 School children in Kuchaveli |
Young people want peace
Another highlight was the kite festival. ADT arranged for youth and children's groups, run by churches across the island to converge on Colombo bringing their home-made kites. They all bore a message of peace to mark the fourth anniversary of the fragile ceasefire and to send a message to the country's leaders who were in talks with the LTTE or Tamil Tigers, to make every effort to keep the ceasefire going and find a peaceful solution. Children of all ethnic groups were involved, united in Christ. Several Sri Lankan TV crews were there and it made the news in the evening. The celebrity judges came from the arts and sports worlds of Sri Lanka.
School and orphanage
We visited a school in Kuchaveli just north of Trincomalee and saw how they operate (which is quite similar in principle if not in facilities to here). Spin-offs from this visit are the new opportunities and invitations we have had to go into local schools to talk about it. Our local primary schools are very interested in pursuing links and supporting our contacts.
We also visited an orphanage in Trincomalee where ADT has installed a water purification system. The children there are all Tamils and they have no possessions - only the clothes they stand up in. Although the orphanage is supported by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) they have little money themselves, so the equipment is very basic. The kitchen had an old iron bunk bed frame which acts as shelving and an open fire in the middle of the room with a large cooking pot as the only means of cooking. The room was full of old ashes from previous fires.
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