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London. 14th April 2009

Today is Sinhala and Tamil New Year's Day in Sri Lanka. We wish all our friends there a very Happy New Year. Jon, Bev & John are flying to Colombo on 16th April for a 2-week inspection visit of various Yala Fund projects. It has been pouring with rain in Sri Lanka since the beginning of April, and we are hoping for a break in the weather.

First we will visit tiny Diyakapilla school in thick jungle near Sigiriya Rock in north-central Sri Lanka. Yala Fund built a library for the school in 2006 and every year we supply books, shoes, schoolbags and other items for the children.

We will then drive south to visit Marangahawela school on the southern edge of the mountains. The school children have delayed their New Year Festival so that they can entertain us. We have just finished repairs to the school toilet and gate and provided tables and cupboards. Schools always ask us for steel cupboards for locking things up. Wooden ones get eaten by termites and are less secure. Steel cupboards are a precious commodity in Sri Lanka!

From Marangahawela it is a beautiful drive down the edge of the mountains to Wellawaya and on to Tissamaharama which is the centre for most of Yala Fund's work. We hope to call in on the way at the Sith Sevana Home for disabled children in Tanamalwila. We will spend 6 nights in Tissa. The mornings will be given over to school visits and the afternoons to visiting families and purchasing goods. Several families have requested help with toilets, roofs and electricity connection (many rural homes use oil lamps at night).

We will be planting a fruit garden at one of the Tissa schools to grow bananas and other fruit for the children to eat. Many rural children turn up for school having had no breakfast.

We are getting very good feedback from the microfinance loans programme which has created jobs for 200 families in Hambantota district. This is run by our partner Shilpa Children's Trust. The scheme has helped women in this poor district really come into their own by setting themselves up in business. We hope soon to donate up to another £10,000 to this programme. Loans are allocated in three tranches starting with small amounts to see how participants get on. The new money will be pumped into second and third-round loans to further grow the businesses.

Thanks to the generosity of one of Yala's donors, we have the funds to build a classroom block and library at a school near Embilipitiya, on the road north of Hambantota. This is in a very poor rural area and many of the children sit outside doing lessons using the seats of chairs to write on while they kneel on the ground. Once the builders' estimates have been checked out, work will start on a building big enough for 3 classrooms plus staff office and toilet. The former office will be converted into a music room. This entire project will cost an estimated £8,500.

Another Yala backer has very kindly released funds to help us set up a daycare centre for Down's Syndrome children in Hambantota. We are providing the money and Shilpa Children's Trust will run the centre. Children will enjoy painting and other activities.

Small donations are just as valuable as big ones and we would like to thank all our donors for every single pound donated. Whether it is a classroom or just a pair of shoes costing £5, every penny counts and nothing is wasted. Thank you from Jon, Bev, John and Suzy for your wonderful support. We will report back soon.