visit to Hope House - 26/10/16 - Sophie S

Today we visited the building where an amazing new Ocean Stars project called Hope House is underway. This is in collaboration with a TV documentary whereby the town of Ampulantharai is supported by a successful female business woman from London, to set up a new skills training centre for women in the village. Ocean Stars sought out the location, helped to set up the project and now manage the ongoing success of Hope House. This was an enormous priviledge to see, as this is a scheme which supports single mothers in the community, giving them hope by teaching them sewing and computer skills in order that they may find work to support their families and lift them from poverty. Students pay the equivalent of 7p for a two hour session, 3 times a week. This money then goes back into Hope House.

We were told the story of the many challenges faced along the way to setting up this wonderful project, including the transportation of the storage container (now acting as the computer training room) all the way from Colombo to Ampalanthurai. Problems encountered included broken down lorries, running out of fuel, JCBs stuck in the mud and the most awkward location to place the container…..on the roof of the current building!! This mammoth effort was well worth it (in my eyes, one of the most important projects Ocean Stars could offer to the farming village in which Hope House is situated). We were also lucky enough to buy some of the women’s sewing items and to see the grand opening of a water well which is very necessary to ensure any water supply.

The women and their children were so grateful for our visit, and this was without doubt one of the highlights of my trip this year! How often do you see computer lessons happening in the middle of nowhere, on a roof in an old storage container!!

Kanchirankkuda - 27/10/16

Sandra:

Our last day and yet again the teacher and children fill my heart with joy. We were due 40, but only 24 arrived. Phew,  a few tearful ones, but once again after Albert the toy monkey entertained them, their smiles came out. We decorated the room with fish, played with the balloons and bubbles, always a pleasure!

All the women in the village brought along a small amount of food and (about 15) cooked us a wonderful meal. Suda once again played his little tricks. I don't mind spice, but those green chillies and the tears and sneezing from me upon eating them gave him great delight. The teachers, again with little to no resources, were a credit to the children and the community.

Howard:

On my usual morning walk from my chalet to have breakfast I said good morning to the alligator who seems to have taken up residence in the lagoon just a few steps from my hut. I kept a wary distance from him to make sure that I wasn’t his breakfast! I thought it was a joke until the boatmen last night showed us some grisly photos of a fisherman who had been attacked by an alligator and had had his arm and leg bitten off

Another day at the office…….the office this time being the small pre-school at Kanchirankkuda. Sandra, Reanne and myself travelled the relatively short distance (45 minutes) along mainly dirt roads. We didn’t have too much difficulty in finding the school and as usual on arrival we were given a rapturous welcome. We arrived in time to start school (8.30am) and there were about 20 children waiting for us, but gradually more arrived until we had about 30. There were 2 teachers. Sandra did some dancing games and Reanne read them the rainbow story, with Akshaya interpreting. As we had now run out of fish hats, we used fish paper plates which the children decorated and hung on the classroom wall. There seemed to be an adequate supply of tables and chairs. I led a simple outdoor ‘sport games’ session and we kept each game to about 15 minutes as it was very hot.

The school building consisted of 2 rooms and was well constructed with a sound roof, albeit asbestos. As usual there was no glass in the windows but wire mesh. Also there was no toilet, running water or electricity. Again I’ve come to realise this is quite normal. There was no well, water was being taken from a plastic tank near the road which was refilled every so often by a water tank vehicle. When it was time for the children to leave, we gave them each a knitted teddy, a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste. All the children seemed happy and healthy.

Kirankulan - 26/10/16 - Howard

Great hilarity amongst the team as to who can learn and remember the most Tamil words! At the moment Dan is the clear winner!

Today, Maureen, Sandra and I visited the small pre-school at Kirankulan. As usual we had a very warm welcome. They had a class of 21 children aged 3-4 and two teachers. The children were very neatly turned out in Ocean stars t-shirts and blue gingham overalls which had been made by the teachers. By now I was getting used to the routine of helping with the song and dance and craft activities. I think I know by heart the story of the Rainbow Fish by now! The classroom was fairly basic, although they had tables and chairs. As regards toilets, the children used the back yard. There were no washing facilities so the children used a stainless steal bucket of cold water to wash their hands before lunch. Having said all this, the children looked generally healthy and happy.


