| Sri Lanka Exchange |
Barry Comprehensive School pupils, parents and staff have raised thousands of pounds for the Help Lanka Charity since the devastating tsunami in 2004 and has recently developed new links with a Sri Lankan school.
Intrepid Geography teacher, Ms Allen , has just returned from a two-week teacher exchange visit. The following diary extracts tell the story of this amazing trip:
March 4 - After jamming as many resources as possible along with clothes, shoes and of course hair straighteners into my suitcase, I am heading off to Serendip, Sri Lanka.
March 5 - I arrive to a very hot and humid Sri Lanka. The first impression, a clean new airport, boarding a coach with a load of fellow Brits, you could be arriving in Benidorm, but 200 metres further on, the armed police and military checkpoints make me realise this is a country facing serious security issues.
We drive past areas devastated by the Tsunami, now rebuilt. Shanty towns line the railway line as they did before Boxing Day 2004 despite the fact the Government said they would limit development along the coast in anticipation of another tsunami. Proof that the poorest people live where no one else wants to.
March 6 - Today is a Tamil (Hindu) holiday and schools are closed so I head off to explore Galle with Help Lanka co-ordinators Sam, Nalinda and Lahiru. We stroll around Galle Fort - the fort structure managed to withstand the tsunami wave but the area around it was devastated. A rusting freight carrier sits in shallow waters just below the fort walls as a reminder of the power of the wave. It is so heavy they can’t tow it away.
Tomorrow is the first day at Mawidiwala Vidyalaya, it feels like the day before my first teaching practice. I have no idea what to expect, I’m petrified they won’t have a clue what I’m going on about!
March 7 - The Principle is very shy and most teachers don’t speak English. Sam and I give an assembly about Help Lanka and Barry Comprehensive School. After the assembly, Mr. Thilakerathu, the English teacher politely asked me “Would you like to teach?” I stand in front of a black board (I’ve never taught using one before) with no resources thinking, right, what do I do? The next forty minutes were filled with Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and answering simple English questions. The pupils are very eager to learn English and ask me lots of questions.
The school facilities are very basic but what they have, they use well. Some classrooms have no electricity and there are no windows in the school. Class sizes are quite small, approximately 18 per class, and pupils are responsible for cleaning their own classroom.
A new photocopier, purchased from funds donated by Barry Comprehensive School, arrived today and following a small presentation, it is installed in the schools’ computer room which contains three donated computers but only one plug socket!
March 10 - The pupils are super excited today. I teach Year 11 for the first time. There is a huge girl/boy divide. Girls are much more enthusiastic, hard working and according to their teacher higher achieving. I use a rugby ball as a prop to get pupils involved, and it works so well with the boys. By the end of the lesson they are all confidently speaking out loud in English.
March 12 - Today I was using the mobile library with a grade 6 class. They were very excited about using the games and the books and puzzles. At one point I looked up and realised there were over 60 pupils on the field, a lot more than the 18 I started with. Pupils had decided to leave their own lessons and join mine!
March 14 - Today I spend most of the day with Mr. Jaggard’s grade 5 class and the pupils were very enthusiastic, hard working and obedient. After the lesson, we spent an hour face painting. None of the pupils had had their faces painted and thoroughly enjoyed acting and looking like lions, witches and pirates.
The end of the school day runs like a military operation. At 1.25pm all pupils stand behind their chairs, look towards the sun and listen to a Buddhist Reading and stand in silence. They are then dismissed one class at a time by their class prefect.
March 15 - Today we visited Welligama, where the Sri Lankan stilt fisherman sit perched on wooden poles. After the Tsunami, Help Lanka built 11 houses here for the families most in need and now we are bringing them donations of food and supplies. Many of the other houses in the area are in appalling condition.
March 16 - Today is the day of the Mawadawila school trip. We visit the Kogolla River for a river safari, then the Martin VikramSingh Folk Musuem and the Buddhist monuments at Unawatuna. The children are really excited and sing and play the drums all the way. It is so different to a trip back home during which they eat all the way and usually plug in their iPods! I say goodbye to the pupils and staff at Mawadawilia at a beautiful Japanese peace pagoda at Unawatuna. They are all so genuine and present me with a beautiful wood carving of a Sri Lankan stilt fisherman. I swap contact details with so many people and promise to keep in touch. This is going to be old fashioned keeping in touch as none of them have e-mail!
Photos:
- Presenting the photocopier
- Pupils at presentation ceremony
- Mr. Jaggart’s Grade 5 class
- Grade 6 class
- Grade 6 boy using the questioning ball
- Ms Allan with a Grade 10 class
- Miss. Allen making a film of the school with Grade 11 pupils and Mr. Sampath
- Grade 8B boys
- Using mobile library games
- Saying goodbye at Unawatuna
After the success of Miss Allen’s visit to Barry Comprehensive School’s twin school in Sri Lanka before Easter, a party of six 6th Form students have just left for a two week trip of a lifetime to Maliyadewa School near Galle in the south of the island. The students are to continue the work already started by Miss Allen and she is leading the party again. Team Sri Lanka have balanced their examination work with fund-raising events and sitting in lessons to gain experience prior to leaving. The party have raised a considerable sum of money and equipment. The generosity of parents at the recent Presentation Evening raised over £350 and Team Sri Lanka’s parents have held a Tea & Cake sale in the courts in Cardiff. Sports equipment, CD players, stationary and even laptops have been donated. The students will teach lessons in Maliyadewa School, support reading programmes and help with music and sports. Whilst this will be a large part of the visit, there will still be time to explore the beautiful Sri Lankan country. A trip is also planned for pupils from the Maliyadewa School, paid for by the money raised in Barry. A further trip, to the Pinawella Elephant Orphanage, is sure to be one of the highlights. Many younger pupils at Barry Comprehensive School have been involved, setting up a pen pal system and supporting the charity Help Lanka, Perhaps they will have the opportunity of joining them one day. |
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