Our last few days in the village were incredibly busy and just seemed to fly by. Even though we had all been looking forward to being back in England, as the time approached for us to leave the village we all began to realise that, as much as we wanted to be home, we desperately […]

Somehow we have come to the end of our last full week in the village. What a range of emotions that has brought! Whilst we are all looking forward to being reunited with our family and friends, the thought of leaving the village and all our friends here is a very sad one. In fact […]

As we approach our eighth and final week in Pelena West we’re left wondering where on earth the last seven have gone.It’s been a complete whirlwind of an experience, constantly busy both with our planned activities and unplanned social occasions at which our presence seems always to be expected! We’ve got too many invites for […]

Our experiences as volunteers in southwestern Sri Lanka have been so rich, and so abundant, that volumes could be written about all that has transpired within this one month. Words on the page will always fail to capture the multi-sensory, surprising, and even sublime aspects of all that we have seen on the “Island of […]

Our week in Palana West began with the announcement that we were going to a meeting in Matara.We were quite confused about what the meeting was about and why it was important that we should be there until after the meeting had begun. It transpired that it was about the scholarships being provided for children […]

On our arrival here in Palana West I was amazed by how warm and welcoming everyone in the village was.I was reminded of this again this week; a week which sadly saw James returning to England to continue his academic commitments. Our first month here has flown by so quickly, probably because life in the […]

Waking up to the shrill cry of birds and sun streaming through the window has fast become normality – the relaxed Sri Lankan lifestyle has eased us effortlessly into village life. Sri Lankans do hospitality to the extreme and there is always a friendly greeting, a warm welcome, the offer of tea or juice and […]