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.
No comments:
Post a Comment