When it was time to go home we handed out teddy bears and lollipops to the children which went down very well! Afterwards, we were kindly invited to the home of one of the teachers which was a short walk away, and here we were given lunch,

Thevalaimunai – Sophie S and Amy – 27/10/16

Today we visited another fairly remote pre-school called Thevalaimunai. When we arrived there were just four children there, two in uniform and two dressed in their own clothes. Slowly more children arrived after lots of encouragement from the teacher, taking the numbers up to 9. We were told that four of them were in hospital with a fever. There were a few tears at the start, with children being a little reluctant to want to join in and preferred to take a step back. However, fortunately and most rewardingly, the children came out of their shells and began to approach us and participate. They particularly enjoyed making a fish hat, playing with the bean bags, bubbles and parachute. The children’s smiles during the session and especially at the end of the session gave us the most incredible feeling of pride, pleasure and happiness. We both felt so touched by observing the difference in these wonderful children from when they arrived at the start of the morning, and eventually how ecstatic they were whilst playing with the parachute, that we decided to donate this to the pre-school. The teachers were extremely grateful for this.

I (Sophie) was touched when, as we arrived at the school, the teachers excitedly showed me the picture they had on their wall. It was a picture we had given them a year ago at the teacher training morning of me in my ballroom dress. 

We said goodbye and handed out lots of gifts to the children including sweets, stickers, tooth brushes and tooth paste. Seeing the children walk home on their own, with at least 1/3^rd of them walking home barefoot, was rather heart-breaking.

Hearing impaired charity fun evening - 25/10/16 – Sophie S

On Tuesday evening we enjoyed another successful evening with the hearing impaired community Ocean Stars support. Ocean Stars sponsors children of hearing impaired parents, and this evening acts as one of the only outings and opportunities some of these children and their families get to socialise and have fun. We had a fantastic display of craft activities, balloon modelling, puzzles, card-making, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles and different sporting activities. This was an amazing group effort between the Calthorpe Park students and Team 2. It was really heart-warming to see these families enjoying themselves, particularly when singing along to the hokey cokey, the songs the CPS students sang, and finally when samba dancing!

The highlight for me of this evening, was giving a small piece of jewellery to each individual, donated this year mainly by my mum and Amy. I never see such grateful recipients of any gift as I do during these moments. This makes it such a special occasion as we can see just how much Ocean Stars input means to our sponsor children and their families.

Team 2 experience of the BBC-famous singing fish of Batticaloa:

Team 2a have just returned from an exhilarating (maybe slightly humiliating if the ‘official photos’ ever get out) trip into the middle of the river to listen to the world-renowned singing fish of Batticaloa. With great anticipation we waited for the ‘singing fish’ to begin their chorus. Having brought the boat to a standstill, fallen into a hush of silence (anticipation building by the second), the boat guide said he would now call on the fish to begin their song. He then proceeded to position the awe down into the deep dark water. Then as we waited, he slowly placed his ear onto the top of the awe and began to listen. He then pronounced – ‘yes, they are singing’ and handed out 6 awes instructing us to hang out of the boat and listen to our awes too.

At this point, Sandra looked at me and said ‘have you ever been had?’ and we considered that the guides might just be having a right good laugh at us. Finally, Amy began hearing things, so we all decided, as she was the fish whisperer that we should listen with her awe. At that point, we all decided we could make out faint sounds of Paul McCartney’s ‘The Frog Chorus’ (http://bit.ly/1nzeLEg). This was certainly not singing as we expected.

Finally, it was on our return to the dock that the guide showed us pictures of the 6 crocodiles in residence in this small lagoon. A very entertaining night….especially as we left team 2b in suspense of the upcoming experience of the ‘singing fish’. Turns out, Dilanee from Team 2b literally “dived” into the experience, nearly taking the fisherman and half the team with her.

Howard - Neloor - 25/10/16

The pre-school at Neloor was so remote that Ramesh our driver had to ask the way several times from passers-by! After an hour, again along some very bumpy dirt tracks, we finally arrived to enthusiastic reception. The pre-school was next door to the junior school, and again the whole site was surrounded by barbed wire fencing. We spent the morning with the class of 21 children (aged 3-4) and two teachers. The school consisted of a single room with a damage roof which leaked badly when it rained and the floor could be ankle-deep in water. In this situation the children are moved off site to a neighbouring building, courtesy of an agricultural firm. I was getting into the swing of things as regards the routine of introductions, group singing, dancing and colouring. Once again I took a group (in rotation) outside in the small yard for some running and ball games. The children really liked this and at times were screaming with laughter! For me it was very hot!

