Today was a very exciting day for us all.  We went to our village Kirelewella for the official opening of the pre- school.  We arrived in the village and were greeted by all the village people and the children who were dressed in their uniform.  All the community were so eager to present each of us with beautiful bunches of red lilies and the boys were also given a flower garland round their necks.  It was such a warm welcome and quite emotional as the community were so excited to show us round the school and were so proud of the building. 

As we walked towards the school there were lots of musical instruments playing which really showed just how important the opening ceremony was for the community.  I think we were all taken aback as we didn’t expect it to be such a fantastic building.  It really showed us how our fundraising money can stretch so far in a country like Sri Lanka.  We all predicted the building to be a very empty shell but the standard was so impressive and the children had decorated the pre- school with drawings and wall hangings.  We were also surprised to see a second level to the building, which we soon found out was a new bank for the village to increase future economy and savings – a really great idea.  It was brilliant to see a multi-purpose building which could help everyone in some way. 

We had a table of food also waiting for us, which seems to be Sri Lankan custom.   The festivities took place after this as we all sat outside and watched numerous performances on a little stage that had been set up, including traditional dancing and singing with beautiful and wonderful costumes.  Both children and adults were involved in the dances which was lovely.  We were also informed that one particular head piece worn by two men was very important because they had fasted the previous week in order to be spiritually cleansed and worthy. This made the group feel very special that the community had gone to so much effort for our arrival.  Laura, Lauren and Joe delivered a speech which incorporated all of our thanks and appreciation for the welcome we were met with.  We all came together to sing Happy Birthday to Lauren at the end of the festivities which is only the beginning of our cultures coming together! 

After this we were given yet more food at a house that a lady had opened up for the village, demonstrating their kindness and generosity again.  So feeling very full we all left the village, all very excited to help teach in our pre-school next week and onwards.