Friday, October 22, 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: People of Tangalle

So we are winding down our trip, and what inspirational trip it has been. The people of this community have touched our lives and we have some memories to share, and forever remember. Today is the last day in the computer lab as Friday is a holiday, so there will be no school. Saying goodbye will be tough, but knowing what we have accomplished in this short time will impact so many lives for years to come. I am so blessed to have been able to join this trip!

Heather
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Continuing to bridge the digital divide

Today, John Dumo and I had the opportunity to go to one of the small schools in the Tangalle community that clearly needed our help (i.e. some kids didn't have shoes and the classrooms had very little school supplies). We had noticed last week that their one and only computer was not working (we're not sure it ever worked) so with the help of the Softchoice Cares funds, donations from my friends and family and John's technical knowledge, we were able to purchase a new one and install it. This one computer will be available to the 50 students that go to this school. For most, if not all, this will be their first time having access to a computer. We also had the chance to visit the children in the classrooms. They kept saying "Good morning!" while waving and giving us the brightest smiles. It took all my energy to not reach out and give them group hugs! I will never forget those smiling faces.

Most of us take computers for granted in North America, yet here in Sri Lanka, they are over the moon when we bring 1 single computer for a whole school...

Carolyn
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Memories

It's been almost two weeks here and almost time to say good bye. The past week and half have been full of memories. Part of me is a bit home sick, I miss my wife, my dog, my family and friends - another part wishes I can be here longer. A large part of the love of Sri Lanka is the people. Whenever we're walking down a street, someone will always smile and say hello! I guess we stand out like a neon sign in the city, but everyone is happy to see us. Every morning the children at Tangalle Primary school welcome us with cheers and we feel almost like celebrities. We're not, obviously, we're just everyday people trying to make a difference.

Although I have not been on the work sites as much as my teams, the people I've met will be forever in my memory. During the Habitat for Humanity build, yesterday in Galle, a very pretty young woman in a very nice dress started helping us. She always had a smile on her face and never hesitated to participate with us. The funny thing was, I think she was a neighbor for the house we were working on and she didn't care about the possibility of getting dirty.

As the week winds down, the memories will live forever in our hearts. These memories will be shared with our friends, family and team members...

Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: The importance of our presence

Today was our seventh day of work. Residents and tourists both compliment us on the work we are doing and the impact we are making. Everyone seems to recognize the importance of it and we are given generous appreciation accordingly. And, we've certainly learned the importance of our presence being in the computer lab for an extended period as training is just so necessary as virtually no one has ever used a computer before.

And every day we continue to learn more about the people and the hard conditions of daily life. Today was simply exhausting - by far my most difficult. Yet, from those we dug and made cement with we know it is just part of the daily grind - and it's better to have work than to not. So many get by with so little, are happy, but realize there is more out there in the world and simply want a means to truly make their own way. It is wonderful to be making such a specific impact on exactly that opportunity. It makes me proud to work for Softchoice and be here with such a strong group of individuals. I am fearful for our final day. The celebrity appeal from the students continues, so each day after hundreds of high-fives the students ask us with hopeful eyes "You here tomorrow?". It will be tremendously difficult to finally have to say no.

Bob
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: The weekend is over

It has been nice to have a relaxing weekend. There were blisters that needed to be healed and muscles that needed a break. Yesterday we spent in Galle wandering around and doing some shopping and today our group split up. Half of us went to two Buddhist temples and the group I was with went to the Yala National Park which is the island’s most popular elephant reserve. There are about 500 elephants along with numerous birds (peacocks, cranes, etc) and other wildlife. The elephants did not disappoint. There were a few that were about 6 months old and it was interesting to watch the heard protect the small animals when we drove by them. They loved the muddy water holes to spray mud all over them to cool off. It was an incredible experience to see these large beasts in their native habitat.

While taking two days off to explore and see more of Sri Lanka was amazing, I know that what we came here to do is not far from everyone’s minds. We are focused on the projects that we started and want to leave Sri Lanka knowing we made a difference. After driving around for the last two days, you see the stark poverty that everyone is in. It is not just in Tangalle where we are staying and working. All the towns have similar feelings, packed small store fronts, garbage in the gutters, stray dogs and small palm thatched huts selling fruit. We saw very few “nice” areas which goes to show how much help this country needs. Very few are well off, but that doesn’t stop people from smiling at us and welcoming us in. We do get stares everywhere we go. Foreign visitors are not an everyday occurrence. But, everyone loves to wave at us and say hello!

