Year-End Holidays
25-31 December 2007
Besides the traditional holidays, December marks the end of the school year in Sri Lanka and the kids have most of the month off. Many of them visit relatives for the holidays, but for those who remain behind in the orphanages, it can be a glum time. But this year we made it fantastically fun! -celebrating Christmas at each home, and then traveling with our Wattegama children to Pamunugama home for a fun holiday 'camp' with all of the children combined.
Christmas Dinner
Tuesday 25 December
Even in primarily-Buddhist Sri Lanka, Christmas is happily celebrated as an international holiday. On the evening of
Christmas, the Pamunugama and Wattegama homes each enjoyed a special dinner with delicious, catered food, chocolates, and
ice-cream, followed by fireworks. Thanks to sponsors Nina Shopolovich (Wattegama) and Lisa
Bernard (Pamunugama) for providing for a very special evening for our children!
Wattegama To Pamunugama
Friday 28 December
We took our Wattegama children by train and bus to Pamunugama so that all of our children could celebrate together.
The train-ride between Kandy and Colombo is a scenic pleasure, unlike the traffic-jammed and bumpy road route. It's
hardly a direct means of getting from Wattegama to Pamunugama, and required us to hire busses on both ends. But it was
a wonderful experience for our Wattegama children to travel by train and they thoroughly enjoyed it, -a permanent memory for
all of them. Thanks to sponsor Nina Shopolovich for providing this experience!
Holiday Party at Pamunugama Home
Saturday 29 December
On Saturday, our Wattegama and Pamunugama children had a fun day together at Pamunugama home. We were joined by our
dear sponsors and friends Kelly Atkinson (from Holland) and Flavia and Dinoo Daewar (from California), which made the day
extra special for the kids. Late in the afternoon we spent much time making special preparations for our holiday dinner,
arranging everything on the beautiful lawn in front of the home. After a wonderful candle-lit dinner, we ventured inside
to sit around the Christmas tree where the children opened their gifts from their sponsors. We finished the wonderful
evening with lots of fireworks outside. Thanks to sponsor Connie Carlberg for our wonderful dinner, and
to the children's individual sponsors for their gifts!
Pamunugama Beach & Party at McDonald's
Sunday 30 December
On Sunday our children enjoyed a visit to the beautiful Pamunugama beach, especially nice for our Wattegama children who
rarely see the seaside. In the evening, we hired a bus to take us all to McDonald's in Welisara (about 45 minutes
from Pamunugama) where the children had a fantastic party, as always, and a fun dinner, thanks to the generosity of visiting
sponsor Dinoo Daewar. Thanks Dinoo!
Pamunugama to Wattegama
Monday 31 December
After a leisurely morning and sad good-byes, our Wattegama children boarded the bus to Colombo train station. Another
lovely train-ride and a few hours later, they arrived in Kandy, followed by a 45-minute bus-ride to Wattegama. Thanks
again to sponsor Nina Shopolovich for our novel transportation!
