Update on Library for the village school . . and more.
Almost one year ago I posted about the library for our village school so an update is well overdue.
I am happy to report that Dombepola school does now have a beautiful library!
It seems a long time since I had that discussion with the Principal
where he indicated the strong desire of his staff and parents to somehow
get a library for the children and I remember him pulling the books out
of a cupboard in his office that doubled/ tripled as the staff room. Although my
efforts over three years towards construction did not work out, this
was in the end a very good thing for the school with the Savings Bank
staff social club taking on the project and securing funds for a far
superior building. It's really a great thing!
Although the last of the books were still being catalogued the library looked ready to be used. I was delighted to see the bright and inviting appearance that all concerned had achieved with this fantastic addition to this remote school.
As many people would know, I have been collecting money to build the library. After hearing that the Savings Bank had kindly taken over the building project, the school suggested that this money could purchase a considerable number of books which the major donor, Hillbrook Anglican College service club teacher Catie happily agreed to and a list was prepared by the Principal of Dombepola. A few days before my departure I heard that the Savings Bank wanted to fund the whole project themselves and had purchased the said books. [This meant that I was able to give the donated money to another school which subsequently purchased books for its Science Library.]
Sri Lanka has very high literacy levels and the world reaps
the benefit of some of the country's finest brains seeking a different
life and wider career opportunities elsewhere however the teaching of English is not easy in the villages where students have little to no opportunity to hear and speak it on a daily basis. Cram school in the evenings and weekends is expensive and far away for the Dombepola students however they currently have a lovely dedicated English teacher. I hope she is not transferred elsewhere!
Everyone who knows me knows of my passion for Sri Lanka and in particular for the village people, the women and children who are often at great disadvantage, notably educationally. Many individuals such as fellow members of my Zonta Club slip me some dollars such as those used to purchase these attractive books. I know that the children will enjoy looking at the lovely photos and diagrams of the factual books and hopefully they will find them so tempting they persevere with the challenging English text.
It is difficult for those village schools to obtain quality English books and they are heavy to carry from Australia. On this trip I hauled 80kg of books and first aid products on and off airport scales nd conveyor belts. It's not something I will be able to do again. Not 80kg!
Along with the presentation of English books I also handed over some sports gear which was donated by Mark, from England. Mark and Sue were in Sri Lanka to follow the cricket and wanted to donate some cricket and other sports equipment to a school. They found me on the internet and decided that Dombepola School was the school for them. Mark must have had the same difficulties with heavy bags that I had as he arrived with a huge bag of gear! After a talk with the Principal we realised that not all of the gear was needed at Dombepola and again another school was able to benefit by a stranger's goodwill and generosity.
After I had presented the books and sports equipment this lovely student gave a beautiful thank you speech in excellent English. She has already shown promise and would be a delightful student to teach.
The school grounds are looking great! Neatly landscaped by the parents and blending in with the stunning mountains, rocks and trees, this has to be THE most beautiful school a village could be proud to have. The Drama teacher often takes her class outside for the lessons. What a lovely classroom they have there!
In late 2010 the roof was replaced and in 2012 the exterior of the buildings received the first new coat of paint in living history. How fresh and colourful it now looks!
Mark and Sue had climbed up the hill to see the school on the previous day. Here they are beside the school sign on the roadway on the other side of the river.
School had long finished for the day however these children had stayed on to have lessons in Tamil language. They were playing cricket when we arrived though. Mark and Sue were so very happy to meet them and have a little conversation.
The school shrine, Buddhist, of course, has been recently painted and stands in a prominent position on the school hillside.
As I mentioned above, I was able to direct the money now not needed for books for this school to another one, the college in a busy town not that far away, Rajasinghe College in Ruwanella.
After meeting the Principal of Rajasinghe College, formerly Ruwanella Central College, I wanted to see some of the students and teachers and I was able to take a walk around the outside of the open walled classrooms. When talking to the teachers I noticed that the boys took the opportunity to fool around while the girls continued with their work, pausing only to smile shyly only when I spoke at them. Same story in every school anywhere, methinks!
My friends, family and colleagues are very generous people who have a genuine desire to offer what help they can to others who could do with some support and encouragement. They talk to others about my passion for Sri Lanka and I sometimes get an email or phone call "out of the blue" offering books, first aid items and unwanted eye glasses. A member of the Lions Club of Redcliffe provided me with two bags of first aid items that I was able to package into kits for five schools and two rural medical centres. My heartfelt thanks to them all.
I now have another school that I have in mind to channel assistance to. More of that another time . . .
 |
| Creative School Welcome Sign |
 | ||||
| Dombepola Library |
 |
| Library |
 |
| English books from Australia |
Everyone who knows me knows of my passion for Sri Lanka and in particular for the village people, the women and children who are often at great disadvantage, notably educationally. Many individuals such as fellow members of my Zonta Club slip me some dollars such as those used to purchase these attractive books. I know that the children will enjoy looking at the lovely photos and diagrams of the factual books and hopefully they will find them so tempting they persevere with the challenging English text.
It is difficult for those village schools to obtain quality English books and they are heavy to carry from Australia. On this trip I hauled 80kg of books and first aid products on and off airport scales nd conveyor belts. It's not something I will be able to do again. Not 80kg!
 |
| Dombepola students |
 |
| Dombepola Staff |
 |
The school grounds are looking great! Neatly landscaped by the parents and blending in with the stunning mountains, rocks and trees, this has to be THE most beautiful school a village could be proud to have. The Drama teacher often takes her class outside for the lessons. What a lovely classroom they have there!
In late 2010 the roof was replaced and in 2012 the exterior of the buildings received the first new coat of paint in living history. How fresh and colourful it now looks!
Mark and Sue had climbed up the hill to see the school on the previous day. Here they are beside the school sign on the roadway on the other side of the river.
School had long finished for the day however these children had stayed on to have lessons in Tamil language. They were playing cricket when we arrived though. Mark and Sue were so very happy to meet them and have a little conversation.
The school shrine, Buddhist, of course, has been recently painted and stands in a prominent position on the school hillside.
As I mentioned above, I was able to direct the money now not needed for books for this school to another one, the college in a busy town not that far away, Rajasinghe College in Ruwanella.
 |
| Students and Science teachers, Rajasinghe College |
 |
| The girls continue to work while the boys welcome the interruption to chat |
My friends, family and colleagues are very generous people who have a genuine desire to offer what help they can to others who could do with some support and encouragement. They talk to others about my passion for Sri Lanka and I sometimes get an email or phone call "out of the blue" offering books, first aid items and unwanted eye glasses. A member of the Lions Club of Redcliffe provided me with two bags of first aid items that I was able to package into kits for five schools and two rural medical centres. My heartfelt thanks to them all.
I now have another school that I have in mind to channel assistance to. More of that another time . . .
Comments
Post a Comment