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TSUNAMI UPDATE.
December 2006 update from Aurora Village Sri Lanka
Firstly we would like to thank everyone for their on-going support – we couldn’t have built this beautiful village without you.
Well, we had a record amount of volunteers who joined us out in Sri Lanka this time (almost thirty), including a Tonbridge Minister, ‘Sue and her friend Jan’. We hope that everyone enjoyed themselves.
On our arrival we were pleased to see that Martin (our electrician) and his wife Beverley, and their lovely friend Howard were busy trying to complete the electrical installation into the Community Hall which holds the Montessori School and Doctor’s Surgery. Martin had already been working with his team two weeks prior to our arrival. Martin and his team from Sussex did the ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ earlier in the year and raised enough funds to ship out a small container of British electrical equipment so that the installation could be done to British standard (please see our website for details www.atoa.co.uk). Martin soon grabbed two of our trustees (Pete & Allan) upon their arrival to join the team. Everyone worked really hard under extreme heat and had to keep to a strict schedule. It all had to be completed for the opening ceremony on 8th December and it was now the 1st . Whilst there Martin trained three Sri Lankan students to fit electricity to the required British safety standard. Martin and his team did a brilliant job so thanks to you all and well done!
Lots of other things needed completing prior to the ceremony on the 8th including the painting of the Montessori School and the huge water tower (which was a bit of an eyesore). The volunteers soon got to work and our team leader here was Camilla who is a brilliant artist. Camilla drew a fantastic mural of a jungle scene and the Montessori School was soon crowded with people ‘painting by numbers’. Others were working hard on camouflaging the water tower with a limited palette of a pot of white paint and two pots of different shades of green. The painting team did a fantastic job so a big thank you to Camilla, Enasha, Beverley, Sue, Kim, Vicki, James, Maria, Torie, May, Janet, Alison, Adam, Carol & David.
There are so many volunteers to thank we just hope that we haven’t missed anyone out!
The only disappointment that we had was that it had been raining heavily on and off for almost three months. This had put the building work behind considerably. However, despite the heavy rain the second phase of the village, along with the Community Hall, Montessori School and Medical Centre was complete. The third and final stage was being held up due to the bad weather but we were able to complete eight of the final fifteen houses apart from painting the outsides. This meant that on the 8th December we would be handing over the house keys to the families of those going into houses 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 in the second phase and houses 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 within the third and final phase. Unfortunately due to the heavy amount of rain it was impossible to lay the foundation stones (as planned) to the last seven houses. We managed to lay the foundation stone of house number 25 but we were soon bogged down again with a heavy down-pour. House number 25 is to be the home of the Montessori teacher so it is our aim to complete this house first. We are informed that the other six houses should be completed by April 2007 (weather & funds permitting).
We also had a very successful day planting coco-nut, jack fruit and mango trees within the village (the heavy rain washed them in really well). The trees were donated by many people and companies in the U.K. Many thanks to our team of tree planters – Chris, Cheryl, Dan and Josh Carey, Sue & Pete, Allan & Kim and May & Janet. We still have many trees waiting for sponsorship @ £100.00 each. The trees have been planted with the donors names on a plaque.
We also had names of roads that people and companies in the U.K. had kindly donated but unfortunately the heavy rains again prevented us from building the walls that were to support them. This will be completed on our next visit as part of the finalisation within the project so we do apologise to those donors who would have liked to have seen their roads being opened.
Well, all of our volunteers did their best in completing what they wanted to do and it was now ready for the ceremony.
The 8th December will be a memory that we shall never forget. Hundreds of thankful people were waiting for our arrival. We were all welcomed with garlands and bouquets of flowers. The feeling of gratitude was unbelievable and extremely moving beyond everyone’s emotions. It was an honour for everyone to be part of this fantastic celebration. There was an elephant in full regalia, dancers and drummers as well as children leading the procession with a fantastic dance routine. When we arrived at the Community Hall (our destination), we were met by some children of the village who performed a brilliantly composed song and dance routine based on the song, ‘Do Wa Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do’. These children had been practising for a whole month prior to our visit, and it was taught to them by David, one of our longer term volunteers, so thank you David - your hard work paid off.
Whilst the ceremony consisted of many speeches, the highlight for many of our volunteers was handing over the keys to the families of their new houses. Another highlight was handing out the prizes for a garden competition that was sponsored by Sue Madden of Haven Farm Shop (we wish you could have shared their joy and happiness Sue). The day was filled with tears of laughter and joy – a day to remember.
Towards the evening as the sun was going down we could hear the sound of children playing. The sound of laughter filled the air as well as our hearts. We followed the sound to the children’s playground which was kindly donated to the village by several of our volunteers. What a wonderful ending to such a beautiful day – the only day it hadn’t rained at some point!
The Aurora Village looked beautiful as the sun went down. The houses of many colours were glowing within the hues of the sunset. The sounds of happy families and the washing on the lines meant that these people had started to enjoy their lives once again. The fauna and the flora bringing in an ambience of light and peace once again.
And so, once again we would like to thank all of our volunteers and everyone who very kindly donated to our project (not forgetting our great hard working team back home, left to hold the fort in our absence). It has been a great pleasure to have you all on board.
The Aurora Tsunami Orphanage Appeal is a registered charity based in Maidstone Kent. Should you wish to continue supporting the charity please check our website www.atoa.co.uk or telephone Jan or Ian on 01622 842222
Total Amount raised so far £250,000 Total Amount still needed in order to complete the project = £30,000
Two more houses left for sponsorship. They cost £6,000 to build now due to the increase in building materials and labour costs. However, should anyone be interested in donating £3,000 (the original cost) then the charity will accept that. This does mean that the charity has to raise the other half.
Well, many of you are asking, “What are you going to do when this project is finally finished?” Well, we have obviously decided to keep the charity going, and there will always be a link and support to the Aurora Village, but we have decided next time to raise funds first before deciding what to do with it!
Thank you once again
Ayubowen (May you live a long life)
Love and blessings
Jan & Ian (Linch)
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