February 2012 Update

Recent visitors from the UK include Raj Bairoliya from London and Diana and Nicholas Strathon from Buckinghamshire. The children loved meeting them and it was a pleasure to take them round the district visiting schools.

Our two big building projects have just finished. Malithi nursery school opened on 8th February with a traditional blessing from Buddhist monks. The nursery school teacher had been running a school from her own home and we have built a separate hall with stage, sick room and office room. Our sincere thanks to Nicholas Grant of London who donated the money for the construction on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Thanks, too, to The Isabella Peatfield Memorial Fund for paying for playground equipment for the nursery school.

Our Special Needs Centre, Library and Office at Kendagasmankada junior school opened on 9th February. Very excitingly, we are twinning Kendagasmankada with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (QEGS) in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Both schools share an interest in Special Needs children and will be able to exchange ideas and information. QEGS is also raising funds for the new building. Our thanks to Kim Peatfield for bringing us all together.

We have created a Yala Fund page on Facebook and you can view photos from the openings by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yala-Fund/323285821027903?sk=photos

Pasindu, the 6-year-old boy mentioned in our November 2011 update, is in Grade 2 at Kendagasmankada school. His cochlear implant hearing operation was carried out successfully and with our financial support he is learning to speak and interpret sounds for the first time in his life. His first spoken words were "mother" and "father". Thanks to our many supporters who are helping Pasindu make a new start in life.

Our sincere thanks to Michael and Angela Cronk of London who provided the funds for the Kendagasmankada building and for equipping a new computer room at MR Thassim junior school.

Providing equipment to Hambantota Hospital's Outpatient Department has proved tremendously successful. We have supplied the OPD with an autoclave for sterilising instruments, 2 nebulizers with facemasks for patients with breathing difficulties, an ENT examination set and other items. They are in continual use. We hope to supply more nebulizers to other hospitals in the district.

Our programme at the Elders Home is continuing and our next Medical Camp is happening on 24th February. We take a doctor there to examine the elderly people without them having to make the uncomfortable journey to hospital and back again. We then pay for their prescriptions and deliver them. In these small ways we are touching the lives of many people in our quiet corner of Sri Lanka.

With thanks from us

Bev, John, Suzy and Jon