The school currently serves the needs of 19 children, but there is demand for more and so the school would like to accept 10 more. However, the current facilities are inadequate for 29 children, and so the organization is building an annex behind the current building. Consisting of three rooms (two classroom and a kitchen – which the current building does not have) and two additional toilets, Puhalidam has managed to begin building. (Construction in Sri Lanka is usually done piecemeal, as money come in.)

Vantharumoolai (Van-TAH-roo-moo-lie) is a village about 18 miles north of Batticaloa, site of last year’s computer lab.. The town is mostly made up of rice farmers, a handful of small shopkeepers and craftsmen (mechanics and such), and a few employees of Eastern University, which is some 5 miles south. The school at Vatharumoolai serves the entire village, starting with kindergarten.

St. Cecilia’s is widely known for its marching band, despite the fact that most of the instruments were bought just before the outbreak of the war. Once the piano was purchased, Bennett was instructed to spend the balance on new band instruments.

We developed a list of needs for the school, and prioritized it. First on the list was a set of multimedia equipment to be used for teaching large classes, and a computer setup for the above mentioned English Library.

The room for the math lab was only just being cleared out, cleaned up, and undergoing a light refurbishment (painting, etc.) and was going to be furnished with leftover furniture from other classrooms.

Normally ABDF would not give money for food and entertainment, but given our Project history with SVP; the Widow Nesamany Project, the Chenkalady SVP House Repair Project, the Valachenai SVP Roof Projects #1 and #2, and how accurate, efficient, and enjoyable working on these projects has been, our Project Director felt it only proper to give the money. And so, Bennett Hinkley was invited to participate in the fun.

The house has essentially the same problems as the house next door, the site of our other project. It is constructed of tree branches and cadjan leaves directly onto the sand. Thus our solution is the same as well; we will provide a raised cement foundation for the family living quarters (which is only one room), proper 2x4 wall supports, and a tin roof.

Project Director, Bennett Hinkley, was taken to Shalampailkerny by his friend Pushpakaran, as it was his friend's birthplace as well as the location of a minor massacre in the mid-80s, Pushpakaran’s father having been one of the victims. But in addition to showing the Project Director his ancestral home, and the place from which his family fled during the height of the violence, Pushpakaran also wanted to help his village. He wanted to know if we could build the village a water tank.

Pilomena lives in an old cadjan house directly on the sand; there is no floor to speak of. It is so low that one can barely upright inside. It’s constructed entirely of old tree branches that have been stripped down. The cadjan itself is old and badly needs replacing. It’s obvious that such a place is completely uninhabitable during the monsoon; it is barely so even when the weather is dry.