Dan's Reflection: 100 Days in Sri Lanka

It has been a pleasure to have been working with Ocean Stars Lanka over the last three months. As I reflect now on what has been a very productive period, there are a few things I would like to say about the added-value of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and living and working in Sri Lanka.

Conducting M&E research and fieldwork has enabled Zeddy and I to be in the privileged position of taking a step-back and seeing the whole picture. I say it is a privileged position because in the 12 or so years of OST’s existence, not many, if any, have been able to get the level of insight that is achieved through an extended period of M&E.

At Meeravodai Link School

The whole process of the communities and livelihoods study has been thoroughly enriching. It was inevitable that this, as my first project of this kind (from start to finish), would encounter some difficulties. But thankfully these I have been relatively minor.

I am very proud of the quality of the data that the study has produced. I look forward to presenting to trustees and stakeholders about the findings and how they can guide OST’s work in Eastern Sri Lanka.

The most powerful takeaway from the monitoring and evaluation work is the narratives of each pre-school community. Each community has a story, some very harrowing, and now Ocean Stars has the capacity to understand these nuanced stories better, and in doing so can become increasingly informed and evidence-driven.

Interviewing Parents at Chenkalady 2 pre-school

Interviewing Parents at Chenkalady 1 pre-school

Interviewing Parents at Kanchirankuda pre-school

In terms of living and working in Sri Lanka, I have never felt foreign or unwelcome. OSL has a remarkably resilient and supportive team that has provided inspiration and motivation for our work. Whether it is Joseph (hotel owner) asking us to add coconut to any meal we are cooking, or the reassuring presence of Kristi’s (OSL driver) black tuk-tuk, or Chitra’s (OSL Office Manager’s) face-wide laugh when I ask her if she wants any parata. These reassurances mean a lot and have kept us going throughout the 100 days.

I have learnt so much professionally during the last three months. Managing a variety of projects on-the-ground in Sri Lanka has enabled me to better understand ‘what works’ in development on a local level, and the importance of dialogue. Constant dialogue between NGO staff, teachers, parents and other stakeholders is and will continue to be the most important process to ensure a smooth running of an NGO in the field.

Thinking outside Hope House 1

I have also learnt the value of being decisive. Being proactive in making decisions and finding workable solutions has been essential for us to have delivered our goals for the 100 days.

It has been amazing working with Zeddy throughout the last 100 days. She has excelled. Her perspectives on all kinds of development topics have been illuminating and it has been awesome to share my motherland with her. She has certainly made an impression on all she has met in Sri Lanka, giving many Sri Lankans a new experience of Kenyan culture through food, music and fashion. I’m very excited for what the future holds her.

Kandy Nights

We have now successfully got-the-ball-rolling in terms of M&E and impact work for Ocean Stars. My hope is that the learning from our various projects will inform future decision-making.

As this is the start, I know I will be back soon. But for now, time for Zeddy and I to go home and look forward to the next venture.

Dan

Some more pictures below:

Meeravodai School Staff

Nine Arch Bridge in Ella, personal highlight!

Receiving garlands in Thantha

OSL Staff, translators, helpers and team 2

Zeddy's personal reflection on her 100 days in Sri Lanka

I am lucky to have spent my first time abroad working for Ocean Stars. This has given me the opportunity to kick off my career in international development, get experience, offer my knowledge and skills and of course travel. Coming from a developing country, it is not a common scenario to work in another developing country, the ideal situation is always to work in developed countries e.g. in Europe or America. For me this was an eye opener into how I perceive things and learn more to appreciate other people’s cultures and their way of thinking and life.

Chenkalady 2 school trip to Trinco

With the livelihoods study that we conducted, I was able to get a deeper understanding into the lives of the people where OST runs projects. Most of the people we interviewed were women who did not have jobs or anything to do but become house wives and depend on the husband to provide. However, this is not the case in Kenya, for example where I come from, women who did not get the opportunity to further their studies or get a job will tend to start their own business just so to bring something to the table and have some sort of independence however small it might be.

Communities and Livelihoods Interviews

One of the Ocean Stars’ project that caught my eye, was the sewing project in Yattiyanthota. The women in the project are the preschool mothers who would otherwise be doing nothing as they wait for their children to finish school. This project is a wonderful example of Ocean Stars going beyond providing access to pre-school education, but also empowering women with employable skills to be able to improve their living standards.

Yattiyanthotha Sewing Project - learning to make pillow cases

From my observations, the work to instil an entrepreneurial mindset into the communities through Hope Houses and other community projects, will be a challenging process when considering the social, economic and cultural dynamics of these communities. However I am encouraged to see that Ocean Stars is providing such a breadth of opportunities to women and children from many forgotten communities in Eastern Sri Lanka.

Working with Hope House staff

I was also able to work with a team of volunteers from the UK during the July trip. It was great seeing other people who are interested in bringing smiles to the faces of the children in the preschools and link schools, come and work together. 

July Trip Team 2 volunteers, OSL team and helpers

The OSL staff have been great and always there when we need any help on anything especially arranging for the meetings and transport to and from different places.

