The NGO that we work with in Sri Lanka rescued a giant squirrel from a life of captivity. Since learning to live in the wild, Dodam (the giant squirrel) regularly returns to visit the guys at the eco-house in Wasgamuwa, which is the hub of their conservation activities in the area. Ravi, the founder of the local NGO, tells the tale of Dodam’s latest visit to the house:

Of course my tranquillity and bliss is not for long because I hear a loud thump just next to me ― to see Dodam the giant squirrel on the ground looking a bit dazed. Apparently the new roof construction has messed up his regular route over the roof. So there he was on the ground because he had miscalculated the new dimensions of the roof, distance between rafters and of course my shoulders. I guess non-life threatening short falls is all in a day’s work for an arboreal (living in the trees) animal such as Dodam. I picked him up and brought him over to my work desk where he quickly finished off my cup of tea. Talk about a quick recovery! I never knew that giant squirrels liked hot tea especially with Nestomalt! The things you learn in the wilderness!

Dodam, enjoying Ravi’s tea!

If you’d like to find out more about our conservation project in Wasgamuwa, Sri Lanka, click HERE

If you’d like to find out more about all our projects in Sri Lanka, click HERE

Rhian Jones has recently finished her placement in Sri Lanka. She taught for eight weeks at a school in Ja-Ela, working with children with learning difficulties and special needs.

She tells us what she enjoyed about the placement in this short video:

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Sri Lanka, click HERE

Stuart tells Roshan (the Sri Lanka country manager) what he is enjoying about his placement at the elephant orphanange in Sri Lanka:

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Sri Lanka, click HERE

With the help of Roshan, our Country Manager for Sri Lanka, our volunteers have been interviewing each other – here is what Graham Jenkins had to say about his time at the Elephant Orphanage….we bet he never thought he’d be interviewed whilst knee-deep in water, scrubbing an Elephant!

If you’d like to find out more about our projects in Sri Lanka, click HERE

Two volunteers – Lewis and Dani – arrive in Sri Lanka, and share with us their first impressions:

“We made it! Well, all’s quiet, around here at least, apart from car horns! I shall paint you a picture with words…

Sri Lanka is:

1) Boiling – the heat is insane! It makes you want to shower constantly and it makes you wish you chose to go to the North Pole instead. Work with Polar Bears and teach English to Santa’s Elves maybe..?

2) A Traffic Policeman’s nightmare! They don’t drive in single file. Thinking about it now, they don’t drive, in the traditional sense of the word. They race. Imagine the whole of the UK, lined with extremely small shops selling massive bunches of bananas, with the roads full of tuk tuk three wheeler motor taxi vehicles, and loads of buses and vans all trying to overtake each other, with no concept of danger. All beeping at the oncoming traffic. You’ll have one van driving straight at another, head on, beeping for the other one to move out the way. And the other van is doing exactly the same. The roads are absolutely insane! I was thinking of secretly hiring a couple of bikes to finally get Dani to come on a bike ride with me, but after seeing the roads… no way!

We had two hours of teaching today. We went to a school called St Joseph’s (the poorest of all the schools we will be teaching at) and we played games of Hangman and things. The kids were about nine years old. It was great fun! All the boys were showing us how big their arm muscles are (tiny) and showing us the John Cena stickers they had on their books. He’s their favourite; a wrestler. I convinced them my name was Lewis Cena and that I was his brother. They were very impressed.”

If you’d like to learn more about Travellers Worldwide projects on offer in Sri Lanka click HERE

COWS IN SCHOOL … Yes, I did say Cows in School
by Richard Anderson

I’m no cow expert. I can tell the difference between a cow and, say, a horse, but when it comes to a cow and another cow I haven’t got a clue. To me cows produce milk, moo, occasionally jump over the moon and that’s about it. Although even if I were an expert I doubt I’d be able to give a rational explanation for the behaviour of the Sri Lankan cow.

Truly they fascinate me. I return when I can, supposedly to help out in the under-privileged schools in Ja’Ela, but really I’m there for the cows.

The first time it happened I put it down to the sapping heat. I was teaching English in front of thirty wide-eyed and eager children and into the classroom as casually as you like strolled a cow. It stared at me momentarily, looked at the blackboard and then left.

What bothered me most was the reaction of the children. No one screamed, no one ran for cover, they just stared wide-eyed and expectant as if the cow had never been there.

For a brief moment I doubted myself. Was the heat so intense that I’d begun hallucinating cows? I had to check. I walked to the doorway as matter-of-factly as possible and caught the hind legs of the cow disappearing into the next classroom.

Later the principal explained to me that the cows prefer Geography classes to English.

This wasn’t the point.

I’m no cow expert but I know that cows don’t go to school.

They don’t sit in train carriages with three nuns, a beggar and a rather startled looking voluntary English teacher, and they don’t stand around on street corners whispering to one other.

Someone should really tell the Sri Lankans this is not normal.

If you’d like to learn more about Travellers Worldwide projects in Sri Lanka, click HERE