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
Friday, October 22, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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