After a very, very long wait for my visa I have finally arrived and settled into my new home in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Following a long but comfortable flight from London via Mumbai, I arrived at Colombo’s International Airport in the early morning hours to find…nobody there to pick me up. So I decided to make the most of the situation and managed to get my mobile phone and wireless-dongle sorted and then contacted the in-country manager from Challenges Worldwide a few hours later (at a time that was acceptable to call someone). A little while later a van with volunteers for Sarvodaya’s orphanage came by and I managed to squeeze in and we set off in the direction of Moratuwa, where Sarvodaya’s headquarters are based.
Upon arrival I was shown round the peace and meditation centre and given a cup of sweet tea, and then I was shown my accommodation. I am staying in a wonderful flat just outside the gates of the centre with my own kitchen and a huge balcony, where there is often a nice breeze – an absolute blessing in this heat.
After a quick shower, I was introduced to Mr Bandula, head of the international division of Sarvodaya, and the main point of contact for international volunteers. Then I was shown round the different divisions of Sarvodaya and met another volunteer from Canada called Cynthia. We got on very well together from the start and by the end of our tour I suggested that she might want to take the spare room in my flat rather than staying in the Sarvodaya hostel. This made the first few days in Moratuwa a lot easier, as we could discover our surroundings together and did not have to be so worried about leaving the house after dark.
On the following day I was introduced to the staff of Sarvodaya’s Legal Services Movement (SLSM), the division where I am working as a fund-raising advisor, and was given many brochures, reports and proposals to read to familiarise myself with the organisation’s activities. I was welcomed very warmly and was made to feel at home immediately. The food at Sarvodaya’s canteen is absolutely delicious and after a few days the kitchen staff realised that I enjoy the spiciness of their food and stopped serving me “milder” dishes.
On my first weekend Cynthia took me to meet some of her friends from Colombo that she had made in the previous week and we were invited to a stunning party with an Arabian night theme, where we met lots of UK-educated Sri Lankans and a few members of staff from major NGOs from abroad.
During the next week I managed to get started with researching possible funding opportunities for SLSM, and had a meeting with the director to discuss my work plan and set out the deliverables and milestones. After buying pots and pans I also had the entire office round for “Swiss lunch”, which was slightly tricky as many people do not eat any animal products and Swiss food normally consists of meat and dairy products. It was a full success nevertheless and really helped me bond with my colleagues. I am learning lots of new Sinhalese words everyday and have been told I have good pronunciation – but maybe they are just being polite.
The following weekend Cynthia and I were invited to a barbecue at the US marines house, most of the marines here work as security for the US embassy. It was quite an experience being chauffeured around in US embassy cars – nothing I would have expected to be doing if you had have asked me a few weeks ago…
Work progressed well during the following week and I finalised my work plan and managed to extend my visa. I was also invited to join the SLSM staff to an alms-giving ceremony for the father of one of the board directors, who had passed away a week previously. The women from the office took me sari shopping for this occasion and dressed me in a stunning sari, and told me I had the “right bottom to wear sari”, which I took as a compliment.
Last weekend I celebrated my birthday on the beach, and despite only being in the country for 16 days, more than 30 guests came by and we had a fantastic evening with a delicious seafood dinner followed by a wonderful cake (from the Hilton – a gift from my friend Niranjala).
This week I have started to write a proposal to the Commonwealth Foundation for a Civil Society Responsive Grant and hope to send it off next week. Yesterday we only worked a half-day due to local elections and many people who live further away from Moratuwa have returned to their villages and are not in today – in fact I am the only person in today except for the accountants who sit in a different room. I have been told to be careful over the next few days as there are often tensions after elections, there are reports of an incident with a hand-grenade in the Northern Central province and of a shooting in the South – but in comparison to previous years everything is a lot more calm and peaceful.
This weekend I am hoping to head out of town to Hikkadu or Unawatuna and enjoy the famously stunning beaches for a bit. I might even take the train… I will tell you all about it in my next post.
All in all, I am absolutely delighted to be in Sri Lanka and to be working for such an impressive grassroots organisation!
