ABDF

A new chair might help bring a new life.

I just returned from helping Bob go pick up his new barber chair. OK, so the guy at the metal shop took twice – excuse me, three times as long to do the work as he had promised, but despite this he did a really good job. It looks professionally done, and it feels very comfortable. I should know – I got to be the first one to sit in it for a shave.

Bob and I went to the metal shop, put the chair in a tuk-tuk, and returned to his shop in Nithur. In some ways it was opposite the usual end of our projects. Almost nothing can be done here without public thanks, some sort of ceremony, and (shudder) speeches. This time, due to the sensitivity of the subject of returning ex-militants, I thought it best to do this as matter of factly as possible. Meaning not hidden, but not especially drawing attention to the arrival of the chair either. So it was just Bob and I and I actually preferred it over the usual way.

A basic, but functional barbershop

The 30 year civil war in Sri Lanka came to a cataclysmic end in April 2009. Winning a war is easy; managing the peace is far more difficult. Sri Lanka is faced with an overwhelming set of post-war problems, ranging from how to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees, to rebuilding infrastructure, to changing budget priorities from one of warfare to peacetime. One of the stickiest and most sensitive issues is what to do with the thousands and thousands of defeated LTTE soldiers. (more...)

Navatkadu Vidyalayam

The annual Ordinary Level (O-Level, O/L) Exam is the second most important exam in the Sri Lankan education system. Passing the O-Level allows a student to continue with his/her education while not passing means the student’s education is finished. To finish the 11th year of school in Sri Lanka, but not to pass the O-Level, leaves the student with the equivalent of an American High School diploma; it’s a nice thing to have, but not much use if trying to land a good job.

The way the O-Level works is very complicated by American standards, so here’s the simplified version:

The O-Level is a series of half-day tests over a two-week period in December, with each student taking ten. Eight are in core subjects that all students must take in common: Math, Religion, English, History, etc. The remaining two are considered “Additional” and cover many subject areas depending on the student’s interests, and range from Fine Arts to (non-English) foreign languages to Advanced Chemistry. In order to pass the overall O-Level, a student must pass five or more of these tests; all students MUST pass Math and English.