SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 9

The team had breakfast at the hotel as usual and left for CSLEC to finish up the painting at 7.45am.

After having lunch at about 1.30pm, we visited the Vavuniya Branch of Jaffna University. There are different blocks of the University such as the Administration block, IT block, Applied Sciences block and Business block. The distance between the blocks are pretty far apart, ranging from 5km to 10km apart. We learnt that the students usually have to cycle from the admin building to the school blocks in 10 minutes, before the lesson start.

Mr Quah and Mr Nathankumaran, the Rector of Jaffna University (Vavuniya Campus).

The view outside the classroom in the University.

Inside a computer lab in the IT block.

Students there take 'O' levels and proceed to take 'A' levels. Only 10% of 'A' level students can proceed to universities for further education. The other 90% enrol into Technical Education or Advanced Technical Institutions and they can proceed to work thereafter. We had also learnt that even with education, there is still high unemployment rate due to the lack of available jobs. I felt that we are privileged and should appreciate our education as we have access to new equipment and updated software. Yet in Sri Lanka, the students do not have access to latest equipment like us and the classroom environment is not conducive for learning.

The birthday cake for Nuwan!

Nuwan cutting the birthday cake.

The guys carrying Nuwan!

We decided to celebrate Nuwan's birthday today which was a little early seeing as his birthday is on 3rd April and we would not be around as we are heading to Colombo early in the morning. After the tour of Jaffna University, we retired to our hotel and decided to make dinner arrangements. While debating where to go for dinner, we decided to give Nuwan a birthday surprise and so some of us went out to buy a cake while others stayed back at the hotel to rest. We went to dinner at Royal Gardeen to have some Naan and once we were done with dinner, we brought out the cake and sang Nuwan a birthday song. He was not expecting that at all and we could all tell he was very touched by the gesture. He showed his gratitude by feeding each of us a bite of the cake and he said a few words of thanks. He was moved to tears.

We felt today was a positive experience as a whole. We were glad we could make a positive impression on Nuwan as it was his first birthday party in 22 years.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest and to prepare for tomorrow's interaction and presention to the community of CSLEC.

Reflection by Hisham and Hadi.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 8

We had breakfast at the hotel as usual and left for CSLEC at 7.45am.

After reaching CSLEC, we did some work on the arrangement of the computers at the second level. Shortly after, Nuwan, a staff from CSLEC invited us to his house to meet his family and to look at his Padi. It was kind of Nuwan's mother to offer us freshly made lime juice before we left for the padi.

Nuwan's family!

There were some pets that Nuwan kept at his house such as kittens, cats and dogs. They were so cute!

Micah with the cute kitten!

At the padi field, the sun was scorching hot and we learnt how to harvest the Padi. We tried to be like the villagers; cutting the rice plant and carrying the harvested plant on our heads. Even though it was a tedious and tiring job, everyone put up a big smile throughout the whole process. Not even the villagers there showed tiredness on their faces when they were harvesting the rice. We also learnt that both men and women had equal share of work to do at the village. All our life, we have taken rice for granted without knowing thatr the process of harvesting rice requires hardwork. After this trip, we have learnt not to waste food so as not to waste the efforts of the rice harvesters.

Kenny cutting the rice plant.

Vidya carrying the harvest.

After that, Nuwan invited us for lunch at his auntie's house. His family was very hospitable and they even made us Roti and curry for lunch. There is also a well at the back of his house which we washed our hands and faces with it. We were excited as washing using a well is not a norm for us.

The team having lunch at Nuwan's house.

Nuwan at the well behind his house.

We have learnt that "smile is the best medicine". No matter how hard is the work, a smile will give you the courage and a sense of satisfaction to complete the task.

The computer tables being arranged with the help of the staff at CSLEC.

We then returned to CSLEC to rearrange the tables on the computer lab at the second floor and settle some CPU issues and then headed back to the hotel to have our dinner.

Reflection by Firdaus and Cornelia.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 7

The team had breakfast at the hotel as usual and headed for CSLEC at 7.45.

It is another purposeful day here in Sri Lanka. We've have been going to CSLEC almost everyday. The anticipation of going to the centre only gets stronger as we get to make new friends everyday.

In the morning, there are kids about the age of four having lesson. Even though there are afew shy children, most of them were friendly and we mingled around and took photos with them. Some of them are so adorable! 

We had an appointment in the late morning with the Government Agent of Vavuniya, Mrs Charles. She shared with us a brief political history of Sri Lanka and the role that the state of Vavuniya played during the LTTE conflict. She also stressed that we should influence the youths by the importance of racial harmony.