I can’t help but wonder about the people we have worked with in the last week. What did the weekend provide for the workers at the Trade Facility? How did the family at the home we are building spend the last 2 days? It will feel good to get back to the sites and continue with our work. We only have a short time left on our trip and every day will need to count in order to get as much done as possible.

On a lighter note, our Softchoice Cares group has become incredibly close. Some of the running jokes are:

· Being scared every time we see a wood apple which omits a putrid smell and sometimes winds up in fruit smoothies

· We have named many of the local stray dogs at the our hotel after “The Godfather” movie. There is often dissension in the ranks and fights occur.

· There are numerous peacocks around that like to make a meowing noises bright and early in the morning. Whenever we hear that we comment , “There’s Kevin!” like the bird in the movie “Up”.

· We have been trying to learn to bobble our heads from side to side instead of shaking yes or no as the Sri Lankans do. This mean either ok or all is good and has taken some getting used to.

Things are going very well here and I hope for the same back home. Miss you!

Karly
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 5 and 6

We have been here a full week now and we can’t believe how much we’ve seen, done and learned. Friday, after a morning of work, the Tangalle Primary School had a ribbon cutting ceremony which drew some media. Dave and Rhett addressed the crowd by underlining the reason why we are here and how we really appreciate the welcoming reception. We were treated like VIPs and the children of the school danced and sang for us. I was touched by the enthusiastic thank you speech from some the children, they must have rehearsed because it was all in English. It was pretty special.

We were then taken to the Ketakellawatta Center to attend their ceremony. One of our Tangalle worker friends, Sanil, has 2 daughters who participated in the dance ceremony. The eldest is a dancer who also teaches dancing. It is amazing to see how the community is tight-knit. Again, we were treated as very special guests and we felt the warm reception.

I forgot to mention that the men in our group wore sarongs and the women wore saris. It was pretty funny to see the bunch of us try to wrap these things around us in preparation for the festivities. The teachers at the school took the women aside and fixed us up. I swear I could hear a few giggles coming from the crowd when we stepped out of our vans as when we arrived at the school….

Today, was a rest day for us since it’s Saturday (even though most of the workers work 7 days per week). Most of us went to Galle to see this little quaint town within a fortress. It was our first chance to do some shopping for ourselves and our friends & families. As John R said, Galle didn’t know what hit them today!

It’s not even 11pm and we have pretty much retired for the evening.

Carolyn
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Weekend Update

After a long week of work, the work week ended with a celebration. As Dave alluded to in his post, the team was overwhelmed with emotions. Something about the Sri Lankan people always puts a smile to my face. They have welcomed us with open arms and hearts. The people we have worked with not only became friends, they'll always be in our memories forever. I forgot to mention, they'll be on our Facebook pages as well :).

This weekend the team had some R&R time. We spent most of Saturday touring Galle and made some stops along the way. Our time in Galle as mostly spent at Galle Fort: essentially a small part of the larger city confined within a fort. There were many boutiques with the various arts from Sri lanka as well as teas & coffees and jewelery. The most impressive place of all was Shoba Display Gallery, a store that sells arts and crafts from women devastated by the Tsunami, Softchoice Folks -- We have some stuff for you as well!!

Sunday the team split in two, 1/2 the team went to visit the Elephant Park, while the other went to various Buddhist temples and to see the blow hole. The 2nd team managed to see a whole collection of animals from Bats to Iguanas, to Monkeys, to some lizard thing I can't remember the name of.

This coming week the team plans on completing one house build, working on a Habitat for Humanity build, continued work on the Trades Training Facility, and working more in the computer lab teaching the children computer skills.

More updates to come (and pictures) to come as the week goes by.

Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Dmac's Update

Everyday is more interesting than the last and yesterday was no exception. We worked in the morning and then prepared for the festivities that were planned to recognize our contributions to Sri Lanka in the PM. After lunch we donned our Sarongs (men) and Saree (women) for a group photo, after which we proceeded to the Tangalle Public School. When we arrived we were overwhelmed by the welcome we received, the children were in their ceremonial uniforms I was asked to wear a beautiful bouquet of flowers around my neck. It seemed fit for royalty. They greeted us with music and dance and the Grade 2 class even did the Hokey Pokey. Nick cut the ribbon for the computer lab. Rhett gave an introductory speech and thanked the School for their warm welcome. It was the perfect combination of Sri Lankan traditional song, costumes and dance combined with the exuberance of children.

