Posted in Sri Lanka on November 14, 2024
November 10, 2024
The team rose to a Sri Lankan breakfast and to the sights and sounds of orphaned elephants.
We are staying at the Grand Royal Pinnalanda. It backs onto the Ma-Oya River, which is a hang out for most of the elephants from Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
This elephant orphanage is a major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka, yet, the elephants were the chillest of celebrities!
Jim, our team leader, met with us for orientation. He is passionate and knowledgeable about our build. He knows how to contribute and collaborate with the team.
After lunch:
Corina, Peter, Jaime, Catherine, Tanja, Rob, Mike, and Nancy visited the New Luck Uyana Herbal Gardens for a lesson in herbal remedies. It was informative and some of us received massages. We also visited the Mahamevnawa Amadahara Buddhist Monastery which was serene and peaceful. Our third stop was Club Concept Elephant Safaris where Corina, Catherine, and Jamie rode elephants, washed and fed them. It was a bucket list item for Jaime. And, to add icing to the cake (pun intended) it was her 45th birthday!
Jim and David drove out to the build site to check it out before our arrival on Monday.
Jane decided to spend the afternoon around the hotel grounds. And why wouldn’t she? With elephants in abundance!
We celebrated Jaime’s 45th with a traditional Sri Lankan dinner and a gorgeous home made birthday cake. After the festivities Jaime sang two songs with the band!
The team teased that it will be hard for Jaime to beat this extraordinary birthday!
We departed the restaurant for a good night’s sleep in the anticipation of an exceptional two weeks ahead.
Sometimes when you put the right people in the right location with the right mindset…
Magic happens.
-NH
Sri Lanka Blog- November 11, 2024
Today was a very busy day! Lest We Forget! We all wore our poppies and had our Canadian flag hanging behind all 11 of us as we commemorated Remembrance Day and honoured all Canadians, past and present, who have served their country in time of war. Nancy read the script to honor our soldiers, read out the names of the fallen that died on November 11th and then she played the Flanders Field song, finishing with two minutes of silence.
Right after that, at 7:30 am, we all piled in our van that holds all 13 of us squeezed together to get to our first day of the Build Site at Tismalpola School, Pinnawala. As we drove into the school area, a parade of students, teachers and parents were waiting for us. We got out of the van and walked behind the students who were playing a keyboard marching over to the main school area in a parade like fashion. We were given a necklace with flowers and coconut leaves from the parents, students and teachers.
Once inside, each of us were asked to approach the front of the ceremony stage to light the oil lamp decoration.
Presentations took place after we were seated. A Grade 7 student who spoke very good English welcomed us. Many other presentations were made by the Principal, the Mayor, Jim Little and other SLCDF members. We were also entertained by singing and dancing of various ages of the students. It truly was a spectacular event.
My personal feelings today were very emotional and truly, I felt the gratitude that the whole school community were of us Canadians, coming here to help renovate their school, so the students can continue to learn separately by their grade levels. It certainly made each of us want to get to work immediately and to work hard to make that difference for them.
After the ceremony, we went to the room where we will be meeting everyday, while Jim had to find out what our duties were to be for the rest of the day. It mostly consisted of putting sand in bags and forming a chain line to get it up on the top floor, while others worked on Rebar. Even the local women of all ages were helping.
Our breaks consisted of sweet tea and savoury cookies and bananas at 10:00. We had many water breaks as it was hot, hot, HOT!!!!! Our lunch (12:30) was at one of the parents home which was right beside where we were building. Her husband, whom was a police man, just recently retired, had died a year ago of heart trouble. She has three children whom are actively involved in the school with after school extra activities.
Lunch consisted of various rice dishes, a pasta dish for David whom has nut allergies, veggies, spicy chicken, and other Sri Lankan dishes that I forget the names of. Our last break was at 3:00, followed up by finishing at 3:30. We, again crammed into the van to return to the Hotel in time to watch the elephants trot up the hill as they went back to their sanctuary.