 Whilst the school had tables and chairs, there didn’t appear to be any toilets. At lunchtime the children left, some were collected by parents, but most wandered off along dirt tracks into the scrubland in many different directions. Afterwards, Maureen and I took the opportunity to wander around the village and I was struck by the poverty that existed. I felt very emotional about how they had nothing, yet had so much warmth and friendship to give.

Chenkalady 1 - Amy and Sophie S - 25/10/16

Today’s journey was much quicker and more straight-forward as we arrived at a pre-school in Chenkalady; a much larger town than the remote village we visited yesterday. Again we were greeted with beaming smiles and flower garlands to wear. The school was nicely decorated in crafty bits and learning resources that the children had made. The walls were a bright colour, yet the room felt slightly small and dark inside.

The children joined in with more fun activities with the end of the session being the parachute. The children were all very excited and enthusiastic, joining in with full participation.

We were very fortunate to be joined by Dilanee and Rev Rohita who watched and clapped along whilst we did some samba dancing led by Sophie. The children also performed Tamil dances for us. This has to be our highlight of the morning. They really were incredible and it was so lovely to watch some of their own dancing that they practice in their school.

As we left the children shook our hands and said ‘thank you’. They were so happy and grateful for all the fun that they had today. It was rewarding and heartfelt to see the children walk away with such big smiles and excitement.

Maureen – catalogue gift giving - 24/10/16

Our gift catalogue afternoon turned out to be a really enjoyable time. We met with local families to give them gifts which have been purchased by supporters in the UK through our gift catalogue.  For two boys it meant they received a badly needed pair of shoes each.  For a number of families it was a small box containing about six ten day old chicks who cheeped away quite happily when presented to their new owners.  The chicks will in time produce eggs which the families will sell at market for about 15 Rupees each (8p)!!  Much needed income for all of them. A teacher from one of our pre schools received a water purifier and a fan both badly needed in the school. But it was the final gift presented which firstly really impressed us but which also ended up causing the greatest fuss.

A local girl who is a very good seamstress was given a large Singer sewing machine with which to begin her own clothing business.  Her delight at the gift was obvious. Our delight at the antics of the tuk tuk driver trying to load the whole thing into the back of his tuk tuk will last a while. He huffed and puffed, tried putting it in backwards, sideways, each and every way.  Finally he got a screw driver and separated the machine from the pedals before squeezing it and the seamstress lady into the back of his three wheeler. Finally they drove off with about one third of the sewing machine hanging out the side of the tuk tuk and the seamstress lady clinging to it.  I think they got home safely. I certainly hope so.

Another busy challenging eventful day  there’s never a dull moment.

Mandur 1 – Howard – 24/10/16

This morning we visited the small pre-school, Madur 1. After quite a long journey by tuk tuk, we were made very welcome by the staff, greeted with flower garlands. Here we worked with 26 children. At first we introduced ourselves and had a group session, including a story, song and dance and doing the famous OST hokey cokey! We then divided into three groups, with Maureen and Baba taking a group inside, whilst I took a group outside for some sporting activities (running, jumping and throwing). After 15 minutes we rotated around each group. Maureen then read them all the story via an interpreter. After that, all the children were given a fish hat to decorate. This went down very well, with most the children being very engaged.

What struck me was how happy most of the children seemed despite their obvious lack of facilities. They had no chairs, tables, cupboards or resources! So all lessons have to be done sitting on the concrete floor. About 4 or 5 (20%) of the children had obvious eye problems which distressed me. After the outside fence between the pre-school yard and the road was a barbed wire fence, which also worried me. We were told these are to keep animals out, but hopefully these things brought to light during our trip are things Ocean Stars can help to resolve.

On the way back in the tuk tuk there was a terrific downpour of rain and I go soaked which was actually very refreshing and enjoyable in the humid weather!

I hope and think our visit made a difference to the school!

