Care & Community Volunteer Stories, Sri Lanka

Care & Community in Sri Lanka - Patricia Bardin Dit Courageot Let me introduce myself. My name is Patricia and I'm a 45 year old chemist from France. This summer, I chose to spend my holidays with disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka. Projects abroad placed me at an orphanage, situated about 1 or 2 hours from Colombo, on the West coast near Kalutara. So on the 3rd July 2007 I discovered Don Bosco Boy's Home near Maggona, which was surrounded by coconut trees. I stayed there for one month and sharing in the daily lives of those children was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I could not have imagined beforehand the emotional attachment I would form in my relationships with them.

Care & Community in Sri Lanka - Ruth Malthouse I was working at the orphanage for 2 ½ weeks before Alex - a fellow Projects Abroad volunteer from England joined me. Her arrival was great - it meant that we could be more adventurous and invent new games. It also meant that we could split the group into two. Alex would take one group of children and I would take the other. It made the afternoons much better as it had been very stressful trying to cope with 20 young and lively persons.

Care & Community in Sri Lanka - Katie Finlay When I arrived in Wadduwa I had no idea what was in store for me or what to expect, but the whole experience blew me away. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, from the Projects Abroad staff to my host family and room mate. The culture was the biggest thing to get used to and the simplistic way of life there, we were constantly being stared at for being white, more from curiosity than hostility, but the attention we received was incredible.