The weather certainly changed at the beginning of this week.  Both Tuesday and Wednesday brought a very heavy monsoon downpour and this made the 8 hour bus journey on Wednesday daunting in the constant rain. On top of this we were over an hour late due to the truck we were following up the road getting stuck on an electrical pylon. The darkness had already set in as we eventually got through, however all this was quickly forgotten when we arrived in the village of Hippola. We have seen exactly where the money we raised has gone. Our trip to Hippola has been a fantastic experience and we loved every minute of it. The ceremony really was a visual reminder of exactly what we are here to do. It was so rewarding to see the final result of everyone’s hard work from the generous gifts of money given by friends and family in the UK, and the construction work carried out by villagers. We also had the chance to spend two nights with a family in the village which was such an interesting experience and, even after just two days; we felt part of the family having being welcomed with such kindness. Despite the language barrier our evenings were spent talking and learning, with our understanding of Sinhala getting a small boost (very small!). This was aided by the eldest daughter speaking very good English. So despite staying with them for less than 48 hours it was difficult to say goodbye come Friday morning as we headed back into Kandy.