Blogs from Kurunegala, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, Asia

Day 3 - Thursday 7 September Today’s weather in Colombo was heavy rain, influenced by cyclonic patterns from across India. Perera picked us up at 8.30am to drive to and explore Dambadeniya Ancient Region. It took us 1 ½ hours of driving through rural areas with teak, coconut, paper and rice crops. We drove through many villages which were typical Asian, semi-developed housing and small retail outlets. Many had bananas hanging up for sale, as were pineapples, orange coconuts and other citrus fruits. It took us 3 banks before being successful with our Visa card withdrawal. We hadn’t had any problems until then. We found the ancient city easily, after Perera asked several locals. Dambadeniya is a ruined ancient city situated in the North-Western Province (Wayamba), on the Kurunegala - Negombo road. It served as the ... read more

So on Tuesday i paid off £50 of my project and paid another £100 yesterday. Which leaves me £691.12 left to pay and approx £500 for flights and spending money on top of that so still a lot of hard work to put in yet. It is finally seeming real now and I keep reminding myself every day at work that this time next year I will be IN Sri Lanka which is so exciting!! Thanks for reading my blog guys and I would love it if you could all click on the subscibe button so you receive updates every time I post on here. Cheers Gemma... read more

January was a month of visitors from England, and we took advantage of this to travel and have something of a holiday. Sri Lanka does have at least 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites and some wonderful coastline, rainforests, mountains and green tropical beauty. A visit to Pinnewela is always a must!! Following the cessation of hostilities, the tourist travel industry is picking up a little. This is of course good for the economy of the country, but there is always the fear of over-development and loss of a more natural unspoilt beauty. Sri Lanka does have firm ecological principles and policies, which are adhered to for the most part. Thank goodness! With my daughter, we travelled south to Galle, a Dutch based town with fort and walls - just missing the Galle Literary Festival. The coastline ... read more

Christmas Eve! We hear that in some parts of England the temperatures are well below freezing. Here it is a little different. However, even in the tropical climate there are Christmas trees with flashing lights, Santa hats - and wonderful Christmas cribs. November saw the close of the four month programme during which time, I was able to visit many churches and parishes in the Kurunegala Diocese. This has been a truly amazing time, both challenging and fruitful - and culminating in the opening of the Kurunegala Diocese Religious Education Resource Centre in the Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe Centre in the Cathedral Compound. This will provide a useful base for future work. November also saw the ordinations of three deacons to the priesthood and two layworkers to the diaconate. The service took place at Trinity College Chapel ... read more

As so often happens just before a departure our work engagements increased, with people realising we are soon leaving cramming in last tasks. There was also a commensurate growth in social invitations as old(ish) friends tried to fit in goodbyes, and others whom we had yet to socialise with tried to squeeze in a visit before we left. On Monday we met with Sandra (Owner of the school I teach at and the school Jake and Elliot attend as well as lawyer and owner of a fair trade weaving business). Sandra was buoyed by having been listed as one of the top 100 Fair Trade companies globally. She also took us to see the site where she is in the process of building a new school. The present site is overcrowded and poorly laid out. She ... read more