Then we were off to Katakelawatta the small village of 24 homes that Tripp Canada built with Softchoice's support. Nick and the Team were there 5 years ago participating in the build. The village consists of 24 modest homes, a community center two shops and a praying center. The residents were granted these homes because they would have lost a family member to the Tsunami. They are hard working, proud people who have very little means. It was a great delight for them to have indoor plumbing in their new homes. We were greeted at the village with flowers and were asked to take our seats in the Community Center. After a warm welcome from the English coach, we were dazzled with a wonderful dance recital. They went from very traditional to Break dancing and even a short version of Cinderella complete with costume changes. It was an exceptional show revealing the Village's pride and diligence. We were touched and honored with the performance. There was a lot of proud parents there, many of which we worked with at the sites. Although their English is sparse their proud smiles said" thank you, we are using your contribution to grow our children". It makes all of our hard work and time seem very worthwhile. We then headed to dinner together as a group to count our blessings and reward ourselves for a successful first week in Sri Lanka.

Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Great Impressions

This may be the first time I have been greeted by nothing but smiles at being a foreigner. We were greeted by song at the school and given packets of leaves by the age 5-11 students. Some people are impressed that Canadians and Americans work together. We are smiled and waved at when driving down the street. Word of our mission here has spread far and wide, and I am so happy to be here to help instead of simply as a tourist. I wonder if I could ever be a tourist in a less fortunate location again? Either way, the 20 computers we’ve assembled as a full time computer lab will surely have a substantial impact on the local community for many years to come.

At another school, we found conditions in much poorer shape than at the Primary school where we installed the computers. They were so grateful for the school supplies, we immediately ran outside and played with some of the athletic equipment we brought. Not everything we did was perfect – I think many students would rather the soccer balls be volleyballs. But I met a small child who latched on, he wanted to be an Olympic athlete and a professional cricket player. Though his classes were taught in Arabic (it's the one Muslim school in the town of the total 95 schools), he knew Sinhalese, Tamil, and English – all are taught as secondary languages at the school. Apparently the Muslim community comes from one section of town that receives much less government attention (road upkeep, recovery aid for example) and yet living with little more than a roof, I saw sparks of intelligence, a great understanding of the English language, and nothing but smiles. I am truly humbled, and I was wide awake at 3am trying to determine how I can connect myself and contribute more to give more opportunities for growth to those I now find myself around.

Bob
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Dmac's Update

Yesterday was another activity filled day. We went to a small desolate 5 room school with over 100 bright and beautiful kids between grade 1 and 5. All are dressed in uniforms with crisp white shirts and little ties. It is hard to imagine the contrast of the facilities and the children's dress. They graciously accepted our donation of school supplies sent by our friends and families back in North America. It is clear that Sri Lankans are very committed to educating their kids for a better tomorrow. However their resources are very thin. Population growth does not seem to be an issue as most families have a minimum of two children. All of the kids love to try out their english on us. Common questions are; "how are you", "what is your name", "where are you from". They smile when we take pictures and love to see to digital image on the back of the camera!

We worked at the home doing more concrete work on the walls. Sergio at 6'2" is the de facto painter as he towers over the Sri Lankan men. Upon our return from lunch we brought a replacement wheel barrow. The one on the work site was at least 30 years old and could no longer hold any sand. The look on the family's face as Sergio wheeled me up the drive in it, was sheer delight. We could now move concrete and sand around at twice the pace. There is so little investment in tools and productivity here by the locals it is sobering. It is clear without external stimulus the development here in Sri Lanka will crawl.

Today we will have the official ceremony at the school with our computer lab. Over 100 guests will attend the event. We will be proud on behalf of the employees of Softchoice to receive their gracious thanks for our contribution to their children's future.

Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Thoughts on hard work

Two days of traveling and three days of working, and that means real work. Of our jobs, one is to contribute to the building of a Trades facility – teaching those in Tangalle to learn carpentry, plumbing, and other professional skills that simply do not exist in abundance within hours of the village.

