Our first taster of teaching in the Palana West DUCK school has been a very enjoyable, if tiring, experience! The whole community – from the permanent teachers at the school to the families we have our lunchtime meal with – have been incredibly welcoming. They seem delighted at our efforts to assist with their recovery […]

“Our time in Sri Lanka was both demanding and rewarding, it was an experience I’m never going to forget and I can’t wait to go back.” Kate Hoffman. “This summer in Sri Lanka was incredible, an amazing experience with fantastic memories. I’m so glad I was involved with such a flagship project which I hope […]

Following the excitement of the cultural show at the University we were all looking forward to our last evening at the village. Three wonderful ladies from Sarvodaya came to help us put on our saris. It was wonderful to wear smart clothes and to show our admiration for the Sri Lankan style of dress. We […]

The first time we met the Vice Chancellor of Ruhuna University, he enthusiastically stipulated his desire for us to partake in a Cultural Show – a hybrid of the best of English and Sri Lankan culture. Yesterday we stepped up to the task. We have been squeezing in rehearsals in between our otherwise manic schedule, […]

Being out in Sri Lanka has been an amazing experience. The first day in Pelena, meeting the villagers and seeing the Pre School that our money has helped to build for the first time will certainly be a memory I will certainly treasure for years to come. The sheer gratitude and hospitality that has been […]

We woke up to the sounds of the monsoon rain splashing onto the roof and our hearts sank. We’d planned a family day in Pelena West and it was raining. We didn’t lose hope however and as we took the bus to Weligama, laden with items for the day’s activities, the skies began to brighten. […]

Buddhism is the dominant creed of the Sinhalese people (constituting 70% of the population) and plays a prominent and vital role in the country. Simple white Dagobas litter the roadside, the front of public buses are transformed into gaudy shrines and the drivers often make inpromptu stops in order to place flowers in the roadside […]

Buddhist monks are a common sight in Sri Lanka. Their bright orange or red robes (colour depends on status) often clad with a matching umbrella makes them a noticeable entity. Their presence is ubiquitous – on public transport, shopping, in the university canteen or lecture theatres and squashed inside three-wheeled ‘tuk tuks.’ They are sometimes […]

The first two weeks of our work at the University was mainly without students because many were on holiday or were finishing exams. We started work immediately with the English department developing a new curriculum. Their current resources are considerably out of date so we produced a whole semester of lesson plans based on various […]

We have now been working at Palana for three weeks now and it continues to be extremely rewarding. We help at the Pre School in the morning and we are now left almost in complete charge of the after-school club which runs from 3-5. We have seen considerable progress at the pre-school from the first […]

The University of Ruhuna is situated in a beautiful campus within an idyllic setting. It is surrounded by palm trees and is set back behind an enormous lake. We approached our first day with some uncertainty after our unexpected and overwhelming welcome that we received the previous morning from the Palana West community. We met […]

On Thursday 13th July, 15 Durham students sat eating their breakfast, nervously anticipating the day ahead. We had spent 10 days acclimatising to Sri Lankan climate, diet, language and quirky mannerisms and were about to see the initial results of the “Sri Lanka Community Project” … the opening of the Palana West DUCK pre-school. After […]