Day Four

After a very hot and exhausting (yet totally wonderful) day at the Vellaimanal project near Trincomalee some of us went for a refreshing dip in the beautifully clear water just around China Bay. The others caught up on some much needed sleep and we regrouped for dinner. We went to a lovely ‘authentic’ (read: slightly shabby but incredibly delicious) vegetarian restaurant. We were provided with a range of curries and an array off dosai (a thin pancake-like bread). We ate well and it was great for the drivers to sit and eat with us, and we were all stunned when the bill came to 300 rupees or £1.50 per head.

We had another very civilised morning, leaving the hotel at 9am to start the drive to Batticaloa; team headquarters for the next 4 days. We stopped on our way out of Trincomalee to see the Thrikkuswaran Kovil, a Hindu temple with a long and fascinating history. We received blessing and a sacred thread tied around the rest by a holy man and complete with ash markings on our foreheads we jumped into the vans and back on the road. After a hassle free 3 hour drive down the beautiful coastal road we made it to Hotel Bridge View (no bridges in sight) and were joined shortly after by the Calthorpe Park team.

We had a huge meeting of 60 people (both teams, translators, helpers and teachers and students from the Sri Lankan school) and it was fantastic to see the children from both sides of the link start to form friendships so quickly. Everybody is very excited for the few days ahead and anxious to see how things will work out. It’s going to be hard for me to leave tomorrow night with so much going on but I look forward to being on the other side of these blogs for the first time in five years!

It’s a blessing to see the hard work of the team on the ground in Batticaloa come to fruition, and I have no doubt that it will be a powerful and moving experience for all involved.

Love

Matt