The inauguration report of the vocational computer trainning centre which is known as Project PC4KIDS Kotapuli is now available. A few weeks after the succesful Pilot Project PC4KIDS was started we can finally update you all who stood behind this very inspiring adventure of helping children in need. Continue Reading

The children are watching us with curious eyes. It is difficult to concentrate on the teacher, when 15young Danes together with 20 young Sri Lankans dig holes and carry large stones of granite only a few meters away. Obviously, it is not an everyday event to see pale Europeans working with the sweat pouring off them.

It is one of our first working days at the school, and we are about to turn the schoolyard into construction site. On the road outside the school is a large heap of granite stones, which we slowly move into the schoolyard. We did not have any machines to help us and only a few wheelbarrows, so most of the stones are carried all the way. It is hard work, but we spend the time by learning words in each other‘s languages. It is quite difficult for us Danes, because some wants to teach us Tamil words and some wants to teach us Singhalese words. I am beginning to appreciate, that we only have one language in Denmark.

We are going to make a new building inside the schoolyard. After the tsunami, the school received many new students, because their former school, which was situated very close to the sea, was destroyed by the tsunami. To make room for the new students, there were some temporary classrooms, but an open shed made of palm leaves or sheet metal is not enough when the monsoon sets in.
 
In general, the physical conditions are very different from a Danish school. The small, worn-out chairs and tables stand close together directly on either sand or cement floor. Some places the cement is broken, so there are large holes in the middle of the classroom. Everywhere there are small pieces of garbage like paper or plastic. The school has a place for garbage in a corner behind the buildings, but not everything ends up there. Photo:srilankabrigaden 2005 The garbage place is just next to the toilets, so there is a—nice“smell, when you get near this area. Actually, I would not call it toilets. It is nothing but a hole in the earth. There is not even water for washing like the most other places we have been. Even the Sri Lankans from our brigade agree,that these toilets are very bad.

In spite of the poor settings the children are happy and smiling. They run around playingand make just as much noise as Danish school children. The most brave of them gather in small groups and say —hello“ or —what‘s your name?“ to the strange looking foreigners. When we show an interest in them,they are eager to show us their books and read tous. Every child is wearingaschool uniform. The girls lookvery descent in awhite dress,which ends just below the knees. Often their long hair is arranged in twobraids,soeven girls from the eldest grades look like small schoolgirls. The boys are wearing blue shorts and awhite t-shirt. Both boys and girls are wearingatie. In general the dif-ference in sex is marked very clearly. I don‘t think there is any room for boys playingwith dolls or girls climbingin trees.
 
In the afternoon school is over,but some of the school boys come backin normal clothes tohelpus with the work. The small,slight boys are working very hard œ toohard sometimes,we thinkwith our Danish view of children‘s work. Iguess most Sri Lankan boys are used tohard workfrom an early age. But the boys alsohave time for fun. They thinkit is very amusingto get aride in the wheelbarrows œ the faster the better.

It was nice tosee that our workinspired the children todosomethingon their own. It made them apart of the project,sothe school buildingwas not only somethingthat some strangers came todofor them. Iwonder if Danish children would be willingtoworkfreely toget the opportunity togo toschool?Iguess not. In that light Danish children seem very spoiled.
 
The workwas hard and sometimes frustratingbecause of poor or missing tools and misunderstandings in the communication. Everythingtookmore time than planned,sowe didn‘t have time tofinish the school completely. Even though Ifeel, that we did something useful. Ithinkthe most important was not the result of our physical work,but the result of our presence. The attention we showed tothe school children and tothe community has hopefully given the people there new hope and spirit and made it easier for them torecover from their great losses.

Pictured by Mie Andersen

For almost six months I did volunteer work at the children’s home of Senthalir Siruvar Illam, Mullaittivu , Sri Lanka ‚Äì an area that was affected by the 30 year old civil war between Tamils and the Singhalese. The tsunami required the lives of more than half of the children, and the whole world was able to follow intensively via media. While the children were the victims of the tsunami tides, the rest of the world were victims of the world wide media. How much did we really hear about the world’s biggest disaster in present time? These children had already gone through the war created by humans. In addition to this they were unfortunate to meet a much more devilish destruction ‚Äì the tsunami tides. We could all see how they died one by one, thousands My journey to Sri Lanka was for me a duty which I had to carry out. With my Tamil culture and Danish background I was looking forward to serve my motherland, Sri Lanka , which I had dreamed so long about.

Thanks to my parents teaching me Tamil, I was able to communicate with the children in their own language. This was one of the important tools to open up the deepest darkness and sorrows of the children of the war-ravaged Mullaittivu.

Before my journey I took the time in Denmark to collect toys, clothes, school supplies such as pencils, color-pencils, books, etc.. It was such a big collection that I had to apply for special permission to take 15kg extra baggage. I was then ready to fulfill my longest awaited journey.

I worked during the afternoons and evenings, after the children had finished school. The burning sun around mid-day took most of my energy. My working hours had this disadvantage that there were no light at noon, because there was only one little petroleum lamp.

There was only one little classroom with a few tables, benches, and a board. It was around this place most things happened. Some children would run around playing, while the others were playing ball. A few of the small children were studying for exams. The conditions were so bad that I could not imagine that these children had any opportunity to do their homework. Not until around eleven at night they could get the peace to study further with the help of the petroleum lamp.

I had brought some English books, computer books and education books for children. I also brought my computer . It was such a surprise for them to see a computer, as they were used to only see on in books. One of the boys came up to me and showed me a picture of a computer, and told me and pointed at my computer. I could see the pride shining in his eyes because he had drawn his first computer ever.

It was difficult to satisfy all the 30 children and teach them because the electricity was so reduced, and it was only available from 18.00 till 21.00. It was also difficult to have all the 30 children within one small office.

The children came around different times from school. The youngest got off early, and the older children later. This gave me a certain routine, and I could divide them into different groups as they came home. Often they all sat together as they came from school, since their level was almost the same among the children.

The children were much exited about learning English, but their introvert ness and lack of confidence created obstacles for them to develop the language further. The first hours with the kids in the class were really special to me. The children were sitting on the floor, and they were so quiet, looking down while I got a chair to sit on. Every time I asked them something, they were quick to stand before they could answer, and then they would sit again in their place. This was something I was not used to from Denmark . I told them that in Denmark there is no difference between teacher and students as it is in Sri Lanka . I also told them that it is all right to address the teacher by their first name. The next day I found out that some of the staff had gotten really angry with one of the children because he had called me by my first name. This was very disrespectful according to the staff at the children’s home!

During the weekends I gave lessons for the children in dance, theatre and children’s games. I noticed that there was a lack of materials, and I could only use those toys and equipment I had brought from Denmark . Often was it just enough to give them some care and attention. To see their faces full of energy and motivation and to learn new things was already a gift for me, and motivated me to go on doing my tasks in the children house.

My favorites were the smallest angels. In the mornings I helped the smallest children to get washed, brush their teeth, get dressed and make breakfasts. Thereafter I did some activities with them. Many of the small ones had some form of skin infection, but there was only one doctor to examine all the children, and she would come only once a month to have a look at the children. The medicine which the doctor gave was not very efficient since the infection would be back again after only a short while.