Barry Comprehensive School

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After months of preparation, Team Sri Lanka 09 set off on the long journey from Barry Comprehensive School to Sri Lanka, known as the tear drop of India.

This is the second visit by students and staff from Barry Comprehensive, working in partnership with the UK based charity, Help Lanka. Mr. Prickett and Miss Allen from the Geography Department accompanied seven sixth form students to the Bentota region to develop new links with a school and an orphanage for boys.

Barry Comprehensive pupils and their parents along with the local community were hugely supportive of the visit and we owe thanks to everyone who donated resources, time and money. We would particularly like to thank Holton Road AFC and Barry Island Primary for their donations of sports kit. The generosity shown by everyone has made a big difference at the school and orphanage and all the children were very grateful for your support.

Team Sri Lanka are also very grateful to the staff and pupils at Horrowala Junior School and Jayasignha Home for Boys who made us feel very welcome and embraced us and our ideas with enthusiasm. We are committed to the long-term partnership between Barry Comprehensive and schools in Sri Lanka and are already planning a return visit next July. If you would like to know more about Help Lanka, please visit the Help Lanka website, www.helplanka.co.uk.

Here are some of the team’s thoughts and feelings following the trip.

“We were working in a different region this year to widen our impact in the country but a highlight for me was returning to Maliadewa Vidyalaya (our original partner school) to visit the staff and pupils.. The laptops we donated last year were being put to good use by a grade 11 accounting class, a new art class had been created and the grade 5 class sizes had been reduced.

Horrowala School is a small Junior School near Bentota. The 200 staff and pupils made us feel extremely welcome and were very keen to share their culture with us. The school’s dance teacher and grade 7 girls taught us a Sinhala Dance which we then performed to the whole school on the last day. The boys meanwhile were developing a passion for rugby under the guidance of Team Sri Lanka. Overall, we shared aspects of our culture and learned a lot from each other!”
Miss Allen

“ Sri Lanka 09 really gave me the opportunity to embrace a different culture and a chance to make a difference in the lives of Sri Lankan children less privileged than ourselves. The most rewarding part of the trip was visiting the local boys orphanage where we could actually see ourselves making a difference to the children’s lives by playing sports with them. A special experience for me was face painting one of the orphans, Sanka , who really seemed to benefit from our visits. Over the two weeks we were all able to see Sanka come out of his shell. It has been a very rewarding experience, and I will hopefully return in the future. “
Esther Holley

“My expectations of Sri Lanka were mixed because the country has suffered from a civil war and a tsunami. However, after arriving in the country, the gratitude shown by the Sri Lankans, adults and children alike, was overwhelming. Dances and other ceremonies were put on many times to welcome us into schools and orphanages. In the classroom, it was sometimes a challenge when trying to communicate in English to those who only know Singhalese, yet their enthusiasm to learn and to take part and the sense of achievement after teaching something new and different made it worthwhile. Probably the most rewarding part of the trip was the interaction you were able to have in playing sport, especially with the children at the orphanage. An experience to treasure.”
Jack Westerland

“This year’s trip to Sri Lanka was well worth second spent preparing to go. I found it hard to believe I was back in a Sri Lankan classroom teaching the kids English and Welsh culture. The prospect of visiting new schools and an orphanage was exciting and luckily for myself, Matt and Miss Allen we also visited our original partner school just outside Hikkaduwa. It was great to see the same faces and amazing that they still remembered us and some of the things we taught them. This made me realise that these trips were not a waste of time and that we are helping by returning to Sri Lanka, this gave me an even greater rewarding feeling. I also really enjoyed our short tour visiting some world heritage sites such as Polonnaruwa and the Golden Temple in Dambulla and other tourist attractions such as Pinawella elephant orphanage.”
Ben Phipps

“This wonderful experience provided the whole group with the opportunity to sample not only a different culture but also to live amongst and work with local people. I found the teaching very challenging but extremely enjoyable and I particularly enjoyed coaching rugby with the boys at Horrawula School. They showed real enthusiasm and talent for the game. The staff were also keen to learn and wish to set up permanent links with Wales which will allow them to get the game up and running in other schools in the area. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the organisation and running of the trip. This includes Miss Allen, Mr. Swallow and Help Lanka. It has been a life changing experience and one that I will not forget.”
Mr Prickett

“To begin with, I found teaching in the schools really challenging but the children were really keen to learn and settled in well. I taught a few lessons on colour and family and even got the children involved in some art lessons, which they really enjoyed. The trip really rewarding and I’m glad to have been involved in such an amazing, once in a lifetime experience.”
Corinne Williams

“On special request by History Teacher Mr. Piante, at Horrowala School we set up rugby coaching with the Year 10 and 11 boys with the aim to share our national game and culture and to reduce the drop out rates in the school by giving the older boys something to focus on. The coaching was a resounding success lead by Mr. Prickett setting up games, training drills and teaching the rules and tactics. The rugby team used kit donated by Holton Road AFC.”
Matt Moore

“Going to Sri Lanka was one of the best trips of my life and I’m very grateful I was given the chance to go. The highlight of the trip for me was going to the orphanage because it is so rewarding knowing that I helped to make a difference to the boys lives by spending two hours a day playing sport with them. Overall, the trip was an amazing experience, from going to the schools to getting to see some of Sri Lanka on our tour, particularly the elephant orphanage and Kandy.”
Matthew White

“The entire experience was incredible, every aspect of the country and told a story; you could still see the last remnants of the tsunami in areas like Galle. I loved helping to build communities and being a part of what Help Lanka had already started. Even though I was the one teaching, I felt I learnt a lot from the children, especially at the orphanage, being with the boys there made me grow-up. They may have been shoeless, but the togetherness they had, with the older boys looking out for the younger ones, they were happy and we made their faces beam and the beaming always rubbed off on us… it was just plain amazing. I will miss all of them and I will certainly be going back next year! “
Blake Knight