Our interesting journey to Mandur 2 – Sophie O - 24/10/16

After an early start we began our journey to the pre-school, Mandur 2, by tuk tuk. It was a bit of a bumby ride at first but once we reached the main roads it was smooth. However we encountered other problems, the number of near misses between cars and the tuk tuk, was extremely scary. On our journey, we began to go down a road which all we could see, was that it led to the sea! We continued down this road getting more and more worried where we were actually going. Suddenly the tuk tuk’s stopped and we had reached the end of our road. All that was before us was the sea. We managed to work out from the drivers (through our tamal skills) that we had gone the wrong way and the pre-school was on the other side of the sea. Although the other side was in sight we were never going to be able to drive around there in time. Luckily we noticed a boat coming towards us and realised it was a ferry. When the ferry reached us, we then had the struggle of getting the tuk tuks on. Men stood on the edge of the boat and sticks were laid to fill the gaps between the land and the boat, finally the two tuk tuk’s managed to get on. So after an unexpected boat trip we reached the other side of land and were greeted by the priest of the church, next to the pre-school, we were going to. The priest then jumped on his motorbike and we followed him to the pre-school where we were greeted by the little children. Garlands were then put around our neck and we were given a very warm welcome. We had finally arrived.

Dilanee's visit to Navalady school with CPS students

We were greeted by the whole school waiting for us at the entrance of the school. There was a large banner welcoming us with photographs of all the Calthorpe Park (CPS) Students. The students were all given garlands and they walked from the school gate to the entrance following the school band. Then it was time for whole school Hindu and Christian prayers, which was followed by a whole school exercise to music. The CPS students and teachers joined in with the exercises. This was something new for the local students and teachers and they commented that they were very touched by this.

The students then divided into groups and went into different classrooms, and started doing the activities that they have been planning since January.

I spent some time talking to some of the teachers. The school used to be located in Navalady village, which was situated by the sea, with the whole school being destroyed by the Tsunami. The new school has been built 20 km inland by the Swiss government. One teacher I spoke to had lost her whole class of 24 students, aged 6, and their parents. There are several orphan students at the school, many still suffering from the trauma. I was very moved when the teacher told me that she was unable to talk for two years after the tsunami and she thanked Ocean Stars for allowing her to tell her story. 

Our feelings after arriving in Batticaloa – 23/10/16

Sophie: It was unexpectedly overwhelming when we pulled into Riviera Resort in Batticaloa on Sunday evening. Coming back for the second year, I was suddenly flooded with memories and felt as though I had returned ‘home’. Being remembered and greeted in such a friendly way by all the team from last year was heart warming! Looking forward to the week ahead!

Amy: I was pleasantly surprised by the incredibly warm welcome that we received today and the generosity from everyone that we met. It was a very emotional moment being greeting by so many happy, excited and intrigued faces. I had also not fully realised how many people support Ocean Stars until today. The team are extremely hard-working and friendly it is an honour to be a part of that team. 

Lorna: As soon as we arrived we had a meeting.  Wow!  It was so amazing how everyone had arrived in the same place and at the same time!  The organization of this trip is fantastic, not only was it our team and the Calthorpe Park School team there but also Diana and her management team, translators, helpers, a photographer and the assistant Director of Planning from the Divisional Secretariat in Batticaloa (a very important man whom we need to keep sweet).  I don’t think I realised how much organisation goes into this charity in Sri Lanka. This all started from one inspirational woman – Dilanee!

Trincomalee – Karumalaiyouthu Pre-School 23/10/16 – Lorna and Sophie O

When we arrived we walked up the hill to the Pre-School with children waiting to greeting us with their handmade flags. Sophie and I read the story of the Rainbow Fish and after made Rainbow Fish Hats with the children, pictures for the sponsors and then we had great fun with the children playing parachute games and blowing bubbles.  The children then did their own show for us.  They showed us what they had learnt in English telling us all about their families, best friends, and then named different animals, fruit, vegetables etc. in English by showing us a picture of each item and then telling us its name.

I don’t think I can really explain how I felt today.  It was so emotional seeing these little 4 and 5 year olds.  Their behaviour was exemplary, the smiles on their faces was magical.  Although they were worried at first soon they were coming up to us and holding our hands as we sang the Hokey Cokey.  The hardest part for me was handing out the Milo (chocolate drink) and biscuit to the sponsored children, but not having enough for all the other children that had turned up who were not the preschool.

