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London 12th June 2009

Jon, Bev and John had a very successful visit to Sri Lanka in April/May driving themselves in a rented Suzuki Swift. Here are some extracts from Bev's Diary:

"After breakfast we head for Marangahawela Junior School. The charity has been helping them ever since Jon came across them by accident on one of his motorbike trips. The school, which has 40 children, nestles on a rocky outcrop off the main road between Bandarawela and Ratnapura.

"In the short time that Jon has been helping the school we have had the electricity connected, bought them a computer and printer, supplied a metal cabinet as the termites ate their wooden one, repaired the toilet, erected a gate, supplied all the children with uniforms, shoes, books and stationery, supplied sports equipment and sent all the children and teachers on a 3-day bus trip to Colombo. Most of them had never been outside their village before or seen the sea. They don't stop talking about it and have asked if they can go again next year. We have promised to fund it again. It only cost £180, the teachers' friends and families put them up and took care of them, no hotel bills, just the price of the bus."

[Delivering food parcel to very poor Granny (Achi) and Grandpa (Siya) in Kirinda]

"When we got to Achi Siya's house and unloaded the groceries they were beside themselves. We bought a sack of rice, lentils, soap, matches, sugar, tea, in fact most basic things they would need. We spent £23.75 and it will last them about six weeks. The old man was nearly crying. It made me feel bad because I can't get out of Sainsbury's without paying in excess of £100 and that's for one week. Jon promised he would come at least once every two months and bring more food."

Jon is back in Sri Lanka from late-June. Ongoing projects include:

Weligahtha School

This school off the main road between Tissa and Hambantota is in a very bad way. Elephants come on to the property at night and smash buildings and water towers. Working with the Wildlife Department, we are paying for a 1km long electric 'elephant fence' to enclose the property. It runs off solar power. Once this is complete we will build 2 new Boys' and Girls' toilet blocks to replace the current ones which are unusable. We will carry out repairs to classroom doors and windows. The fence costs 8 lakhs (Rupees 800,000) but parents are contributing labour to bring the cost down to 6 lakhs (approx. £3,300). It is expensive but there is no point in doing any building work as long as the property is exposed to elephant damage.

Welangahawela School

This is a rural school south of Embilipitiya. Children are doing lessons outside exposed to sun and rain due to lack of classroom space so we are building a new 60ft x 20ft classroom plus school office and toilet. The existing Principal's office will be converted into a music room. The provisional cost for this is 15 lakhs (Rupees 1,500,000) or approximately £8,000 at present exchange rates, although this may fall.

Welani Children's Home, Weerawila

This is a wonderful orphanage for about 50 children, mostly girls. It is very well run. It needs help putting a tannoy system into the various rooms. We hope to paint the rooms and office. Welani has a very high water bill and we are exploring ways to help them with this, possibly through buying a water bowser and tractor for collecting water from Weerawila lake.

General

Other schools near Tissa are requesting help with computers, printers, fences and refurbishments. We are paying for electricity connections for several poor homes in the villages near Debarahela school in Ellagala. Parents earn just enough to pay for electricity, but cannot afford the initial cost of wiring and connection. We continue to buy bicycles for children who are having to walk long distances to get to school. Another UK charity Jane Bubear Sport Foundation has donated £2,000 for buying sports kit for poor children. One of Yala Fund's key donors has donated £4,500 to provide microfinance loans to 243 women in Hambantota district. This is a hugely successful programme run by our partner Shilpa Children's Trust.

Thank you from Jon, Bev, John and Suzy for your wonderful support. Remember: even £5 goes a very long way in Sri Lanka. We will report back soon.