We did our traditional Mosey Circle in the pool with our beer in hand, conversing on howour day was. Supper at 6:30, then up to bed at 8:00, sleep at 9:00….zzzzzz! That was First Day of the Build!
Sri Lanka Blog – November 12, 2024
We woke this morning to cloudy skies which encouraged us a bit after yesterday’s heat and the rain in the night, however as we arrived at the school worksite it was clear to us that this day was going to be even more sunny, hot, and humid than the day before. Suffice to say that we were sticky before we even started to work, and all of us developed some “interesting” sweat patterns on our t-shirts. The lucky ones sweated everything an even colour before too long, and most of us covered the wetness with sand and cement dust….lovely mixture!
Although the work we were to do changed somewhat with the non- delivery of bricks for the walls of the room we are building on the second story, Jim, our fearless but sometimes frustrated, leader and Hiruni (the DWC liaison on site with us) scrambled to keep us busy. Hot as it was, we did not want to be sitting around doing nothing so we got at it. Some of us made a “sand line”, filling bags to be passed along, up to the second floor for future cement mixing. In this way we cleared the last of the sand pile in the yard, a measurable sign of progress.
Others completed a rebar beam insert in preparation for the roof carrying beams – we were reminded, by those who know these things, that our work tying off the long rebar pieces with wire to hold the metal “frames” in place was crucial to the strength and integrity of the whole support system…..no pressure!! Still others were “tarring” the wooden frames that were made to hold the cement and rebar beams. And a small crew whitewashed one of the outhouses….and their clothes!
By later in the afternoon, we were almost all up on the second story, mixing gravel, sand and cement and beginning to fill beams, or pounding the degraded layer of cement on what would eventually be the floor (unfortunately it had been left to the elements for the past 10 years and will need to be replaced). This involved using a long handled chisel-like tool to crack off the top layer, and then having others fill buckets with the debris to carry (or throw, if you had a good arm) to the “discard” pile down below….a job for everyone!
We couldn’t have accomplished what we did without the local parent volunteers, 4 women (different from the 4 yesterday) who were more than eager to help in any way possible to show their appreciation for the effort being put in to upgrade “their” school. These were Moms and grandmothers who shovelled, lugged, and pounded, all while smiling and doing the work in bare feet! One elderly woman was Carmelo (or a version of that as, unfortunately, we are having a very hard time with the names which often run to 4 or 5 syllables), who at 75 danced, sang and drummed on an empty bucket as we were hauling sand. Her companion was 74, and kept up in all the work, often insisting that the bag or bucket should be fuller before being passed along (much to the chagrin of Canadian backs!). Our own “matriarch”, Jane, more than held her own, though, and lived up to the Wonder Woman t-shirt she was gifted that morning by two other team members.
It must also be remembered that while all this walking by, yelling instructions, sawing and more was going on, the students and their ever-patient teachers were trying very hard to stay focused in the classrooms right next to us (with only open-air windows between us). Obviously, the occasional smile and wave travelled back and forth, and kept us, all, reminded of why we were doing this work and who we were doing it for. By the end of our work day, though we didn’t accomplish what was in the original plan (key word being flexibility), we could see progress, on the ground, on the second floor, and as evidenced on our clothes, footwear and, still-smiling, faces.
Sri Lanka Blog – November 13, 2024
Today preparation is underway at our school worksite which will be used as a polling station for the parliamentary election on November 14. As a result, we were unable to work at the site today and that will continue on election day tomorrow. Thanks to Andrew, our hotel liaison, the day was well spent. After a late breakfast. (7:30), we loaded into two vehicles and challenged the local traffic to visit several interesting stops in the area.
The streets are an open market for everyone living in the area. Despite steady traffic. people do most of their shopping from the small shops and fruit and vegetable stands at the edge of these busy roadways. We stopped at one of these small fruit markets. Who knew there were so many varieties of bananas including red skinned ones? The mangoes, papayas, melons, and guava are local and very tasty.
The next stop provided a beautiful Vista across a wide valley to high mountains in the distance. But it was the band of monkeys that had everyone’s attention. After pushing the cute baby forward to divert us, the bag of bananas was snatched away and quickly eaten!
