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Ceylon Christian Care |
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News |
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Note from Ceylon Christian Care:
Antonnet Dokter is 19 years old and has finalized her nurse study (HBO-V) in the Netherlands. Before joining as an operation assistant in a hospital she decided to spent some months working on a charity project in a developing country. Although the political problems and violence in the Tamil area on Sri Lanka she decided to spent her time on the projects of Ceylon Christian Care. We wish her a good time on the projects.
Kind regards, Herman van der Weerd Ceylon Christian Care |
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Dear friends,
Green, blue and palm trees. I arrived on Sri Lanka. And now I hope that I can find the right person who will take me to my destination … They told to me that different signs on the walls will guide me to the exit. Finally I found the right car. My driver (Rev Jeyanesan) is a nice man. On the way to the projects of Ceylon Christian Care he told me several things about Sri Lanka. He drove zigzag on the bumpy roads. The horn is used frequently, it looked like that the people here are quickly irritated. However, after some hours I learned that this is the way it works on Sri Lanka. From now on I repeatedly discover new traffic rules. There is a relation between the size of the cars and the speed they drive and the frequency they use the horn. This is what I discovered when driving by school bus from the projects in Periyaneelavanai to Batticaloa. This bus takes the children of Herman’s Girls Home and Boys Home Samuel to the Christian School in Batticaloa. In this bus it is normal that two to three children share a chair or seat on the floor. These children are so friendly to give me a whole seat for myself. In the bus it is really hot. I have the privilege to sit beside the window. All windows are open. The door of the bus is continuously kept open with a rope. The wind blows through my hair. Quickly I checked the speed we are riving, the shaking needle shows 5 km/h. However looking at speed with which we pass other vehicles the speed must at least be 80 km/hour. And this on a bumpy road. I am sitting in one of the chairs in front of the bus. This driving style requests a strong discipline of my stomach. Not only the way people drive but also the food they eat causes problems. I am not always able to manage it… These people process one chili pepper in each small dish of food. Now I realize that I should have learned to cook my own food at home … The good thing is that everyone tries to help me. Together we discover what kind of food is good for this little white girl. I am really thankful to the brothers and sisters who care for me. And what about the children in this place ? They should be punished, because they have stolen my heart … Living in this country is an experience. However this was not the reason for me to come to this country. Education is important for these children. Every evening I help them with their studies, we try together to improve their English. For this purpose I brought study material with me. Not that I know better what they have to learn, just as an addition to the materials they have. I look what is taught to them on school and try to combine it to this. To get a good picture of this I join the lessons at the school on Monday and Friday. Then I listen and sometimes I teach them myself. This stimulates the children to communicate in English. I am also joining Vathany, the manager of the projects in Periyaneelavanai, with her I visit people. We talk a lot and I have a good picture of the different projects. My next step is how to participate in the handicapped children project. I have visited this projects now a couple of times and look now what a possible task for me could be.
Kind regards, Antonnet Dokter |
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Refugee Camp of victims of the civil war |
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November 11th, 2006 Report from Sri Lanka from Antonnet Dokter
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Helping with food distribution to the victims of the civil war |