From left to right: Hadi, Nic, Firdaus, CK, Celest, Mr Nathan, Kenny,
Mr Quah, Mrs Charles, Alexis, Andro, Micah, Cornelia, Khai, Hisham

We then headed to the house of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Skills Development, Hon. Duminda Dissanayake who invited us to his birthday lunch. The minister had also invited about 170 orphans who had either lost one or both of their parents during the war. We noticed that the children had lots of fun on the blow-up castle. Also the food served at the lunch party was superb. However, with due respect, we realised that the minister most of his time attending to us and making sure our needs were met instead of interacting with the orphans.

Orphans playing on the blow-up castle.

The minister walking around to ensure that our needs were met.

We stayed only a short while and then made our way back to Vavuniya town to visit the St. Anthony's convent, which also happened to be an orphanage. While on our way to the convent, we were fortunate enough to see a herd of elephants near the jungle. We stopped and took some photos. However, we we not allowed to go down due to safety issues. All of us were excited by the rare presence of these majestic creatures.

The herd of elephants!

Upon reaching Vavuniya town, we headed straight for St. Anthony's convent. Despite the late timing, they still opened their gates to us. The Sister-in-charge explained to us the present situation of the orphans; all of them have lost relatives to the war and were left to fend for themselves in the streets. The orphanage takes the girls to educate them, as well as protect them from being exploited in the streets. We distributed some stationery items, and from their expressions we could tell they appreciated it. Sadly, as we were late, we were not able to interact much with them and left for dinner.

Students distributing stationery to the orphans.

We stopped by a small eatery at the recommendation of Mr Nathan, the Manager of CSLEC, whom followed us to the orphanage. We had awesome Teh Tarik and Thosai!

Students at a coffee shop.

We then returned to the hotel for a good night's rest and to prepare for tomorrow's task.

Reflection by Andro and Alexis.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 6

<Comments section is now open. Thanks. -CK>

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The team had breakfast at the hotel as usual and headed to CSLEC at 7.45am.

When we reached CSLEC, we continued painting the external walls of the Multi Purpose Hall. Our goal was to complete at least three-quarters of the building, but it turned out better than expected. While taking short breaks in between, some of us went to the backyard to take a look at the adorable puppies.

Firdaus painting a side wall

The cute puppies!

At about 3pm, we started to work on the interior of the hall together with the students at CSL centre. To our surprise, the students managed to paint at a much faster rate than us.

Us painting the side wall

Students of CSL helping with the hall's interior

Overall, we felt that painting was particularly frustrating as the exterior walls were uneven and much time was spent on ensuring the holes were covered properly. However, we felt a sense of accomplishment after completing the tiring task. We were especially grateful for the students' help in painting, ensuring the task would be completed on time. We even noticed some of the kids at CSLEC had great drawing skills!

A drawing by one of the children

After we've done with the painting, we went to visit a granite hill located deep in a restricted area. Along the way, we saw armed soldiers at army posts. The hill was meant for monks to meditate on and we learnt that it used to be the war zone during the LTTE conflict, which explains the strict security.

A group photo on the granite hill

For dinner, we headed to the Brigadier General's residence. We spoke with him and we found that he was a caring man who wanted peace to prevail and for his district, Vavuniya, to progress in all aspects, especially in the development of the war-torn areas. He said that the only way to win a war is to prevent it, which I felt captures a lot of meaning. It shows how much he does not want to engage in war or violence. He does not abuse his power as a general but instead directs it in ways which benefits the community. We also found out that he and his soldiers are distributing artificial limbs to victims of war. This depicts his care and concern for his people.

A group photo at the General's doorstep 

We then returned to the hotel for a good night's rest and to prepare for tomorrow's task.

Reflection by Vidya.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 5

The team had breakfast at Nelly Star Hotel and left for CSLEC  at 7.45 as per usual.

Due to the change of plans, we will not be having construction work anymore. The Sri Lankan army will be taking care of the construction of the extension of the office at CSLEC.

The task of checking the CPUs finally ended today.Finally we have completed troubleshooting for all the CPUs. It was shocking when we were told that there were a rough number of 25 computers and only 3 of them were in working condition. The CPUs were not kept properly and were lying around in the storeroom. Hardware parts of the CPUs were misplaced. Opening up the CPUs was not a pleasant experience for Kenny and Nic. Pests, lizard faeces and eggs were found in the CPUs. However, despite the problems involved, it was a learning experience for Kenny. Kenny learnt some creative IT tips such as the direct testing of the supply supply from Roshan, the technician at CSL centre. After the experience, we underestimated the ability of the staff at CSL centre, it turned out that some of them were more experienced in some aspects than us and we were glad we learnt something new from them. Good job to the IT team!

