Sports Day
Naomi Booth :: Thursday 26th October 2023 :: Latest Blog Posts
Our final day in Batticaloa and wow what a simply awesome day it has been. There was a Sports Day at Navalady School which turned out to be full of fun, laughter and competition amongst everyone involved.
Samuel:
Today I went with the Calthorpe students to a 'sports fiesta' at a local secondary school. It was very different than I expected to be as the events were not the same as in the UK. We competed against the school's students in events like the balloon blasting which involved blowing up a balloon with the aim of popping it as fast as possible. After all the competitions, we had an awards ceremony in the hall where we were presented with medals and were thanked for joining them. It was really nice to meet people and have a friendly competition with them.
Then there were visits to preschools where a story was read, hats made, bean bags thrown and caught, bubbles chased, Parachutes swung up and down, teddies distributed and of course the Hokey Cokey sung. 12 preschools have been visited this week and over 400 children and families have been impacted by our UK visitors. Our preschool children become confident in meeting different people, in speaking and listening to English, singing English songs and develop their fine motor skills doing craft activities .
Some our volunteers visited a School for hearing-impaired children. This visit as always quite emotional as we see the struggles the hearing-impaired children face in SL. The school principle Mathy has created a nurturing and stimulating environment for the 32 students registered at her school. She cares passionately for their welfare. The volunteers had a look round the school, did some activities with the children and then the children entertained the visitors by doing a well-choreographed dance.
The final event of the day saw the sky fill with the noise of Samba drums as 5 Samba Bands from different schools gathered at Vipulanantha School for our annual October visit Varity show. The spectacle was a sight to behold and seeing so many young people playing the Samba drums was simply awesome. Mr Ross Walker who has visited Sri Lanka since 2013 with Calthorpe School is a Legend in the eyes of young people he has inspired in their musical journey. Students from the past who have left school come back to see him and the whole atmosphere is charged with energy and immeasurable energy and joy.
After a wait of 5 years returning to Batticaloa with 30 volunteers has been an enriching experience. Thousands of lives have been impacted and transformed . Laughter and music has filled the air and all the hard work behind the scenes makes the trip a unique experience for all those involved.
Onwards to Colombo tomorrow.