ABDF

The floods on January 2011 are turning out to be Biblical in proportion; at their height they covered 25% of the island, at least according to the Sri Lankan government. Also, 40% of agricultural lands were submerged, and given that the rice harvest was almost ready, this portends food shortages and price increases for the year.

Here are some pictures sent in by friends.

As it is, food and fuel prices have skyrocketed in the District and the flood waters have contaminated all the fresh water wells around.

ABDF has decided to try and help by sending emergency cash to some of the flood victims. This cash will be spent by each recipient to buy food, water, and fuel. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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.