The new task of the day was to paint the exterior of the multi purpose hall. We thought it will be an easy job, however today's work proved us wrong. All of the team members with the exception of Kenny and Nic, whom were busy checking the CPUs, started cleaning the wall by splashing water on the wall to get rid of the dust to make painting easier. When we started painting, we realised that the wall had alot of holes and effort was put into ensuring the holes are well painted inside so as to make the wall look smooth. Even though the task was tiring, we enjoyed it, and even sang some songs together while painting.

From left to right: Cornelia, Micah, Celest splashing water on the walls.

From left to right: CK, Vidya, Hisham

From left to right: Celest, Khai, Micah

At approximately 1pm local time, we went for lunch break and then resumed back to painting an hour later.

From left to right: Firdaus, Micah, Khai with dirty hands after the painting task

Well done painting team!

Some of the members played ball with 3 year old kids who were at the centre today. The children were adorable and reminded us when we were young, too, behaved just like them.

Firdaus and Khai playing ball with the children.

To wrap up the day, the team had dinner consisting of Roti Prata and Chicken Curry before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

Reflection by Kenny and Nicholas.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 4

The team took breakfast at Nelly Star Hotel and headed for CSLEC at 7.45am.

We first headed to CSLEC to drop off part of the team and went to Church Of The Holy Spirit so that our Christian friends could take a look.

The interior of the church.

The Church was surprisingly cozy and it was built in 1901! After a short visit to the Church, we went grocery shopping. It was an interesting experience as we saw how people bargained for lower prices and how the fruits and vegetables were presented on the roadside. Something we usually don't see in Singapore. We bought about 3 days worth of food and a giant jackfruit which cost around 500 rupees!

The market place in Sri Lanka.

When we returned to CSL to resume the checking of computers with Kenny and Nic.

Kenny at his work station.

Lunch was mostly vegetables again but with the added pleasure of potato curry which was probably one of the best (vegetarian) curries I have ever tried. Some of us tried to use our hands at eating rice with our hands which turned out to be not so bad!

What a wide spread of vegetarian dishes!

After lunch, we joined a computer class in the afternoon and helped the students with spelling and grammar mistakes and gave some Excel tips. We feel that the students are on the right track of learning and hopefully they will be able to apply these knowledge in their studies and work.

Vidya helping the students out with ther work.

After the computer lesson, we took a break to visit the rail way. This railway is significant as it was the former boundary between north and south during the civil war.  Our friendly bus driver took us for a short hike along the railway and we ended up at a Hindu shrine.  After our Hindu friends paid their respects, we walked over to a well nearby and had some photos taken. 

From left to right: Firdaus, Khai, Micah, CK standing on te railway track.

Religious portraits on the bark of a huge tree.

The team at Nelly Star.

We ended the day and headed back to the hotel and had Pizza for dinner. Time for a good night's rest for tomorrow's task!

Reflection by Hisham and Micah.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 3

The team had their usual breakfast at Nelly Star Hotel and headed for CSLEC at 7.45am.

Unfortunately, the army did not arrive for our construction task, thus we had to leave the contruction work for tomorrow.

The first task of the day was to teach the students computer skills especially Microsoft. We taught the students how to use Microsoft Powerpoint such as creating a new slide and adding text to the slides. While we're guiding them, we were quite surprised to found out that some of them had prior knowledge to Microsoft Powerpoint as we expected the students to be unfamiliar with computers. I guess we were wrong.

Right before lunch, the truck loaded with bricks arrived at the centre. With the help of some of the students, we unloaded the bricks together and lay alongside with the gravel and cement. These materials will be needed for the contruction tomorrow.

After all that sweat from carrying the bricks, we joined the students for lunch at the multi-purpose hall. Today's dishes consist of ladies' fingers, raw onions and carrots. It was a simple meal but because we're eating with them, even the simplest meal tasted extraodinary.

The second task of the day was to check, troubleshoot and sort out usable computers. Under the leadership of Kenny, our IT I/C as usual, we tried to connect the office computer to the wireless network. We intend to install a webcam, but however failed due to router issues. We were dissapointed as a good amount of research and effort was put into vain. But that did not put us down, we intend to pursue the issue another day.

Kenny and his work station.

