Bron - A day later...

OceanStars :: Monday 3rd November 2008 :: This Story

And so we have returned, and I am truly happy to be back home with my family. Life here has gone on whilst I have been away, yet I am changed in some way. I have seen so many things and learned so much over the last 11 days that my life can never be the same again, and helping those around me to understand this will take time, patience, love and understanding on both sides.

So what have I learned? Well…

I have learned that Korma is not the only curry…

I have learned that it is not always impolite to eat with ones fingers – indeed, it is sometimes essential…

I have learned that ‘night bus moments’ are not necessarily fatal…

I have learned that the ability to count does not extend to hairpin bends…

I have learned that sharing mosquito repellent and after bite cream can help to build a team…

I have re-learned that money cannot buy happiness…

I have learned that communication crosses the boundaries of language…

I have learned that civil conflicts do not necessarily extend to individuals…

I have learned that the abuse of power causes fear among the innocent…

I have re-learned that people are people the world over – God’s children regardless of race,
religion or culture…

I have learned that rebuilding houses is not the same as rebuilding lives and livelihoods…

I have learned that I can learn so much from people…

I have learned humility from those facing poverty on a scale I can barely imagine, yet who shared so much from what they didn’t have…

I have learned that the Sri Lankan people – the ordinary people – have a warmth and openness and gift of hospitality second to none…


I would like to thank and pay tribute to OST 2008 – Amali (the ‘baby’), Helen (the Scot), Jan (the finance), Jo (the includer), Kate (the tireless), Maureen (the teacher), Sharon (the listener), and in particular Dilanee (the enabler and powerhouse). You have been great! I am so grateful to you all for our time together, and I look forward to meeting up again soon.

I would also like to remember with thanks the extended team, our trio of intrepid drivers – Ranga the good shepherd, (who had this title explained to him in terms of a herd of buffalo, which I wasn't quite sure about!), Harshana and Sudha (daaarling!!), without whose hard work, support, care and willingness to be so much part of the team this trip would have been a great deal harder. They are two Buddhists and a Hindu, one Tamil and two Sinhalese, but these differences made no difference to them that I could see, as they looked out for each other and us. Their words at our final debrief session confirmed that the work we had done, and which Ocean Stars will continue to do, was of great value to their people, and they said they were proud to have been part of the team, which reduced some of us to tired tears.

Then the other people I have met and got to know a little in Sri Lanka – Rangini, Joseph, Ranchen, Gita, Yasmin, Rohan, Gauri, Jacthi, Rev Jothini, Kumar and his family, and others I’m sure I have missed out, and for that I apologise. Thank you for your generosity of time, and for giving a greater understanding of the situation in Sri Lanka. And I also apologise for the mis-spelling of names…

And the many people I have met whose names I don’t know, and therefore cant mis-spell! The teachers in the playgroups we have visited, the parents whose generosity with what little material possessions they have has been a lesson in itself, and especially to the children with whom we have worked. Their faces as we played with them, making things for them to take home with them, and their laughter as we threw beanbags and sang the interminable ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes’. The invitation into homes in the Batti area which were just tiny shacks built of pieces of wood and corrugated iron, and being surrounded by small people still wearing the paper crowns we had made earlier in the day.

I have left a part of my heart back there in Sri Lanka, and I look forward to returning in the future...maybe next year?

And Team 2008…I’m FINE!!!

Bron