Dear Friends,
I recently went to Sri Lanka. It was my first trip there. It was a thoroughly enjoyable holiday. It is a beautiful country with many attractive places. But at the same time it gave me a reality check. I met beggars both young and old. A small boy stopped a van we were travelling, to beg. He risked his life to beg. He wanted money to buy shoes. I don't know if the story was true but it was sad that instead of being in school the boy was on the street begging and risking his life stopping cars by standing in front of it. There was another boy who ran down a hill, about 5 or 6 bends on a hill just to sell flowers. He was always faster than the van we were travelling in. We did not want to buy initially but we were touched by his perseverance. If only he could put the same amount of effort in his studies, he will really do well in school.
Just to put things in perspective, a tea plantation worker who has to work rain or shine earns about Sri Lankan Rupees 18,000 which is about USD144 a month. That is how much they make while the tea plantation owners make tons of money. Such is life in Sri Lanka. Things are worse in Jaffna which has been ravaged by the war with the Tamil Tigers but Jaffna has not been given much attention since the war ended.
I had a chance to visit some children in Child Action Lanka in Kandy. They had street kids whose parents cannot effort to look after them as they needed to work. The children's age ranged from two months old to 18 years old. Child Action Lanka depended on support from Volunteers and Public Donation. The Churches also supported them. But the place they were based in is not the most ideal and it required a lot of work. One Volunteer named Tom from United Kingdom was there for two months during his University break to help the Centre. He was only about 20 years old. Another local girl aged 17, was there to help look after a toddler. Despite coming from a privileged family she was down to earth, caring and dedicated. Apparently, she had done very well in her "O" Levels. I was impressed by her devotion to the cause.
If you would like to help either as a Volunteer or donate cash, food or clothes, here is the link to the "Child Action Lanka"- www.childactionlanka.org or chilldaction@sltnet.lk or call them Tel- 077 9021730.
Thank you for your support in advance.
God Bless!
Best Regards,
Mark