For starters, this means laying a foundation in 80 degree (and 80 %) meant that within 10 minutes my shirt was drenches and sweat fell down my face. To begin a foundation, one must first dig holes. In the back corner hole we found the hardest dirt on the island - – a sort of a mixture of dry clay and hard rock that simply doesn’t respond to a shovel and comes out one handful at a time. So, we dug the 4 x 4 x 4 hole with a long iron rod and emptied the dirt by hand. Who knew it was possible to dig with a rod? After half a day of work between three people, we were ½ done with that one hole… one more day later and finally the concrete (another extraordinary task when multiple batches are mixed by hand – 40 shovels of sand, 2 wheel barrows of gravel, one bag of cement and plenty of water began to enter the hole.

Simply said, without machines it just takes a tremendous amount of manpower to accomplish anything, and machines cost money. How does a community make the jump? At 700 Rupees per day (about $7) for each worker, and all the time in the world, buildings will continue to be built slowly and at tremendous effort.

Yet with this sort of work and wage, all we find are smiles and pride. This is just my own small example of the magnitude of the effort – and my effort was small relative to those who build day in and out while working twice as fast with half the breaks. They are slender, friendly, with big smiles, knowledge of English, and they don’t seem to ever stop working or welcoming.

Has anyone spoken yet of the tea? 10am is tea time. It is required we sit and rest – and we are served by those we work alongside. It is a new and awkward experience, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. A few minutes later we bring a football or a frisbee and lighten the mood – it’s appreciated all the way around.

I don’t know the purpose of the above story aside from showing my admiration of those who are born and build their lives with humble expectations on this beautiful island.

Bob Hardin
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Dmac's Update

We had a pretty inspiring day today. We worked in the morning at three different sites. In the afternoon we visited two schools and gave them all of the school supplies donated by our friends and families. At both schools we were warmly received and encouraged by their optimism and grace. Heather and Karly inspired our team with their speech to each school. Lastly we gave the local Soccer club all of our donated cleats. Bob Hardin was our spokesman and explained Softchoices' intent to make a difference with our trip to Sri Lanka. The Club President appreciated our support. Thanks everybody for your support.

Dmac (Softchoice President)
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 4

This morning, we had another labor intensive morning. We switched it up a bit by having teams go to different locations. Today our group went to the Sri Lankan family’s home to make cement from scratch, literally. We sifted the dirt before we mixed it with cement and water. We then used the cement to speckle the walls. The technique looks really easy…but don’t let that fool you.

During the afternoon, our mission was to deliver some of our donations to 2 schools and a soccer league. The first school was an all-boys school where we dropped off 2 duffel bags of school supplies. The teachers didn’t miss the opportunity to also mention that they also needed computer equipment and that many of the children needed black shoes for school. It’s tough sometimes when you realize that there are so many other things that can be done….

The second school made the other schools look like private schools. It was a small Muslim school of just over 100 students. When we opened the duffel bags, we took out the school supplies but what received the most reaction from the students were the skipping ropes and balls. Immediately, they ran outside with them to test them out. I was a little taken by surprise when I saw the yellow smiley face beach ball appear in their court yard. You see, this was one of the toys my 3 and half year old son decided to part with for the kids in Sri Lanka. Before the trip, I wasn’t sure if it was too cheap to pack as it probably only cost me less than $1 and I didn’t want to insult the children by giving them this cheap toy. All those concerns evaporated when I saw those kids play with that ball. Immediately, I had to join them and play what looked like a their version of beach volleyball. It felt so nice to connect with these boys and see how they appreciated this blow up ball knowing that they will get miles out of it. It was certainly a bitter sweet moment for me. And of course, I got a little (maybe a lot) chocked up when I shared my story with my colleagues during dinner time.

Our last stop of the day was at the soccer/cricket field where we dropped off all our cleats, soccer balls and a few other sporting equipment. Some of the kids followed us from the Muslim school and played a bit of soccer with us. It was pretty impressing to see them maneuver the ball with their bare feet.

I think it’s fair to say that the whole group feels pretty blessed to be part of this experience and greeted by such friendly people in Sri Lanka. This is certainly a experience I that will remain with me for a lifetime.

