Volunteering at the FoG has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  My husband and I took a career break and decided that we wanted to do some voluntary work to give a little back.  We heard about the Foundation through a friend and came without knowing much about what we would be doing.  Working here exceeded our expectations; it has been hugely rewarding and I will remember it forever. 

Upon arrival we were immediately made to feel welcome by everyone we met.  It took a few days to settle in and work out how we could be useful, but there is lots of enthusiasm from the FoG staff with regards to accepting outside help.  The greatest thing about working here is the variety of work – there are many sectors and so many different projects that there is lots of scope for volunteers to get involved. 

I have been lucky enough to be able to get involved in a variety of ways, so there has never been a dull moment! In particular working with the children has been amazing.  I have been helping with the pre-school and have also been working with the English teacher to introduce new ideas and games into the classroom.  The children are so willing to learn and really enjoy the chance to interact with a native speaker.

I also enjoyed working with the Women's Enterprise along with another volunteer.  Our aim was to help the women of Seenigama generate an income using the sewing and lacemaking skills learnt here at the FoG.  We worked with women to introduce modern designs and create a new product range to take to market. This project is continuing after I leave and I hope that one day they will be exporting their products.

I have also done some office work on the management side of things and some fundraising activity.  I worked with another volunteer on a donor leaflet to generate funding to create more Village Heartbeat Centres. It was so rewarding to see the finished leaflet being printed.  I think that the Village Heartbeat project is a brilliant concept - I have spent a lot of time in the classes at the centre and it has been great to see how successful it is. I am proud to have been a part of this and I hope other centres can be opened in the future.

So that’s me! It has been amazing but also challenging at times and a lot of hardwork.  The language barrier makes it extremely difficult and the laid back attitude towards timekeeping (“Sri Lankan time") can be frustrating at times. But the positives far outweigh the frustrations.  The best thing has been the people – they really are the kindest and most generous people I have met.  We have been invited into people’s homes and really made to feel part of the village.  I will miss walking through the village and having children appear to say hello.