Two volunteer groups from the UK have
experienced the trip of a lifetime to Sri Lanka, sharing
hard work, good times and smiles with the children of
Seenigama as the first guests at the Foundation of
Goodness’s (FoG) brand new accommodation centre.
Gillingham Youth and Community Centre brought five
adults and ten young people aged 16 to 20 years, and
Beaulieu School from Jersey Island sent nine students
and three supporters through the world challenge program
to stay at the Foundation of Goodness for a very busy
two weeks.
The groups undertook
community activities such as painting a turtle hatchery
and a community centre, visiting an orphanage, cleaning
a beach with the local ‘green team’, putting on a drama
performance with village children and taking a field
trip to nearby Unawatuna with young members of the
Foundation’s Children’s’ Goodness Clubs.
FoG Founder and Trustee Mr Kushil
Gunasekera, who was delighted by the tours’ success,
commented that such stays enhance the lives of both the
visitors and the local rural community.
‘The benefits these visits bring to
the children and youth here are immense. They get to
experience cultural interaction and skills sharing that
they simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience
otherwise,’ he said.
Each afternoon for the first week, the Gillingham group
delighted village children by inviting them onto the
Seenigama Oval for a sports session, with over sixty
people from babies to young parents joining in with the
badminton, cricket, frisbee, football and other
activities.
Both groups also got to experience the spicier
side of Sri Lankan culture through local food
cooked in-house for them, cooling off with
regular swims in the freshly opened Bryan Adams
Swimming Pool.
Feedback from both groups was overwhelmingly
positive, with many volunteers commenting that
they were sad to leave Sri Lanka and would like
to return soon.
Twenty year old Lisa Danoris from Gillingham
describes her stay as a truly fantastic
opportunity.
‘[it was] a very moving and
inspirational experience. Nothing could ever explain in
words what you take away with you. The Foundation has
done so much for the community, it is fantastic to be
able to be a part of it,’ she said.
Her team member Abby Mundy echoes the sentiment.
‘It was great to meet different people and help
them in achieving things. I really loved seeing
the kids looking happy and enjoying themselves.
If anyone wishes to come they should as it will
change their lives and the villagers,’ she said.
Kerry Bartlett, also from
Gillingham, describes the visit as amazing.
‘To be involved in such a fantastic project is one of
the most worthwhile things I have done. The country is
beautiful and the people so warm and friendly. I feel I
have taken so much away personally, and left a
bit of myself in Sri Lanka,’ she said.
The group from Jersey had equally positive
things to say about their stay. Seventeen year
old Alex comments that:
‘Volunteering at the Foundation of Goodness was
absolutely fantastic and very rewarding.’
Seventeen year old Dan Knowlton also had a great
time.
‘The experience was a life changing adventure,
the children were so exciting,
thankful and friendly, and
the most amazing part was seeing the children’s smiles,
it made me feel so proud and glad I had done this
challenge,’ he said.
Even the support team had commended the work being done
by the Foundation. Jersey challenge worker Berny Doyle
commented that:
‘It is good to see the fund-raising we have done back in
Jersey is going to such a good cause.’
For the Foundation of Goodness, these volunteer stays
brought enjoyment and support to the
community, creating an unforgettable experience
for both volunteers and villagers and providing
much needed funding to the organisation.
Mr Gunasekera is delighted at the success and credits the
positive attitude of all who were involved.‘I am
thrilled that the volunteers had such an amazing
time, and that the people
of Seenigama enjoyed their visit so much. Our staff were
absolutely dedicated to ensuring that the needs of our
visitors were met, and played a huge part in making sure
both trips ran smoothly,’ he said.
‘I think these first visits have set a high benchmark that any
groups who visit in the future can look forward to achieving as
well.’
