ExcelWorld and McDonalds Holiday Party

21 December 2006

Thanks to the generosity and care of Mr. Asanga Seneviratne, an OSI donor right here in Sri Lanka, our Pamunugama children were treated to a fantastic day-out during their year-end vacation, to celebrate the completion of another school year and to bring in the Christmas and New Year's holidays

ExcelWorld

We waited until early afternoon, when our oldest kids came home from their last day of O-level exams, and then swept everyone into a chartered bus and set off on the one-hour ride out of the Pamunugama jungle and into Colombo.   We first visited Excel World amusement park in central Colombo, where the kids spent several tireless hours running from ride to ride.

McDonald's

After a long afternoon in the sun, in the evening we transferred the kids to air-conditioned McDonald's for dinner, and a holiday party of games, face-painting, and other fun, topped off with ice-cream.  When they finally had their fill of food and fun and when McDonald's was wishing to close for the night, we put our suddenly-exhausted kids back on the bus and sent them home, well past their bed-time.  The fun-filled day was a rare treat for our Pamunugama kids, for whom "vacation" is often otherwise a melancholy, gloomy time.  We and they are very grateful for this wonderful day and wonderful memory!

Acknowledgements

A huge thank-you to Asanga Seneviratne for providing this fantastic day and memory for our Pamunugama children!
A special thank-you also to OSI-Pamunugama liaison Anita Priyadarshani for coordinating the bus/transport and all arrangements with the home and children and for supervising the children the entire day, with your usual good cheer!
Thanks to Ms. Dilini Jayasuriya for accompanying our kids and the warmth you showed them, and to the patience of Celine (Pamunugama orphanage matron) and her fantastic staff!
Thanks to all of you for creating this fantastic memory for these very deserving children!
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