SRI LANKA - NEW FOR 2011!
We’re delighted to offer an extended volunteer program, taking your skills and enthusiasm into the beautiful exotic island of Sri Lanka! Nestled to the North East of the Maldives, and only a 45 minute flight away, Sri Lanka is in an ideal place to combine a volunteer placement both here and in the Maldives for a contrasting, but both equally beneficial experiences.
Sri Lanka is an island of many contrasts and fabulous to explore. It’s people have suffered many hardships over the last several years, including civil war, the Asian Tsunami where thousands of people lost their lives and families’ were displaced, as well as severe flooding in areas over the last year. We have programs at the moment at the Mother Theresa’s Orphanage, and St John’s Home for Girls, with more opportunities coming up for teaching and community work over the next couple of months.
If you’d like to combine programs and do a bit of traveling around Sri Lanka, we can also arrange everything for you; including transport and hotels, and something truly special for the more adventurous of you, between November and April we can organize Whale Watching in the South of the country. Please see information below on our two existing programs, and get in touch for additional information.
St John's Home
St John’s Home is in the town of Moratuwa, just outside Colombo, and is home to 15 girls up to teenage years. For most of these young ladies, one or both parents are serving time in jail, and St John’s acts as a caring Foster home for them. These girls go to school daily and all pull together in the house, carrying out daily chores and skills that will discipline them and carry them into independent adulthood. The staff are caring and nurturing to these girls who can feel insecure and unsure of their futures given the circumstances of their families.
Volunteers stay in St John’s home, and can help out with the day to day running, assist the girls with their homework, help out with their English language, and generally been a mentor to them. Whilst they are at school in the morning, an annex within the house grounds operates as a nursery to the local children, and volunteers can also help out there – assisting in the classroom with fun and educational activities for the kids.
Mother Teresa’s Orphanage
This home is situated in the town of Moratuwa, a suburb of the capital, Colombo. It is run by 20 Sisters who have dedicated their lives to looking after the 150 or so children who live there. They range from new born babies to Pre-teen age. The home is large, and the children are well cared for by the dedicated team, providing a safe haven for them. Some of the staff are ladies who have been victims of Domestic violence and rape, who have been given a chance to stay and work at the home for shelter and a small salary. Many of the children have been abandoned because they have physical and mental disabilities, others because of difficult or unacceptable situations within the parents’ family and communities.
The orphanage has some funding from the government, but otherwise depends on donations. Our volunteers can help out within the home with the children, caring for them on a day to day basis. The sisters also like to allocate a child on a one to one basis with a volunteer – to give special attention and stimulate them. The benefits of care like this can be seen in the children almost immediately.