Project Sri Lanka 2013 has been truly rewarding and emotional experience. I was so pleased that the money people had given to us as wedding gifts went to such successful projects and the building of the well. As a team I was very proud of the work we have achieved with all the villages we worked with and how Laura battled through her injury and did a brilliant job in leading the team.

Having been before I didn’t want to compare my previous trip to this one. I enjoyed that this time the project was very different with the community development side. It was great to work with the villagers in a supporting role to enable them to use the skills they have effectively to enable them to be a self sustaining community making a profit from their work. All of the villagers were motivated and keen they just simply needed a nudge in the right direction and the resources to get the projects started. It is also good to know that the projects will continue and that the villagers have really benefited in the long term from the time we spent with them. As we spent more time in the villages and also in the pre schools it created a good balance and enabled us to work with people of all ages. I made good relationships with many of the teachers, particularly Madushani who became a close friend by the end of the trip. Due to her age we could relate to each other and with her getting married she was very excited and liked to share this with me. I also developed a strong relationship with the Rassandenyia teacher who was so kind to us all and who really got involved with the after school club. All of the projects were successful and it was great that each member took on a project that they enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed going to Hippola. The opening of the well was a very special day as I could how important the well was to the villagers. I thoroughly enjoyed staying with the family and would have loved to have stayed for longer. It was also great to go back to Aththudawa and work with them. It was a shame to see that the building wasn’t being used after seeing it last time so full of life with the pre-school children. However, I enjoyed working with the Sarvoyda members and hope that by pushing for the papers that they needed the work they hope to achieve becomes a reality soon enough.

I will miss Sri Lanka and as always the time has gone too quick it doesn’t feel like two minutes since we on route there. Thank you for enabling both my husband and I to share in this project this summer we have thoroughly enjoyed it and we are so proud of what everyone has achieved when talking about it to family and friends. Please do keep us up to date with how the projects are going.