Today was a great priviledge and for me I gained more than I gave; and I thank everyone at the Pre-school for allowing us to visit them and be part of their team.

After our time at the schools we were welcomed into the home of the Headmaster and his family for lunch.  We were treated like Royalty!  Whilst there his daughter also decorated all of our hands with the most beautiful and decorative henna.  Thank you to Janapdeen and his family.

Trincomalee – 23/10/16 – Sophie S and Amy

After a very warm welcome as always from Vellaimanal school in Trincomalee, with their miniature band, shell garlands, flags and welcome signs, we threw them into dancing, sports and arts and crafts. Once Amy and I established that what we thought was a parachute was in fact a pop up tent (awkward!), the children enthusiastically joined in with the games we had prepared for them. This included classic games such as ladders and splat with the secondary school children, although the boys were most concerned with getting the best angle for a selfie with us. In the meantime, the primary school children were delighted to play musical games and to play with the inflatable balls and parachute which we did eventually locate!

It was a very hot morning, but was such a great feeling to be back in Trincomalee. For me (Sophie), it was heart-warming to see that so many of the children recognised me from last year, as they fondly remembered the samba workshop we did and requested a repeat! It was also lovely to see all the children completing a drawing with Sandra and Reanne to send home to all the sponsor families in the UK! :)

Kilinochchi - 21/10/16

Sandra:

After a long drive we arrived in Kilinochchi around 11.30 pm but unfortunately we could not wake the caretaker so it made me chuckle to see all the adults knocking and tapping at the windows. Arriving here made me feel really good.

The children in the preschool we visited were quiet at first. They soon warmed to us and their personalities began to emerge. It was a very good and productive morning. When it was time to go, having had a chat to the teachers we realised that this preschool had little to no resources. A small gift of crayons, paper, jigsaws and teddies just did not seem quite enough. When we called into the preschool at Mahadeva wow what a contrast. These amazing teachers had created an incredible environment. The children and teachers had come such a long way since my last visit in 2014. The hugs from the teachers that were there was like meeting family again. Then when they showed me the wall collage of our fish picture from 2014 still on the wall it made my heart glow.

In the evening we went to see the younger girls (5-12) in their compound. The children had all grown since 2014 but their love and affection towards us shone through. There in amongst all the children was the year old girl who had been abandoned in a temple. She came bounding out and here stood the heart, the very essence of this orphanage. This small little girl with her large family of sisters and mothers embodied the love, joy and security that this wonderful place gives to all the children. I look forward to coming back.

Reanne:

The day started bright and early, then we set off to my first ever Sri Lanka Pre-school experience. They didn’t have many resources but the children still drew beautifully and knew how to hold a pen. Near the end I took a small group outside with the parachute, there giggles and smiles made me so happy. Seeing them all getting picked up on bicycles and mopeds was a difference to say the least. When we get back to where we are staying we ate our second curry of the day and headed off to Jaffna and looked at the ruins, the temple and of course had an ice cream.

In the evening we went to the young girl’s dorm (5-12) as soon as we arrived a few girls were there and explained the rest were eating, they noticed my hair and straight away were amazed. We got showed around their room and then the rest showed up some were timid and some were more out there. They all started touching my hair and comparing our skin colours, one girl took my hand and didn’t want to leave my side whilst we stood in a circle singing some songs. We started playing music and one of the girls took my hands leading me to dance, Sandra showed them some steps and we all began dancing. They started showing me their own dance moves and getting me to copy and correcting me if I was wrong. I loved it all no matter how hot I became near the end one of the girls showed me a clapping song and a handshake they all do, really letting me join in. I handed all of the girls a toothbrush at the end and two tried giving it to me as a gift to be friends but I said we were already friends, saying goodbye was hard as I connected really well but I know I will always remember a lot of these girls.

  

Yatiyanthota – Maureen (20/10/16)

It was an early start – which is very much the norm, on Ocean Stars trips. So we found ourselves, Dan, Dilanee and myself, arriving in Yatiyanthota in central Sri Lanka, around 9 30am. We were met by Rev Rohitha and other Methodist church leaders and taken inside the church to meet the teacher and the 6 children who presently attend the local church pre school. Our purpose for the visit was to assess with the minister and his team whether or not Ost could support in developing preschool provision for the local children.

