The sun rises on another day at Gandarawatte, and today painting is high on the agenda.The school and community building is currently a blank canvas, and drawing heavily on the artistic talents of Nicki and Maddie, we have come up with a design that threatens to put the Sistine Chapel in the shade. Taking it in turns to play with the children and paint, jungle and beach scenes began to take form with the depiction of trees, waves and animals. Previous DUCK schools, notably Rassandeniya which we admire en route to Gandarawatte, have set high standards in the artistic stakes, but we are all keen to work hard to ensure we leave an equally impressive legacy.

After lunch we held a discussion class with the young adults on the topics of love and marriage. In this, perhaps, more than anything previously, there was a keen and critical – in the most positive sense of the word – exchange of values and ideas. Whilst the subliminal tendency is often to regard Western culture as superior, there was a clear feeling within the group that both cultures could learn from one another. This, indeed, is what Project Sri Lanka is all about!

Finally, in a picture of this intercultural approach, we spent time working on performances for the cultural show, which, coming at the end of August, after we have completed our teaching, represents a climactic conclusion to the project. After an hour of singing and dancing – and sport for those less performatively-minded – we were given cocnut juice by the Sarvodaya officers in the village, who are always there to support and refresh us after a thirsty day’s work, before heading back home to Moon Bridge.