The Nottingham Emmanuel School Partnership with Udamalaya School, Hambantota (Sri Lanka)
Friendship, turtles , new windows and new horizons.
It’s Wednesday evening but already we feel like we have been in Sri Lanka for a much longer time. This isn’t just because our time has been so action-packed, but rather because our relationships are deepening way beyond that of friends who met just 2 days ago.
The talk has gone beyond the superficial, now having met the families of our buddies. We have grown in our relationships and learned a lot about ourselves.
As a team we had visited a local conservation project protecting the eggs of rare sea turtles, including the magnificent leatherback turtle. The beach was beautiful, red and golden sand flowed into each other as they swept down towards the Indian Ocean. Across the bay the southern-most tip of Sri Lanka pierced the blue hue of water and a warm breeze blew on us. We loved this place and upon hearing about the work that goes on, meeting the dedicated men who worked there and understanding the importance of this work, the students made a choice to support the work by building a shelter to protect these eggs from predators and the sea.
Back at our partner school, our buddies were fast becoming not just our work colleagues but our friends. Together we had looked at the ‘Funglish Café’, a teaching space created by Umayango, a teacher who was desperate to inspire students to develop a love of English, in order to decide together what work was needed, together, we all made suggestions and together, we agreed on the work that was needed. Two most pressing issues were agreed upon: the roof and the windows. The roof needed repair after the monkeys had broken the tiles and the windows, boarded up to keep bats out, needed to have working glass frames to let in air and provide protection. The rest of the physical work was to involve a room redesign and a freshening up of the paint work… the work had begun!
As we threw ourselves whole-heartedly into this work we also embarked upon an equally important aspect of the visit. Everyone paired up and made a lesson to demonstrate how English can be taught using the teaching aids we had brought for the school. A wonderful array of 10 minute activities were created by all of the young people and together with their buddies, lessons were delivered in the school yard throughout Tuesday afternoon. Groups of children were led from station to station to take part in singing, a puppet show, word games and even a spot of water pistol shooting! The response was incredible, the school was buzzing with excitement as more and more children poured out of their lesson to witness for themselves the uni que activities that had been created. Soon, it felt as if the whole school had been swept up in a desire to see for themselves how much fun learning English could be. Everyone loved their time and as teachers, we were amazed at how fast the students changed and adapted their lesson from group to group as they perfected their tasks. We felt as if we had arrived and we were completely immersed in the project, this project has got real and we all feel so alive!
Our visit to see pot bowls being made was to prove to be an unexpected and reflective activity. We were taken to the home of a lady who lost her husband, her home and her livelihood. She was destitute, living in rags with two young children and her prospects were looking bleak indeed. Our host, Karu, had supported her through his foundation and supplied her with a simple machine to manufacture simple clay pots. 11 years on, we visited her and her pot making machine. Her new husband worked with her as her children and grandchildren looked on and they involved all of the students in making some pots. Despite living so simply and having so few material possessions, the family unit was flourishing and our hosts were so kind and generous, hosting us so warmly. We left with a real insight into how other people live and what matters in life. The bus journey home was a quiet, reflective ride…
Wednesday was an inspiring, challenging and ultimately rewarding day which for many of us will be the stand-out highlight of our time here. We began the day with the buddies coming to meet us at ‘our home’ to see where we were living. After a tour of the area we all went to the beach to show our friends how to play games with a rainbow parachute. The enjoyment people had was immense, everybody was involved and the beach was soon filled with laughter and joy as all students worked together as a team. Later that morning our buddies taught us a game called ‘Kabadi’ which we loved and as I watched the students play I could not help being filled with such a sense of contentment seeing students from two sides of the world just loving each other’s company. This trip is really demonstrating how quickly people can overcome language and culture to find common bonds of friendship that are tied together in a real acceptance and love for each other.
After an impromptu volley ball game back at the school, the students were taken to their buddy’s home for lunch and to meet the families. Initially, we were all anxious about how this would work out but when the time came, we went without a moment’s hesitation. A few hours later we reconvened to share inspirational accounts of how lunch had gone and to compare stories with each other about life at our buddies’ home. For many, entire families had been present, people from across all generations and the food that had been made was not just delicious but made in such quantities that a small army would have been well fed. The generosity and warmth from the families has touched us all and I have no doubt will stay with each person for a very long time.
Our last activity before retiring to dinner was a trip with our buddies to visit a historic mountain Temple. The setting was mind-blowing, tropical wilderness that seemed to stretch for miles encircled a rocky outcrop. Into this outcrop nestled a White Temple building and on top natural pools gave life to colourful water lilies and revealed a breathtaking vista of the nature around us. As we have experienced everywhere else, we were warmly welcomed into the Temple and after observing how Buddhists practise their faith, we were given time to meet with the Monk who was in charge of this extraordinary building. As the sun began to set we left the Temple to watch the dying daylight sink into the landscape around us and we sat for a few minutes in silence as night fell to a slowly rising crescendo of crickets and the stars began to peer through the gloom. Moments like these truly are moments to treasure.