Liesl's Journal

23RD APRIL

April which is the month of fruits and flowers in Sri Lanka attracts many migratory birds and most of them visit the quiet school yard in the evenings.

The school closed for the April vacation with Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations round the corner. On April 13 and 14, when the sun moves from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) in astrological terms, Sinhala and Tamil communities together celebrate the dawn of the New Year, which is one of the most important and looked-forward-to cultural events, signifying the unity of two ancient communities in Sri Lanka.
For the Sinhalese, it is ‘Aluth Avurudu’ and the Tamils, it is ‘Puththandu’. The greetings on these days are "Subha Aluth Avuruddak Weva" in Sinhala and "Putthandu Nal Walthukkal" in Tamil-meaning a happy and prosperous New Year.
For the villagers young and old in Lunugamwehera, this is the time to feast with many traditional dishes on the table, new clothes, visitors and special games in which the whole village participates.
Tharanga and I were happy to be in the village during the time of New Year festivities to continue the teacher training sessions. It was very encouraging to see the eager faces of the trainees who joined in the classes despite having festive celebrations in their homes.   

migratory birds in the lake	the colourful school yard

25TH APRIL

We received a humble invitation to visit the home of Sugathadasa – the B2P Caretaker (Watcher). B2P reached out to rebuild his house which was damaged by wild elephants. His immediate and extended family were awaiting our arrival and we were treated to a most delicious traditional sweetmeat of ‘halapa’ – a mixture of ‘kurrakkan’ (whole-wheat) flour, coconut and honey, wrapped in a leaf and steamed, while listening to vivid stories of free roaming elephants in the area.      

sugathadasa's home rebuilt

26TH APRIL

Information of an ancient temple built approx. 2500 years ago was shared with us by the trainees at our training program. We visited the site of these ruins in Thissamaharamaya, 7 miles away from Lunugamwehera. We also visited the Weerawila Lake – home to many migratory birds. This man-made lake was built during the period of King Kawantissa, father of a great king who freed Sri Lanka from foreign domination, Dutugamunu, who ruled the country in 210 - 161 BC. We enjoyed the nature surrounding the lake, while watching flocks of noisy parrots and water birds that flew over us.

the ancient temple

27TH APRIL

It was a memorable day for the candidates at our training program.  Some of the academic staff of LPF Academy, our sister school, visited B2P to participate in the ‘English day’. They helped the trainees with their English conversation skills.   

our sister schools visits B2P

28th APRIL     

Tharanga and I left for home after a tiring but fulfilling week at our teacher training program at Lunugamwehera. Sri Lanka was playing in the finals of the Cricket World Cup against Australia. Cricket is a much loved and revered game in Sri Lanka with some of our national cricketers reaching the highest in the game with many world records to their credit. 

As we passed through the deserted towns on our way home, we realised that everyone was getting ready to watch the match on television !!

25TH MAY

The trees in the school yard are full of fruits ! They are all organic produce with no chemical fertiliser applied at any given time. Sugathadasa is having a tough time shielding the produce from monkeys and birds. It was interesting to see the methods he engages to keep the animals and birds away. He lights fire crackers every few hours to frighten them. We were glad to see that these fruits supplement the B2P children’s daily meals. I was fortunate to taste one of the first few ‘chemical free’ papayas that were picked.  It was truly delicious!

the fruitful school garden

16TH JUNE

Teacher trainees were given an opportunity to apply what they have learnt in the program, to real life situations. As they sat with the children at B2P and worked with so much dedication, care and understanding, we felt that we have truly made a remarkable change in their lives.

The school has planned a ‘perehara’ (pageant) to commemorate the day Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka, which falls on the full moon day in June. They eagerly had a rehearsal to show me the dances that is supposed to be in the pageant.

the colourful pageant

28TH JUNE

Today was the ‘Poson’ celebrations at B2P.  Children in all their finery participated in a colourful ‘perehara’ (pageant). Parents, as much as the children, were excited too. The passers-by stopped to watch the little dancers as they paraded the streets in the vicinity of the school. There were ‘lee keli’, ‘kulu dance’, ‘Wadiga Patuna’ to name a few dances and of course the Buddhist flag bearers.  The decorated bicycles which went ahead of the procession were a colourful addition to the Perehara.

It was dusk when I left Lunugamwehera. As we drove through the Udawalawe wildlife sanctuary which is in close proximity to Lunugamwehera, we encountered a large herd of about 30 elephants. The shortage of water, which is a common phenomenon in this area, had driven them to the reservoir on the other side of the village, for a drink. That was a magnificent sight !!

15TH JULY

We had a training session for the trainees today. As they had a two-week break, the training session lasted longer than anticipated. Lunugamwehera is in the brink of another drought. The land is dry and dusty and the wells nearby have already dried up. It is now a common sight especially the women, walking many miles to a government-facilitated source of water.
The earth is cracked; the cattle are aimlessly wandering for even one blade of grass. The situation is pretty bad.
The thought of having access to water only on a weekly basis may be unimaginable. However, this is the hard reality of the situation in Lunugamwehera. The value of what is normally taken for granted is evident as people gather along the roadsides until the ‘water bowser’ arrives on its weekly or bi-weekly rounds. Most people in the drought-stricken areas currently live on several litres of water per day.
In the hype of the moment, most of us focus on the short term relief such as food and water in these areas, but tend to overlook the problems that arise later such as the diseases that will appear, especially among the children, when it does start to rain.