December Newsletter
A round up of all our news this autumn
Naomi Booth :: Thursday 30th November 2017 :: This Story
Dear Friends and Supporters of Ocean Stars Trust.
Thank you all very much for your loyal and committed support for our work in Sri Lanka, empowering children and changing lives. In October I travelled to Sri Lanka with 40 volunteers from the UK.
We worked directly and indirectly with about 3500 children during their visit. Seeing a sponsor child receive his first ever bicycle and hearing him thank us for making a dream come true for him, and the tears in his mother's eyes as he received the bike, was one of many
special moments.
21 students and 4 teachers from Calthorpe Park school in Fleet visited a tsunami village during their stay.
The 75 families who survived
the tsunami in this village had been asked to move back to their own land here recently, so the school group were met by families living in very basic huts with no sanitation, electricity or running water. The students were galvanised into
action to make a difference to these families, and revisited the village with the local village committee and police to distribute emergency aid.
As we approached one hut, a boy came out and ran towards the students and teachers with a big smile on his face, as he was a student at one of the link schools Calthorpe had worked in. He was so happy that we had made the effort to come and visit his village and to show the local people we cared about them.
The passing of Mr Rasanayagam is a very sad loss to OST. We have supported his work and the
450 children at Mahadeva since 2013, and many OST volunteers have visited this Children's Home,
directed with love and care from dedicated staff.
OST will continue to fund several projects at this well-run Home, including a new preschool building .
I wish all our friends and supporters a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year 2018.
Dilanee Bunter, Founder, Ocean Stars Trust.