We moved on to the Giragama Tea Plantation at a higher elevation. Tea was introduced to Sri Lanka by the British in 1867. Sri Lanka is among the worlds, largest producers of tea and exports 97% of its crop. Russia, the Middle East, and the UK are its largest markets. We were able to see the entire tea production process from the care required in picking the leaves through the various stages of production, sorting and grading and packaging. The black Ceylon tea is also fermented unlike green tea. After a visit to the plantations gift shop by our team, Canada has become Sri Lanka’s number one export market.
Each day we have the pleasure of watching elephants from the elephant orphanage, enjoying the cool of the river beside the hotel. But where does the dung from the 150 kilos of food they eat each day go? To make paper of course. We visited the Eco Maximus dung paper factory. Using the dung and recycled paper a variety of interesting paper products are made at this factory, which has been recognized internationally for its contribution to sustainable entrepreneurship. Most of the work is carried out by hand by a large workforce, including many women.
The day ended with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning, Sri Lanka’s version of an impressive sound and light show to top off a very enjoyable day.
Sri Lanka Blog – November 14, 2024
After a hearty breakfast at our wonderful hotel we loaded into the van to our build site. It was a quick trip in light traffic so we got off to a fast start. The pile of new bricks was already dropped off and so the team made short work of moving them up to the 2nd floor. One person mixed mortar while two others assisted the local masons and we were able to get two full walls done! In parallel the rest of the team prepped the rebar for the remaining beams and gave a final coat of paint to the refurbished outhouses. The pace was breathtaking.
Oh wait. That didn’t really happen! That was only the dream our leader Jim had last night.
In reality it was election day here in Sri Lanka and so we were not able to work at the school. While disappointing, there was nothing we could do about it. So, while we did have a hearty and delicious breakfast together it then became a day of shopping and relaxation in and around the hotel.
I saw Mike and Jane checking things out in the shops but the real shoppers were Tanga, Catherine and Corina. Peter assisted with some ATM expertise! Rob investigated the soccer jerseys (per his tradition) while David enjoyed a stroll around the block, browsing.
Nancy and Jamie enjoyed watching the elephants and then a refreshing dip in the pool. David also had a splash and was joined by Catherine, Tanga and Rob.
Jim was busy making sure we had bricks for Friday and worked the details of the R&R weekend with our ever-diligent concierge Andrew.
And we wrapped up the day with a fun Mosi circle in one of our rooms, and enjoyed a rum and great conversations amongst good friends. While 1000 giant bats flew past overhead! No kidding. Then dinner and bedtime. All of us looking forward to a productive build day Friday. And awaiting election results.
Sri Lanka Blog – November 15, 2024
Back to work after two days off! We had breakfast at the buffet and we left at 7:30 as usual. No traffic this morning because it’s a holiday (Ill Full Moon Poya Day). And because of that, the school gate was closed when we arrived. New entrance: through the barbwires behind the school.
Nobody was there besides the skilled workers and us. Hiruni was not there today because she was working for the elections. Aulasiri was our new guide/translator. About the Parliamentary Election: the National People’s Power (NPP), Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s leftist coalition, has secured 159 seats, more than any Sri Lankan political party in history.
While waiting for the instructions for the day, a big smile came on our lips because the pile of bricks was sitting there, in the middle of the field. First assignment : moving bricks. As we were trying the most efficient way to move all those not-so-solid bricks, people started to arrive. Many students and their moms came to help us. That was very touching. And they were smiling all the time. They were there because they wanted to and we could feel it.
With all those new helpers, bricks lines were made. I couldn’t tell how many bricks we moved up those stairs, but the kids had fun counting them and when there was not enough numbers, they could always rely on the alphabet! Jaime was their leader. Some hand games too. Not a lot of work to do today. Some of us had the chance to patch the wall with mortar before our once again very delicious lunch.