Following that, some of us continued to interact with the students by playing Cricket at the open field. Even though, we had communications barrier, we were able to learn how the game was played and it was certainly fun playing with them. Everyone was tired and sweaty under the scorching sun.It felt like we(and the students) do have something in common as we sweat out together.

Quickly, we wrapped up the day's work and headed to the market place for a short tour. We saw how the shop owners struggled to own a business in order to make a living.

The team at the market place.
From left to right: CK, Hadi, Kenny, A student from CSL, Khai, Celest, Nic,
Hisham, Andro,  Alexis, Cornelia, Micah, Vidya, Mr Quah

We found a place for dinner recommended by our driver, the Royal Garden Restaurant. We had Naan with Black Pepper Masala and Butter Chicken Masala. After a filling dinner, we went back to our hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow's task. We will most probably be involved with some construction.

From front to back: Firdaus, Cornelia, Khai, Andro, Hadi, Mr Quah, Hisham, Micah, Alexis, CK, Celest, Kenny
At the back but cannot be seen: Nic and both of the bus drivers

Reflection by Firdaus and Hadi.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP (DAY 2)

Tomorrow's task would be construction. We would like to share with you the lesson that we had at Architecture and Built Environment School (ABE) at Workshop 5 back at Singapore Polytechnic a few days prior to take-off to learn more about construction.

The team went to W5 in the morning and met with Gary, one of the ABE workshop staff. He taught us the basic elements of contruction such as gravel, sand, cement and rubble and how to mix the elements together to create strong mixture for construction. As we thought that the lesson would last for a day, we were surprised the lesson ended in about just two hours.

SP SRI LANKA OCIP DAY 2

JOKE of the day! #2
It's 7.07am local time, CK and Kenny were still sleeping in their room. The rest of the group who woke up earlier decided to play a prank. CK, who was obviously awakened by their prank, went to open the door.
Andro and company: *Knocks on the door continuously* Police! Police! Open up!
*CK opens the door*
CK: *Covered his face in relief when he saw the croud* Eh sia la! -.-

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We were heartened to be served a great spread of western and local breakfast. Even though the curry was spicier than what most of us could handle but we enjoyed the breakfast.

Left to right: Celest, Nic, Hisham, Andro
Having breakfast at Nelly Star Hotel

At 7.45 we left for Chen Su Lan centre. Our main task for the day was to revamp and equip the newly built computer lab on the second level. Kenny, the IT head led us and gave us instructions so we could get to work. We started from basic checks such as turning the computer on and off to checking for missing important components and configuration settings. Soon, we discovered that some CPUs donated by local charity organizations have missing components, including important ones such as the motherboard. We learnt from Bhante that the computer parts are prone to be stolen.

Everyone's busy setting up the computer lab.

In the early afternoon, our muslim members headed for the mosque for prayers. The friday prayers are usually started with the prayer call, followed by a short sermon that lasts around half and hour, followed by the actual prayers. Our muslim friends realized that the ablution area was unique, and ablution is taken from the water in the koi pond. The main difficulty was that the sermon was difficult to understand as it was in Sinhala.

At approximately 2pm, we had pumpkin and brinjal for lunch. Some of us were able to adapt better to vegetarian meals as these dishes too, were great! This is how the cooks prepare the ingredients.

Ingredients for our lunch.

After lunch we interacted with the students and they were excited to see us again. We started playing a game named "Draw Something". It requires the students to guess the drawing on the board and to spell it out in English. There were incentives such as sweets to reward students. Although we had a communication barrier as some of the students couldn't understand us, all of us had a good time.

Cow or dog? Drawings by the local students.

We continued to check for spoilt CPUs while Kenny opened the CPU covers to diagnose the problem. The staff at CSLEC offered us biscuits and hot milo drinks and we appreciated it.

Computer lab almost done!

As the day had passed, we enjoyed our dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. The food served was delicious, together with hot chicken curry to pamper our taste buds. It was a pretty short day, and we headed back to the hotel to rest and prepare for the task of the next day; construction of a new room/ garage.

This is our dinner for today, it's similar to thosai/ prata just that it is inflated. 

Reflection of the day:  Life is not easy for the locals, especially after a war, there are many problems such as petty crimes as theives resort to stealing in order to survive.  Even the less fortunate Singaporeans are richer than most of them here in Sri Lanka. We are mostly fortunate and able to support ourselves without resorting to crimes. It was definitely something to contemplate about that we take our security for granted at times. However, they are mostly happy people who are contented with just the little things they have. 

Reflection by Cornelia and Khai