Welfare Society and Educational Centre

Kuruwita, Ratnapura district

July 2009: Again I visited my now friend Rev Henepola Sumanajothi who is the Buddhist monk building the Education and Welfare Centre at Kuruwita near Ratnapura.

Raja and I decided to drive to Ratnapura on our way to the south eastern area with the intention of dropping to Rev Sumanajothi the items we had for the 80 children which he had arranged to come along to the opening ceremony of the first section of the Education and Welfare Centre being built in their village. As usual, the car was overloaded, so it was good to lighten the load.

It had been raining in Ratnapura on and off for two weeks by this stage and I was a little concerned that the site of the centre would be under water. Kuruwita is in a low lying area and prone to flooding in the monsoon season.

Our visit to Ratnapura was just for a day and we would make arrangements to return after our two week trip to the south eastern area. We would plan to spend a couple of days where I was to be the guest of honour along with the local police superintendant, Sumudi Officer, Provincial Council member and seven Buddhist monks to witness the opening ceremony where some of the local children would perform.

The building has progressed quite well given the increased cost of building materials and of course the rain and flooding. There are two smaller rooms, one which will be used as a small library and the other a meeting room for local women. The larger area which will end up as a room for English classes is currently used as an open air auditorium.

The building is at least one meter off the ground to save any damage from flooding. There is also the beginnings of a parapet wall along one side.

When we returned two weeks later, we were invited to the centre for lunch. Rev Sumanajothi’s secretary had prepared a veritable feast of Sri Lankan curry for us. It was delicious and well received after a long day's travel.

The ceremony was to commence at 2pm so I had time to relax a little, so I thought, but no sooner had I finished eating lunch than the children started coming. They looked beautiful in their very best clothing. Some were to perform and others came for the ceremony. None of them knew they would be receiving an education packet from me at this stage. They continued to come and before long I was chatting with the children and their parents. They loved to show off their English skills with me. They laughed as I attempted to speak Sinhalese with them. My Sinhalese is nowhere near as good as their English.

Soon the other invited guests arrived. I was pleased to see them again as well. We had a good chat about their jobs and they were curious about what I had been doing since our last meeting. All of a sudden, it was time for us to go as the ceremony was commencing. Music played, children presented us with flower posies and escorted us to the auditorium area where we stood for the official Buddhist welcome.

By now there were around 120 people in the audience. The children could hardly contain their excitement. All children in attendance come from very impoverished families living in the Kuruwita area. Some children were from one parent families, others were in families where neither parent has employment or where the father had been injured in a gem mining accident. Kuruwita is in the main gem mining area of Sri Lanka.

The performances began and for the next 45 minutes, we were all entertained by dancing, singing and even poetry reading from the children. One little boy had written a poem about me and Australia in English. I was moved to hear him reciting his work for me. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to ask him for the poem, he’d left too quickly for me to catch him. It was a wonderful exhibition of talent from these delightful young people.

It was then time for the official gift giving. I had gone to the shops in Ratnapura to buy gifts for the monks and other guests. I decided to buy sandals for the monks and wallets for the other guests. It was my task to hand each monk his gift which I did with respect and then gave the other guests their gifts. After this we were all asked to make a speech to the audience. Raja did the interpreting for me when it was my turn.

We then asked all the children from youngest to oldest to come up and receive their gift from me. I invited the other guests to help me distribute the gifts to the 80 children who attended the day’s events. It was then time for me to hand over to Rev Sumanajothi the money we had raised in Australia by selling good quality items of EBay. He was totally surprised and assured me that the money would be used to buy more building materials to continue with this project.

We all then proceeded to have tea and cake to celebrate the opening. I chatted with as many people as I could; English is a huge barrier for me and them. I will be thrilled to hear that English classes will be the next priority.

Each school-aged child received an education pack consisting of exercise books, pens, pencils, and assorted stationery, and all other children received a small toy. I was also able to give the babies a sun hat. We donated around 100 English reading books which will get the library up and running as well.

Just before I left Sri Lanka, Rev Sumanajothi had builders carving the frames for the doors and windows of the library. He had hoped to have all that finished within 2 months and have the library opened for use to the Community. At the time of this update, the constant rain had delayed the progress of the library opening, but, as soon as I hear, I’ll post the info.

August 2008: On my first trip to Sri Lanka I was introduced to Rev Henepola Sumanajothi who is a Buddhist Monk at Ratnapura. His dream is to provide an education and welfare centre for the local people of his community.

Ratnapura is the gem mining capital of Sri Lanka. There are many women who are the head of families due to their husbands' death or permanent injury in the mines. The gem miners themselves do not earn large sums of money from the mines.

Sumanajothi's dream is to run English programs at the centre, run information sessions on reducing the incidence of Denghue fever and Chikungunga virus. Both are mosquito born and cause severe illness. During the wet season, the abandoned mines fill with water and the lavae flourishes.

His other intention is to run maternal and child health services from the centre for mothers of babies and young children. The mothers will be able to speak with a health professional on a weekly basis at this centre.

The construction of this centre is fully from donations. For the first 12 months, many local people made donations, but in Sri Lanka the cost of living increases then caused many, who would normally donate, to cease their donations.

In My Heart Serendib Foundation Australia felt we could help in a small way. We started selling valuable items on EBay, and money raised through this is sent to Rev Henepola Sumanajothi to purchase some of the building materials required to continue the project. It is a slow means of providing funds, but it is not taking money from that which is used for children or elderly people we help through other fundraising efforts.