Chithra and Pooja welcoming us to the office everyday with warm smiles, making us sweet tea and goodbyes when we leave every evening. Not forgetting Gowsh, who has been the best translator to have and explaining to us all the cultural differences that we encountered enabling us to understand the culture and the people more. They have made my stay and work much easier.

Getting to know OSL staff (Chitra)

Getting to know OSL staff (Pooja)

It’s been an amazing experience to be able to share in the work of rebuilding shattered lives in Sri Lanka with Ocean Stars. I have grown in terms of my personal and professional development, being independent, responsible and sympathetic to the social, cultural and economic forces the govern the lives of beneficiaries.

Below are some more photos from my 100 days...

Great times at Mahadeva Childen's Home, Killinochi

Moped riding!

Trinco sunsets

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

Hanging off the Kandy to Ella train

The summit of Little Adam's Peak, Ella

It's been a while...

It has been a while since our last blog. We have been busy, I guess!

It has been very busy time since our week away around week 7. There's too much to talk about!

As we had completed most of the fieldwork in the first half of the placement, most of the last month-and-a-half have been spent working in the Ocean Stars Lanka Office in Batticaloa, doing a number of tasks including:

• Data inputting and analysis
• Producing the Communities and Livelihoods Factfile (picture below, for more information on the study to get in touch with dan.bunter@hotmail.co.uk)
• Report writing
• Planning and being apart of the Ocean Stars July volunteer trip (trip blog can be found here)

The OST Communities Factfile, providing insight into the daily lives across all 16 pre-schools in the Eastern Province.

We hope to finish all of our project work in the next few days and very much look forward to presenting the work to trustees and those interested in Ocean Stars' wider work.

We write now as we enter our last week in Sri Lanka and we leave Batticloa this Sunday. In the next week or so we will post our personal reflections on what has been a highly enjoyable, eventful but most importantly a very productive 100 days in Sri Lanka.

Here are some pictures of us working in the office.

Zeddy working in the OSL office

Gowsh and Dan

A Week Away: Trinco, Kandy and Ella

Although predominantly based in Batticaloa, Ocean Stars also has projects in Trincomalee, a coastal town in the North-East of Sri Lanka. The projects in Trinco include a child educational sponsorship programme, of which there are over 100 children being sponsored up until the age 18, as well as business-oriented donations, including fishing boats and chickens for those in-need in the community.

Sunset in Trinco

Our work from Sunday to Wednesday centred around the sponsor children. Speaking to over 45 children about their daily routines, favourite foods and hobbies etc, in order to better understand the lives and personalities of the OST sponsor children. Aside from a different location, the sponsor children in Trinco are from a Muslim community, many of whom relocated to the village after fleeing during the civil war. The religious diversity amongst OST’s beneficiaries is always a fascination. Through living in the village and speaking with sponsor children in Trinco for a few days this week, we certainly gained a better understanding of the cultural norms, expectations and conflicts that govern the community.  

After a really productive and insightful few days in Trinco we decided to have a few days off!

Starting first in Kandy, best-known for being the centre of Sinhala-Buddhism in Sri Lanka, with the Temple of the Tooth (Buddha’s tooth) central to the buzz of the city.

We stayed at the Queen’s Hotel, an old British colonial hotel featuring an 178 year-old, Titanic-style lift, which would certainly make anxious any claustrophobes! Conveniently located in the centre of Kandy, we visited the Temple of the Tooth where a nightly ceremony occurs from 6.30pm, with many making offerings to the sacred relic, as well as an interesting museum hall detailing the nomadic journey of Buddha’s tooth, ending up in Kandy.

An unexpected highlight of the evening was being serenaded by a four-piece band whilst having dinner. They even knew a Swahili song, Zeddy was very happy!

On Friday morning we journeyed on the famous train ride from Kandy to Ella, passing through the tea plantations and hill country. Although initially standing room only, we managed to negotiate some seats 30 minutes into the 7-hour journey!

Green, green, green. All you could see is green. Amazing how the origins of a cup of tea dominate the landscape of central / lower Sri Lanka. Breathtaking!

Ella is beautiful. A small tourist town set 1200m above sea level, is the perfect getaway. We were lucky to stay at Green Hill hotel with the most amazing view from our room and dining area. Little Adams Peak to the left, Ella Pass in the middle and Ella Rock to the right. Dreamy and cool. Yes, the temperature was cool!! A pure delight to not sweat for a few days.

On Saturday we ventured on the well-known 10km hike, featuring Little Adams Peak, a visit to Finlays Green Tea Factory and a walk across the mightily impressive nine-arch railway bridge. 

It was wonderful to experience the unique landscape, walking on the hills, seeing the views and taking selfies! Ella felt like a different country to our home in Batticaloa. Tea plantations replacing paddy fields, pine forests replacing palm trees and fresh cool air replacing humidity. We would thoroughly recommend it!

It has been a week of diversity. From working with a Muslim community in Trinco, to engaging with sacred rituals of Buddhism in Kandy, to escaping to the mountainous terrain of Ella.

This is why Sri Lanka is an amazing country to visit. For a small island floating in the Indian Ocean to have such diversity within a train or bus journey away, ensures both an enjoyable and endlessly fascinating experience.

Click on the links for more information on where we stayed in Kandy and Ella.