Because there was not a lot of work to do and because we were leaving the hotel temporarily for our R&R, we left right after lunch. Good timing: it started raining when we were on the van and it stopped at 15:00 when we left our hotel to go to Sigiriya. It is supposed to be a 2h30 drive, but time in Sri Lanka has another meaning! On our way, we have learned many things like the 5 major exports of Sri Lanka : Gems stones, Tea, Rice, Coconut and Rubber. Our nice driver Rumish and new tour guide, Kavee, took good care of us. But surpise! Andrew was at the Kaveri Resort when we arrived at 17:30. 4-course dinner at the hotel’s restaurant before heading to bed after a fun and busy day.
Sri Lanka Blog – Sunday, November 17, 2024
We woke up in Kandy! Not everyone can say that! We stayed at the Skyloft Hotel which was high above the city!
As it was a slower morning, with no locked plans, we ate breakfast at different times. Some of the team swam in the rooftop pool, whilst others relaxed and enjoyed a few rare hours of free time.
We left the hotel and headed to the Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple. The temple which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is one of the holiest shrines in the entire Buddhist world.
Our 72-year-old guide, Nanda, was nothing short of incredible with his vast knowledge and passion for Buddhism.
The tooth relic is kept in the upper floor in the chamber called “Vadahitina Maligawa”. The door to this chamber is covered with gold, silver and ivory.
The relic of the tooth shrine is fronted by large elephant tusks…
And, it only opens for 10 minutes, 3x a day and we were fortunate enough to see it, with hundreds of other people clamouring for an opportunity to see it or take a photo.
To the left of the temple is the new building which houses the taxidermised remains of the Maligawa Tusker-Raja. This magnificent tusker was captured in the jungles of Eravur in the Batticaloa District in 1925. He was purchased by Tikiri Banda Manampitiya Dissawe for Rs 3,300/- in 1937 and was donated to the temple by him. For over 50 years Raja carried the golden casket which carried the tooth relic and in 1984 he was declared as a national treasure by the government. This is only the second time a tusker has been declared a national treasure. Raja died In 1988 after a long illness and then it was decided that he to be taxidermised. This is the first time a tusker has been taxidermised.
After our tour we loaded the bus and headed to Oak Ray Regency to enjoy a beautiful lunch. From there we headed to a gemstone tour @ Handuni’s Gems and Jewellery. We saw a video on mining of Sri Lanka’s precious gems, we were provided entrance to the workshop where various gem and jewellery design trades were diligent at their workstations. It’s not unreasonable to believe that most of us never give thought to how and where our jewelry is made. This tour allowed more insight to how meticulousness, methodical and dangerous the gemstone business is. From mining to the consumer, there’s plenty happening.
The pièce de résistance was floor 4. The jewellery store! The team excitedly looked at all the beautiful baubles. Corinna, Catherine, Tanga and Rob left with gift bags! The rest of us left with a wonderful experience!
Finally, we headed back to the bus, for the final time of the day. We headed back “home” to Elephant Park Hotel, where we were met with familiar faces and, of course, our elephants.
Sri Lanka Blog – November 19, 2024
Today was day 5 at the worksite for our team. When we arrived at the school, the 95 students were all out in the school yard, in their clean white uniforms, listening to the principal talking about a number of things. Not sure what, but we heard that in many schools this can be like a weekly assembly. The students then quietly went back to their classrooms single file to begin their day of learning. It is surprising that in a school with this many students, that there are 16 teachers on staff! A Canadian teacher’s dream! We too then began our day with most of the team preparing and painting the sections to be used as roofing for the school. While this was happening, Rob “went at” the tall grass in the school yard with a grass trimmer, a job he continued to do all day while constantly being followed by a swarm of dragonflies, presumably enjoying the feed of small insects being stirred up. Looking good Rob!
While the team did this, the local masons and about 8-10 volunteers (mostly women) continued with brick, mortar and concrete work on the new 2nd floor classroom. As in all our days here, it is amazing to see how hard all of the local people work, regardless of age or gender. Team leader Jim went into town to purchase supplies as there often is not a lot around. Today it was more paint brushes as there were only a few to do a lot of needed painting. When he got back, we went from having not a lot to do to being very busy as a truck had pulled in with a load of iron to be used as the roof support and that needed to be cleaned and painted. All this to say we have enough work to keep us going for at least the next day or 2. The key word we have come to know and use during our time here….flexibility.