I enjoyed a great morning with the children – they settled quickly and responded well to the activities I introduced. Six children and a teacher in a very small room. They have tables and chairs to sit on but no other resources at all. There are 20 children looking to join the pre school in January so there is need for a better location for them.

Dan and Dilanee spent the time meeting with the Methodist team but the most and challenging part of the day came later. We always try to build our awareness of the backgrounds of our children so we travelled with the Methodist team into a rubber plantation estate close to Yatiyanthota, to meet some of the families and see for ourselves how they live.  It was really interesting to see the workers on the estate drawing the sap from the rubber trees and to learn a little about the rubber making process.  But it is difficult to see how these people have to live.  The first house we visited was one of the better ones on the estate – solid, well built. It houses 9 people living in 2 rooms.  And behind it we found one which is typical of many on the estate.  Basically it consisted of 2 very small and dark rooms and is home to a family of 4. It looked as if it could fall down any day!  The people were lovely but it’s hard to see them living in these places.

So lots for us to think and talk about which kept us all occupied on the bumpy tuk tuk ride back to Sudah and our bus.  Bit like a ride at Alton Towers.

As always with Ost, there’s lots to do ….on to the next adventure!

Maureen  

Dilanee 18-21 October

Just catching up on blog writing while the rest of the team are away visiting Jaffna. The journey to Sri Lanka was eventful in itself as between my friend Baba, her 3 children Akshaya, Dinu and Hannah and myself  had 20 pieces of luggage. There were more trollies than people who could push as well as the push chair with baby that just wheeling the trollies to the checking in gate was a feat in itself. Seeing Maureen and Baba trying to push two trolleys each which went veering off in all directions had me in fits of laughter and the journey had only just begun. The check in lady was so fed up with us as a group checking in so many bags that in the end she let baba check in her two bags of 27Kilos each without any extra payments. Meandering our way at Dubai airport from Terminal A to C which was about ½ hour walk was exhausting. We finally arrived in Colombo via Dubai and Malee at 6.00pm on Wednesday 19^th October. Seeing the look on Baba’s brother’s face as he spotted us in the distance and the smile that broke out when he saw her after 9 years is a moment I will never forget. Our Ocean Stars family apart from Dad were home and another significant event in our story. The rest of the team were met by Sudha our Ocean Stars driver with beautiful garlands and given a traditional welcome to Sri Lanka. I am back home too in Sri Lanka and my heart is strangely warmed.

Our first stop was a curry dinner at Mango Mango and we arrived at Avissawella at our hotel at about 10.00 pm. I wanted to go straight to bed but had to go through a long discussion as to whether I would prefer to try out their cabana which had recently been renovated. As we were staying just one night and leaving at 8.00 am I really did not think it was worth the effort.

I will let Maureen write about our visit to Yatiyanthota. It felt kind of special for me to visit this town that has very close links with my family and had always been talked about during my childhood.

Dan, Maureen and I have met up with Sandra, Reanne and Howard and the team has grown to 6.

Today our first full day in Kilinochchi I have met some very special people. I met a remarkable 5 year old girl who needs urgent surgery in India but because her family cannot afford the cost of her treatment has to grow up knowing that one day she could be disabled. Her smile lit up her face and she was in charge of handing out the cups of milk to 45 children in her preschool during break time. The confident gentle way in she gave out these metal cups without handles and therefore not an easy task for a 5 year old was another one of those Ocean Stars moments for me.

I am now going to have a quiet few moments before the rest of the team arrive back from Jaffna with hopefully an ice cream for me!

Friday 21st October Dan:

Less travelling today!  Went to the preschool on the grounds of Kilinochchi children’s home.  After a slight false start (we forgot to take the book with us) things went well.  Howard led ball games and I tried using my appalling Tamil to help the games work.  Howard was successful!

(Dan is being modest by the way about his Tamil. He is way ahead of any of us in the vocabulary tests.)

