As the Tuk-tuk struggled up to the pre-school in Gandarawatte, Becki, Fiona and I immediately noticed our favourite monk smiling and waving at us. This could only mean one thing…food time. After breakfasting with the monk, we moved on to work in the pre-school. The children’s faces lit up as we entered the school building – an image we will never forget. We felt so welcome here in the village, as though we couldn’t do enough to support them. We were asked to perform a few English songs and nursery rhymes with the children – all of which went down a treat. Before we knew it, an hour had passed and it was time for their arts and crafts session. I was beginning to worry a little as arts and crafts is really not my forte. However, making bunnies out of coconut shells and cotton wool was perfect for my level of art competency. We sat with the children and got stuck in making or bunnies with great results all round.

As school ended we were all invited to the Sarvodaya Orginisation’s meeting hall where district meetings were held. The hall also doubled up as a bank for the village. We were offered Roti and Halipers (a tasty sugar and coconut mixture cooked in leaves). The language barrier was a small issue which meant that the only way to break the ice was to stand in the middle of the room and dance and be danced at. This was all in good spirit and we all felt that our friendship within the group had reached a new level.