General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
Being my first time doing anything like this, I was fairly clueless when I started my program as to what was in store for me. I was very nervous as to if my presence would be of any help to anyone and if it would in the end, do more harm than good."I was soon to learn that the abundance of love, curiosity and support from everyone surrounding me here would crush all uncertainties."
I spend half my time in a Nursery and half in a Tamil girls home. They are very different environments and my involvement in each is relatively different. The Nursery I work as a teachers’ support, generally doing crafts, drawing and singing. The teachers here are very kind and have invited me into their families and lives with so much enthusiasm. I have been to countless lunches, ceremonies, celebrations and even had the privilege of attending a tradition Sri Lankan wedding. What an amazing experience that was!
The children here, ranging from 2-5, are full of energy, creativity and have an outlook on the world that has not yet been moulded by the burdens and rules of society. It is wonderful to experience the different ways in which people learn being encouraged.
The girls home where I spend the rest of my time is filled with 27 of the strongest, most beautiful girls I have ever met. They have created such a strong family unit, all supporting one and other and providing a safe home for them to grow and become wonderful, intelligent and ambitious young women. They yearn for so much love and are impossible not to love with every bone in your body. We spend our time doing crafts, studying, watching films, exercising and being silly. Whatever the chosen activity of the day, my main objective is to shower them in as much love as possible, and empower them to always know that they deserve the best of everything and the best is attainable.
So, at this point in my journey I can confidently say that:
I have probably learnt more from this experience than anyone here has learnt from me,
Every little bit of help makes a difference, even if it's just to one person,
The more focus we put on building strong, empowered young people, the better we as a society will become in the future, and, I will most definitely be back!