Childrensvoices

While hanging around the Aroma Girls’ Home and watching the girls play games, we noticed a different type of game going on besides the very energetic cricket match. The girls who were too small to play cricket were playing a game I hadn’t come across before. When we asked them what they were doing, they replied quite seriously that they were playing ‘Ra’. For a moment we were a bit confused about what they meant, and they seemed to believe that it was a very common game that every one knew about, so rather than looking clueless, we settled for nodding sagely.

But a few minutes of watching the game progress quite explained the name to us.  A figure was drawn in the sand which looked like a circle with a line at a tangent. After that a few brain cells kicked in, and we realized that they had drawn a letter of the Sinhalese alphabet called ‘Ra’, which is similar to the number ‘6′. That explained the name. A bunch of girls would stand in the middle of the circle, and one girl would stand at the top of the figure (the tip of the six) and race along the outline of the figure and try to tag the girls inside the circle. There is generally a lot of laughter and squealing and pushing. If the catcher tags a girl, then the tagged one has to get out of the circle and the game goes on. Once the number of girls in the circle decreases, the figure is drawn smaller so that the excitement is maintained.

It was quite fun to watch, though everyone resisted the temptation to join.

It had rained in the morning, the streets were muddy and the conditions weren’t very good for loading all the provisions, but the purchasing officers managed to get it all loaded without letting things get too late. But the rain had also made the weather cooler, and so we set out for Chilaw on a mild and comfortable day.

We visited the boys’ home first, and they were having their lunch at the time we arrived. Most of the kids looking happier and more energetic after we started supporting them with food. They had gained some weight and were definitely more lively. Three of the boys who had finished their lunch early, cornered me and took me along to see their new fish. There were a few guppies in an old cement fish tank, and at their insistence, I took a few pictures. That used up the last of the camera batteries, and as I was changing them, one of the boys asked me for the used ones. When I questioned him about that, he said that after biting the batteries a bit, he could squeeze a bit more out of it. The rest of the little fellows then came and took me to see their growing pigeon brood. The pigeons are quite a handful. They are yet to be trained properly, and half the kids are up in the trees trying to coax the pigeons back.

When we got to the girls’ homes they were playing cricket. I have never seen girls swing a bat that hard! Maybe these homes should be considered when recruiting starts for international matches! The girls were kind enough to allow us a few shots with the bat. They all looked to be in good health and, judging by the number of ’sixes’,  in good strength.

The better quality provisions are making a marked difference in the children’s lives, and they thanked us profusely and asked us to come again.

We progressed another fifteen kilometers and arrived to the village where the boys home was located. Pastor Rodney greeted us warmly and gave us a brief history of his orphanage. Initially, during the year of 1999, when the Orphanage was established in a rented house, both boys and girls was sheltered together –it was a mixed Orphanage. Because the landlord turned nasty, they  hastily purchased two plots of land in separate locations and moved to their new homes. On the plot of land purchased for the boys sat two small, old houses  – one a very old, shabby house, cracked cement floors and walls, old doors and windows which is currently sheltering the older boys  between 13-15 years. Adjoining this house, is the dining room. A few hundred yards across the first house stood the second house which is sheltering the younger ones between 3½  - 12 years.  The environment is quiet and peaceful but of course isolated. Pastor is struggling to complete the constructions in order to give them a comfortable or good living standards or the basics of life and to guarantee that their future would be a bright one for them to be able to face society with confidence.

Construction of a new dorm (for both boys and girls) has come to a halt due to raised-funds being presently utilized for food, clothing, medical supplies, schooling material etc. He further explained that if kind donors were able to help with the food and other costs of the inmates, he could then improve on the existing constructions for the comfort of the orphans.

 Due to lack of space and beds, the younger boys, including the caretakers and cooks, sleep on the cement floor.

It was an hour’s journey from Kurunegala to the Aroma Children’s Home (about 175 km from Colombo). Was confused and concerned as we turned off the main road to an old bumpy road – how on earth could children survive in lonely areas such as these? For miles, not a soul could be seen, no nearby boutiques, medical centres, schools.  An 80 year old man, riding an  old a bicycle directed us to this home. From afar, we saw this fairly large, incomplete, humble construction – one fairly large hall; and from far, we heard children’s’ laughter, all of them bare feet; playing badminton, using very old rackets, some of them chatting, no sign of discrimination. No sooner we parked our vehicle, all of the children surrounded us. The caretaker did not seem to mind at all. Curious little faces, full of questions and expectations.

29 year old Caregiver, Kumari Weerasekara, at first, was cautious about disclosing any information. After brief introductions, she explained that this orphanage is a Christian Home run by Father Rodney Fernando which was established in 1999. With help from well wishers, he rented out a house in Chilaw. The Landlord turned nasty, he simply couldn’t take it anymore, and demanded that the Pastor house his brood some place else. In 2006, he, with help from private donors purchased 12 acres of land in separate locations – 6-acres for the girls and 7 for the boys, hastily constructed the existing building and then moved in to their new, humble dwelling place.

Construction remains incomplete, but there is hope to finish one section in April this year. Space is insufficient to place beds. Most of them sleep on the floor.