Carolyn
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 3

Oh boy, it’s our third day here and it’s been exhausting. We’ve started work at all the sites (the first full day) and we have a whole lot of our folks tired and exhausted but our spirits keep on going. Some of the highlights are:

- David MacDonald, Softchoice President, himself sporting a few nice juicy blisters (we followed the Sri Lankan technique for digging holes which was quite primitive compared to our North American standards)

- The children at Tangalle Primary School swarming around us and asking the Softchoice Cares board for autographs. Picture a rock concert and a dozen white North Americans amongst a hundred children holding up their notepads and asking for our autographs. So what did we do? We gave them our autographs!! Now we know what it feels like to be celebrities.

-The computer lab is finally setup!! We had our first set of visitors after classes – the kids sure are learning fast. However, the teachers are our number 1 priority, the first set of classes start tomorrow.

-James Corless shaking his booty at the late night beach party!

It was a long hard day, the team is tired! We still got a few more days ahead of us and we’re all pumped and excited!

Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 2

Yesterday was our first day where we had the opportunity to start working. However, before all three teams went to their posts to work (locations were: computer lab at school, a Tangalle family home and the Kalawatta Trades Training Center) we were given a tour of our locations all three locations plus we went to the Kelakettawatta community. Each place we went we were treated like royalty. The people here are so friendly and hospitable.

The first visit was the school. I got goosebumps when I saw the beautiful children lined up to greet us. They also gave us each a stack of beetle leaves which is a gesture to welcome us. Children were beating the drums and waving to us with huge bright smiles.

We then went to visit some homes that were built by Developing World Connections. We saw the before and after homes and even though the new ones were very modest in our standards the contrast was unbelievable. It feels good to be able to see what kind of impact we have with just a few weeks of work.

At the Kelakettawatta community, we were greeted with a welcome sign and each family stood at their door-front to greet us as we walked down the street. We were served a lunch before we headed to our work locations.

We only spent a few hours of work in the afternoon but let me tell you, we already have an appreciation for the workers who do this regularly. At the Kelakettawatta Trades Training Center, we dug holes with no machines!! At the Tangalle family home, the group learned how to spackle walls. After a short day of work (which seemed much longer), most of the folks took swim at the beach and after dinner everyone went to sleep.

We're looking forward for day 3!

Anonymous
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Day 1 - Arrival

It's been two days since we've gotten here. The computer lab is in great shape and as we have internet access here, we're now able to blog and post pictures (hopefully more frequently).

We arrived in Sri Lanka, around 3am in the morning. We were greeted by Dave and Nick - at that point we've been traveling for around 24 hrs. But we still had 6 more hours to go. Our driver Anil drove us through Colombo and through the surrounding area to get us to the Palm Paradise Cabanas.

The Palm Paradise Cabanas is a beautiful place, it's almost surreal. We can hear the ocean waves continuously and the beach is awesome. Everyone we've met in Sri Lanka has been very nice and generous. Georgina was also greeted with some new friends - a small pack of puppies looking for attention!

By 4:30pm everyone was exhausted. Most of us have traveled for 30 hours (or more) and trying to stay up was quite the exercise. We had an assortment of curry for dinner and boy was that delicious!

I think it's safe to say by the time dinner was finished, everyone crashed and had a good night sleep! More to come.

Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Here we go!

The team started work today by getting right to it. We took the laptops generously donated by HP to the Tangalle Primary School. They had prepared a classroom for us by getting desks and Internet access - both of which were purchased by Softchoice Cares with money that was raised by Softchoice's people. It was a bit of mayhem but we were all moved by the children who welcomed us when we arrived.

We also had the opportunity to visit the original village where Softchoice helped build homes for people affected by the Christmas 2004 Tsunami. It was amazing to see the growth of bushes and shrubs to fill in the community. I recognized some of the children and they too had grown in the 4 1/2 years since we were in Sri Lanka.

Two of our side projects are helping a poor family to get a roof on their home. We will be using some of our manpower to help finish the house before the monsoon season. This family is a lovely couple with two children- both of whom attend the Tangalle Primary School. The other project is a development project where we are helping build a trades training facility.

More stories and pictures to follow!

Anonymous
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Arrived Safely

The whole team arrived here early this morning at the airport in Colombo. Our next step was to drive 5+ hours to Tangalle. We are settled at the Palm Paradise hotel and we all need a good nights sleep - tomorrow is our first full day working!