Thursday 20th October: Dan

The day’s theme was definitely travel.  After a breakfast overlooking the river we went across to Yatiyanthota.  We were taken to the small pre-school in the Church and then were transported by van and tuk-tuk up into the nearby rubber plantation.   Here we met a family whose children attend the preschool, and a teacher in training.   As usual, gracious hospitality was extended.  Down then to Negombo to collect more of Team two and off up (more travel) to Kilinochchi.  The wheels on the bus truly went round and round today!  Lots to take in and reflect on.  Lots of need, and lots of generous friendship too.The day’s theme was definitely travel.  After a breakfast overlooking the river we went across to Yatiyanthota.  We were taken to the small pre-school in the Church and then were transported by van and tuk-tuk up into the nearby rubber plantation.   Here we met a family whose children attend the preschool, and a teacher in training.   As usual, gracious hospitality was extended.  Down then to Negombo to collect more of Team two and off up (more travel) to Kilinochchi.  The wheels on the bus truly went round and round today!  Lots to take in and reflect on.  Lots of need, and lots of generous friendship too.

OCEAN STARS TRUSTEES THANK TEAM FOR THEIR FUND RAISING EVENTS

A BIG BIG thank you for all your hard work in fund raising and preparing for the Ocean Stars Trip 2016. We would like to wish you a safe flight and travels in Sri Lanka. Laugh lots and enjoy meeting our Ocean Stars Family in Sri Lanka.

Trustee Dan's thoughts as he returns to Sri Lanka for the second time....

I'm really looking forward to returning to Sri Lanka, particularly to visit Mandur, our Church partners again.  It will be good to see what progress has been made with the building of anew preschool.  I’m also privileged to be able to travel up to Killonochi this time.  Not looking forward to the journey, but will enjoy the typical Ocean Stars welcome and incredible hospitality, I’m sure!

Will we be met with a monsoon again? I’ve only just dried out from last year...

 

MAUREEN OCEAN STARS CHAIR REFLECTS AS SHE RETURNS TO SRI LANKA

Maureen Johnston

This year’s OST trip has come as a bit of a surprise to me.  I’ve joined the team late so am still a bit ‘shocked’ at the thought that this time next week; I’ll be in Sri Lanka! Having been part of several past teams, I’m delighted to be returning.  OST its projects and especially the children and their families, have come to mean so much to me.  I’m looking forward very much to working with them and learning from them, once again.

JENNY AND SYBIL REFLECT

Jenny Dixon

Nervously excited is how I am feeling at the moment!  The opportunity of going with a group to somewhere that I had never dreamt of going was very exciting, and to have the chance to share a love of craftwork with others even more so.  When Sybil said that she was going this October I was keen to join her.  I am really looking forward to experiencing the Sri Lankan way of life and meeting both grown-ups and children over cardboard and glue!  To have some Sri Lankan warmth as winter approaches here and to live a few days at a slower pace will, I hope, be an added bonus!

Sybil Hammond

Preparing for the visit has been interesting. I have spoken to friends in U3A groups and other activity groups. They have been amazingly generous in giving materials which we can use with the nursery children and staff. Plenty of their offerings can be given as gifts or fabrics to be made into garments. Lots of craft materials will be used while we are there and the crayons, buttons and cards will be available for future use.

MORE MEMBERS OF TEAM REFLECT ON THEIR TRIP WITH ONLY 3-6 MORE UK SLEEPS LEFT

Sophie Sowden

I’m excited to be returning to Sri Lanka! Knowing how special each of Ocean Stars’ visits are to all the schools and people the charity supports makes it so worthwhile, and I can’t wait to see how each of the projects have progressed over the last year, and also to see some of the new projects set up by Dilanee and the rest of the wonderful Ocean Stars team. 5 more sleeps!! :)

Reanne Phillips

I'm really looking forward to be going to Sri Lanka and its less than a week away! I cannot wait to see what the charity has already done but also be able to put my part into it. This experience will be emotional for me but I will know I have brought happiness too these less fortunate children.  The lead up has gone quick but I'm excited to see what we have all put together will change and develop the children.

SANDRA STOKES

Butterflies and energy, Sandra, Little Miss Energy, and Little Miss Ready to go now, is very very excited with very Happy tears that sit at the back of her eyes......

TEAM 2 FUND RAISING TARGET REACHES £4135.00 WITH 5 MORE DAYS TO GO!!

WELL DONE TEAM 2! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING STARS!!

And more to come in................!!