It has been hot here but yesterday and today even more so. By an hour after we started working, we were soaking wet from the humidity and it started to take a toll as people wisely “tapped out” and rested. Hydration, hydration hydration.
Unfortunately, the heavy rain came a bit earlier than usual and we had to scramble to put things away to try to keep dry. The expression “When it rains it pours” can certainly be taken literally here in Sri Lanka. Along with buckets of rain, we are treated to thunder and lightening shows most evenings. The bonus of finishing a bit early was that we were able to watch “our” herd of elephants back at the hotel for about 15 minutes playing in the river, and for the first time watch about 6 of them on the far side of the river use their trunks to throw dirt onto themselves which they seem to relish. We never tire of watching their different personalities and protective care of the little ones.
And for anyone out there worrying about us not eating and losing weight, that is a hard no! Breakfast and supper at the hotel, and morning break, lunch, and afternoon tea, put on by a lovely family living next to the school, leave us feeling grateful but often saying “not more food!”
And as always, it is about the children we are working for, and sometimes with. Their smiling faces, waves, and hellos help brighten our days, give us an energy boost when we may be dragging, and remind us that kids are kids wherever you go in this world. They have so much to learn, while at the same time teaching us so much.
Onward to day 6!!!
Hugs from here. PB
Sri Lanka Blog – November 20, 2024
A misty morning greeted the team at the 6:30 am breakfast call today. The breakfast buffet is a popular meal for the team and there is plenty of choice. There is a general consensus developing that although omelettes are good for you and the breakfast crew make a very good omelette here, no one wants to see an omelette for a long time after returning home. The waffles appear to be a hit. The coffee- well a majority of those present for breakfast require coffee to start the day and there is a pot of dark coloured liquid with a label next to it marked “coffee” and so those requiring coffee pour it out and consume it. There are also some among us who are happy to eat chocolate at breakfast. Several options to address this need are available including, in the absence of maple syrup, as a sauce on waffles which may explain the popularity of the waffles. The fruit selection includes pineapple, watermelon, bananas, and papaya – which are really tasty and the serving platters are left empty as our group leaves the restaurant.
Today was our 6th day working at the school. The progress made so far building the 2nd floor classroom is remarkable. Watching the local workers use basic tools and building methods to put up the walls and are now preparing to construct the roof supports is an education in itself. It is inspiring to see how the local people, mostly parent volunteers, participate in constructing their local school. They are there each day taking on whatever task they can contribute to. Meanwhile the life of the school goes on around us, bells ring, chatter rises, kids move from class to class and watch what is happening and then they are back in the classrooms, teachers come and go. Several local dogs oversee the operation when not seeking shelter from the sun.
Every day is hot and humid but today seemed just a bit less humid than other work days here. Rain was in the forecast but did not arrive during our workday so our team was able to accomplish a lot. Twenty-four long metal roofing sheets and 12 caps required 2 coats
of primer. Looking at those sheets laid out on the ground at 8am, the task looked daunting. The roof sheet painting team got it done on time and within budget. Only one sheet was broken in the process!
Meanwhile the metal roof strut painting team completed and moved what looked like several kilometres of metal struts allowing the workers to begin preparing them for installation.
This was a heavy lifting day. Mid afternoon a truck load of bricks arrived which were unloaded and stacked by team members and parents working together. A new pile of sand appeared overnight and we all know what that means.
While all this was happening, the lawn mowing crew- Rob- was cutting the grass on the vast playing field. As the day progressed and Rob moved further and further out, it seemed likely he would eventually be swallowed by the rain forest at the edge of the school grounds. However, no such luck for those at the dice table during happy hour- Rob won again!
Another terrific day in Sri Lanka as winter approaches back home.
Posted in Sri Lanka on November 14, 2024