Nick Foster
DWC Team Leader
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: The Magic

The people of Softchoice are passionate about making a difference in the world. That might be by providing a day or work in a local community or it might be volunteering with the skills we have learned in our business.

The thing that we have learned through the many things we have done is that we are in the computer business and the best way to help in the world - to play to our strengths is to find ways to help people bridge the divide that exists between people who have access to technology and those who don't.

We have funded computer classrooms with Room to Read. We have paid for classrooms and school setups with One Laptop Per Child. We have funded charities like the Chiki Children's Charity to build computer labs in small villages. In North America we have set up computers in Women's shelters and other local charities.

But, our experience is really challenged when we travel to poor countries and start a technology program from scratch. Our people traveled to Uganda one year. And Rwanda the next. This year we head to Sri Lanka.

We first had some experience with Sri Lanka shortly after the Tsunami. Softchoice people raised $85,000 and that money was used to help people in Sri Lanka. We helped people get their lives back by building houses and supporting children through World Vision.

This trip is a return to Sri Lanka but this time where our purpose is aligned with our business. We will start a computer program in a primary school in Tangalle. Our business partners are helping us with the materials. Softchoice employees have raised money that pays for things like fixing the classroom up, buying desks and chairs and purchasing the items we can't get donated. Softchoice pays for flights, food and hotels from the company expense budget. And all of this adds up to opportunity for the children of Tangalle. I feel so lucky to be part of a company that has such a wide vision that this kind of thing is possible. This has no financial bottom line impact for Softchoice but we do it because it is the right thing to do. Reaching out and assisting others isn't about writing a check. It is about taking a risk, making an effort, demonstrating a caring that needs no thank-you. That is the magic.

Nick Foster
DWC Team Leader
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Computer Lab Update

Hey All,

We are about a day and half away from departing to Tangalle, Sri Lanka where we're going to build a computer lab. The past week has been quite chaotic trying to get all the final arrangements in place. I am pleased to say that everything is coming to place despite a few minor delays.

I would like thank our sponsors:

* Hewlett Packard - 20 Brand New Laptops!!
* Microsoft Hardware - 30 Mice & 5 Web Cams!
* Softchoice Corporation - WD MyBook 2TB NAS

With a day left, we are still expecting some more generous donations.

Stay tuned for more updates over the next couple of days!

Chris
DWC Participant
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: The countdown begins

In 2 days, the Softchoice Cares group will be leaving for Sri Lanka. After months of preparation, I can’t believe it is almost time to go! I think we are all very excited about the opportunity to have a positive impact in Tangalle but some of us may be a little nervous about what to expect. I’m told it’s raining quite a bit!!!

Softchoice employees and friends have donated many items… to the point where our duffel bags are almost full! We have received school supplies, kids clothes, first aid supplies, soccer cleats, toys etc… This translates to approx. 750 pounds of donations!!!!

Chris Tang is working like mad to get all 20 computers loaded and ready to go to Sri Lanka for the computer lab in their school! I know he’ll get it done on time though, Go Chris, Go!

Nick Foster
DWC Team Leader
Sri Lanka 2010

Tangalle, Sri Lanka: Welcome to the 2010 Softchoice cares blog

This year the Softchoice Cares board made the decision to revisit the first location to where Softchoice Cares all started, Sri Lanka. In December of 2004, a devastating tsunami struck South East Asia. Following the catastrophe a few employees decided to raise money to support the massive relief effort. Their example caused a chain reaction company-wide and Softchoice Cares was born.

The decision to go to Sri Lanka went through a lot of debate and the board felt that revisiting Tangalle, Sri Lanka would have a largest impact on the employees of Softchoice.

The goal of the 2010 mission is to:

* Build a computer lab at Tangalle Primary School
* Educate and train teachers and students on computer basics
* Build a training facility
* Participate in a Habitat for Humanity build in Galle
* Revisit the location(s) from the previous board

This year the entire board is participating in the mission. Additional participants to the mission include:

* David MacDonald - Softchoice President and Chief Executive Officer
* Rachelle Goddard
* Cédric Morel Delarue

Nick Foster
DWC Team Leader
Sri Lanka 2010