March 13: Day 13 - Final Day on the Project Site

Today is the last day of the project and the stage is pretty well completed. Anil announced to us that the costs of construction were less than anticipated so between that and a donation from the DWC group there is enough to complete the stage with a steel roof!

After that, we were invited to Navajeevana at 10 am for the final celebration. The ceremony started with the boiling of the milk - a tradition that brings prosperity. When the milk boils over it assures abundance and success on the site. This is followed by the lighting of the oil lamps, after which we planted two red calla lily plants on either side of the stage.

Marcia Julian 

DWC Team Leader 

Sri Lanka: March 2015

March 4 & 5: Days 4 and 5 - Work Continues and Poya

We continue to work on the site helping Podi with cement for the stone walls and filling the inside of the stage with fill to support the final top layer of cement. Kumi and her staff have been fabulous and we've enjoyed a couple of traditional Sri Lankan lunches on Navajeevana's breezy deck.

The 5th is Poya which is the monthly celebration of the full moon. It's a national holiday and Navajaveevana is strangely quiet as the children, mothers and staff have the day off. No rest for Podi and his crew - or for us, however!

Marcia Julian 

DWC Team Leader 

Sri Lanka, March 2015

March 2: Day 2 - Working on the project & at the eye clinic

We were going to tour the DWC project sites, but got word that the project needed us! The first day was seeing the site of the project - Navajeevana means "new life" and is a non-profit organization that provides services for people with disabilities.

Its founder and Executive Director is Kumi - a lovely, energetic, passionate, and charming 75 year old who has committed her life to the work. Kumi is a dynamic woman and a strong leader in her field.

The project is to build an outdoor stage that will be used both by the facility for the children's shows and also as a revenue generator for Navajaveena as they can rent the stage for community functions.

The work needed to start to get the cement foundations set for the rest of the masonry. We met Podi, the master mason. He is a delightful, hard working man, and we took to him immediately.

We also started training with the eyeglasses clinic. Cathy had arranged for 3000 readers/sunglasses mix that the BC team brought as donations from Clearly Contacts. She had also donated 100 pairs of distance eye adjusters from Eyejusters, a an amazing company that was founded to create adjustable glasses for hundreds of millions of people worldwide with poor vision. Each pair of glasses has adjustment dials that can change the prescription in an instant! Kumi had her staff attend the clinics, and the training of staff proceeded. They were thrilled!

Marcia Julian
DWC Team Leader
Sri Lanka: March 2015