7:30 am and the morning alarm went off. The day had finally arrived. People were showering, doing make up and hair(and that was just the boys), all waiting to be dressed. It was like going to a very important wedding!

Lali’s wife and ladies from the village had come to help all the girls into their saris. Some chose to go Kandyian style other chose the Indian style. Hannah and I chose Kandyian style as we thought it complemented our figures the most!

We were running late and finally got into the van on our last journey to our beautiful village of Aththudawa. As we got closer we could see the abundance of villagers that had came out to greet us and watch our closing ceremony unfold.

We were greeted by Bandula from Sarvodya who was taken aback by the sight of the team in all their beautiful saris.

As we entered the pre-school Tharindu, a boy from after school club, popped balloons of confetti over our heads. We walked into see all our pre-school children sat very smartly in their school uniforms. Yet, as always, Lahiru and Yasidu had cheeky grins on their faces. Rasika looked radiant in her pregnancy in her golden sari.

The ceremony started with Laura, team leader, giving a brief welcoming speech. We all then burst into a PSL anthem, the ‘Hello Song’ complete with over dramatised actions.

All of our acts and speeches were received very well, especially the girls authentic Sri-Lankan dance and the boys renewed version of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ to ‘Sweet home Aththudawa’. Bandula could not convey how thankful they were for the song; he said it meant a lot.

The pre-school children along with after school children performed some songs and a short play. It was great to see how much their English had improved over the eight weeks we had been working with them. Seeing them use English with such ease and confidence was a really proud moment.

Rasika ended the ceremony with a lovely speech, mentioning how lonely she will be when we leave. It was really touching, but she’s doing a great job and we know the children’s future education will be safe in her hands.

The village children then began presenting us with home made gifts such as, flowers, cards and individual letters. It was really unexpected but so lovely of them to do. Sarvodya also proceeded to give us all an individual gift, which turned out to be a lovely wooden wall hanging of elephants and birds.

We then proceeded to a villager’s house for lunch. The ladies house we went to had once attended the house wives English classes and her husband is a police man. Her children came to the after school club too, they are a really sweet family.

They laid on a banquet for us outside including our favourite Sri-Lankan dishes. They were so welcoming and kind, it reminded us of one of the reasons why we have grown so fond of Sri-Lanka.

After speaking to Bandula and having him confirm us as the ‘Best Team Ever’, it was time to go. It was all officially over. It was really sad to say our final goodbyes to Rasika and some of the children.

As we drove off we caught a final glimpse of our beautiful school and hoped that it would always remain the happy learning environment that we and Rasika have created over the past eight weeks.

WE LOVE ATHTHUDAWA!!!!