Galwewa Primary School

July 2009: Here we are again at Galwewa School just outside Hambantota. Today the Principal is not here as he is on a three day inservice in Colombo so I meet with his assistant who I’ve not met before. He’s new to the school this year. The teachers are still the same and of course the children are the same, just in a higher grade.

On this trip, I am planning to buy shoes, socks and thongs for all of the children at this school.

The first day at Galwewa is spent measuring the children's feet for shoes. We do this by placing the childs foot on a piece of paper and drawing around it. Raja then writes the child's name and class.

After we do this, all the children are gathered in the large class area and we hand out the chocolate that we’ve brought with us. I also ask all children to make sure they attend school tomorrow because I would be back with lots of gifts for them.

Off we go and head straight to the shoe store. I meet with the owner, explain what I want and negotiate a price. I am not really happy with the price but as this is the only shoe store in town, my hands are tied. I placed the order and arranged for delivery of the shoes to the home of a friend who lives close to the shop in Hambantota.

The next day we’re ready to go back to the school. The children meet us at the gate and assist with the unloading of the car. Everything is taken into the large classroom and all the children are assembled. It was a long wait for them as we had a lot of sorting and arranging to do before we could start handing things out. However, soon it’s all done and we get started.

The children come up as their names are called and we give them the box with shoes, socks and thongs. When that task was completed we then asked all the children to again come for their school bag and school stationery pack.

There were a couple of children who didn’t come that day so we left their things with the teachers so they could give them to them the next day they were at school.

Again I took along playground equipment and more ball pumps. A lot of the balls I had given on the previous trip weren’t being played with because they were flat.

On the previous trip, Raja took a number of photos which I made into a book for the school. Everyone enjoyed looking at the photos, particularly if they were in it. Raja took a lot of photos again on this trip, so I’ll do the same for them again.

It was disappointing not to have seen the Principal, but I will write a letter to him once I return home.

There was talk of the school converting a small unused room into a library. I’ll be pleased about that as with each visit I donate a number of reading books to the school and it will be good to have them in a library for easy access instead of in a locked cupboard in the Principal's office.

Time flies, and now the school day is over and the children are packed and ready to go home. I bid them farewell assuring them that I would be returning to see them again in 2010.

September 2008: This is a small school some eight kilometres from Hambantota, in the south western area of Sri Lanka.

The school is at the four mile post on a very bumpy dirt road. It's small with just 46 children, three teachers and the principal.

The children are like children, bubbly and loud. They jump with joy when I arrive. They remember when I visited in January and brought cricket bats, balls, soccer balls, basket balls and frisbees for the playground, and school backpacks for each of them. They realise very quickly that I am here again with things for each of them. It's the first day of the term and they're all busy cleaning the rooms and setting the tables and chairs for the following day's class.

We chat with the teachers and principal, give some small gifts to the children and tell them they must all come to school the next day as we have other gifts for them.

We arrive the next day and all but three children have attended, which is wonderful.

They're all exited as we carry the gifts into the principal's office. We manage to get the teachers to arrange the children in their class levels and then we set about giving things to them. Each child received an education pack which consisted of 12 exercise books, coloured pencils, pens, sharpener, eraser, pencil case and ruler. We also have a toy for each child.

The children are overjoyed as they received their toys. There is a little swapping going on, but at the end of the morning everyone had a toy that they liked.

As always when we visit schools, we take chocolate and biscuits. Often these children come from families who cannot purchase these luxuries. Some of the children tell Raja that they will take the chocolate home to their mother. Others who live in a home for orphans will take it home to eat later.

I also took teaching supplies for the teachers, and 300 reading books for setting up a library. All children are being encouraged to learn English and these books are tools for the teachers to encourage this amongst the children.

On the day we are leaving, all the children perform in an impromptu concert. The children sing a number of songs, some in English so I can understand. Other children perform in groups or with a friend. I am very touched by this little concert.

As we prepare to depart, we take lots more photos. I promised to print and send them to the principal and also reassure the children that I would again be back to see them in 2009.

As I watch them walk down the dusty road with their gifts firmly under their arms, I am warmed in my heart that we here in Australia have done some good for children who otherwise would be forgotten.