Service..a typical after school Thursday that is spent and devoted to hard work. This was my first year joining Housing & Habitat (H&H) after moving from SOS swimming. I’m really glad that I moved to be honest because of the great atmosphere that I have in H&H with my classmates and friends which makes doing something tedious a lot more fun and enjoyable. We usually spend our time breaking off a piece of wood and measuring them to cut into chairs slabs for later assembly. Or spend it in Mr. Rossberg’s classroom thinking on future projects or planning projects in the coming year which included the Home Run. However, instead of the usual, our H&H family moved to do something greater outside the OSC campus.
WWW (Week Without Walls) offers all service groups the chance to experience something new and challenge yourself to do things that you are scared of, afraid of, and most importantly teaches to appreciate everything you have. For our WWW trip, the H&H family went to Hambantota to the Janoda Foundation where we would spend 3 nights and Shangri-La on the last night.
We were the last service group to leave on Monday, taking us around 4 and a half hours to reach The Janoda Foundation in Hambantota. Once we arrived we made way to our dorms which was segregated from the girl’s dorm on the opposite side the Foundation’s entrance. On the arriving day, it was all chill and it was spent getting to know our temporary homes/area by visiting historical Dutch colonized sites and the Budala National Park. we also had some spare time to mess around with an American football in the playground. Before leaving to Hambantota we were divided into 3 to 4 group members which each group needed to make a plan for their teaching lesson the following morning. The night was spent revising the plan and making sure we kept the kids busy for a planned 2 hours. My group consisted of Emily, Nehe, and Harry, with Nehe being a key element to avoid the language barrier.
The day started off with prayers, they were around 20+ kids aging between 5 – 7 years basically, Kindergarteners. Everyone was so respectful as they all sang each religions hymns. The lessons began with some running as the head teacher started a simple follow the leader game with animal movements. As fun as it sounds, we all joined in. The headteacher led everyone to the classroom which would be our lesson area. The kids sat on their designated seats and each of our groups had to accompany each table. This was when our lesson needed a start and with a close alert from Mr. Rossberg and Ms. Amanda, each group had to be prompt and efficient to get everyone’s attention without the head teachers help. To be honest it was my first time working with kids at that age and as hard as it is to recall my behavior at that age and can say that it was not easy controlling and organizing them. We had set our first activity to be coloring which was prepared beforehand. Clay was also introduced to the kids which kept them engaged throughout the whole time.
Once we finished our lessons in the morning we then prepared ourselves for the hard labor work in the afternoon. We were split into 2 groups for 2 different activities. Takuro, Nehe, Jack, Mathew, and Harry were assigned to work on creating a barbed wire fence around the foundation more specifically, to block the road and the Foundation. Myself, Liana, Emily, Savi, and Harin were assigned to plant trees by digging holes and planting pre-matured plants. This took most of our whole afternoon however, there was still time to play American football in the playground. There was a miscommunication with the company that would supply my group with the pre-matured plants so, we spent the time waiting by cleaning a nearby orphanage.
The second day of teaching and hard work began. My group had planned a similar activity to the day previous because of its success. We wanted to include the arts and crafts aspect so, we decided to make a group project that all the kids could do together that included painting, gluing, cutting and a lot of glittering. Keeping in mind of the kid’s syllabus which was set on animals we collaborated together to make a portrait of the ocean creatures environment. I thought it looked great especially with all the glitter! The kids liked and I liked it, we all liked it and I’m sure the teachers appreciated our work. We knew that this was not the end of the hard work that came with this service trip. The 2 groups continued in their designated areas with my group planting trees more than 20. The other group even enjoyed in to help us plant even more pre-matured plants. The outcome exceeded all our expectations as we made a lot of progress. Through the scorching heat, we all had fun doing our jobs either collecting water to soften the ground of hoeing the soil to make the hole. I salute to all the people in the world that spends their time trying to make a greener and environmentally sustainable world.
The next morning we had to say our goodbyes to the lovely kids from the Foundation, the helpful staff, and Mr. Gamagye who lead us around the neighborhood. I will truly keep the memories made there with my friends, young friends, and older ones. Truly great place. We had to make our way to Shangri-La which is also in Hambantota, around a 30-minute drive from the Foundation. On our way, we made a stop to nearby pottery which we learned the traditional pottery skills needed to make beautiful and intricate pots, vases and designs. It was definitely not as easy as it looks. Nehe and I worked together to make a vase I think that was our intention oh well, we tried. He was the spinner and I was the carver, I’m pretty sure it should have been the other way around but we both had fun either way.
Once we arrived in Shangri-La Hambantota we straight got our keys and went to our rooms which was split into 3 members each. I was with Nehe and Rizqi. We couldn’t wait to have our lunch which I dreamed on the drive there. I had a pizza, basically, everyone had a pizza except Mathew who had a burger and a few others who ordered other delicious foods. We got ready for another afternoon’s hard work. I swear this whole trip was full of afternoon hard work. We got ready for a beach clean up nearby the Shangri-La. The main waste that was picked up included a lot of fishing nets, single used plastics which is horrible to see and even washed up aquatic animals. By the end, as the sunsetted, we probably had more than 10+ full trash bags full of waste which is a pretty good number with the number of people in H&H service. I think we could have had more bags full without all the fun and games which is probably why we stayed back longer than we thought we would have to stay. Anyways, we still had a pocketful of time before dinner which was spent in the pool with a volleyball. Dinner was amazing! Totally full, we still had the energy to play in the games room which was intensified by the competitiveness nature of all of us. Ping pong…pool you can name it. The night was ended with a group movie that left some people asleep after 30 minutes and others staying past midnight…which was Nehe and me. We even had a short beach walk to appreciate the luminescent night and sounds of crashing of waves.
After another amazing meal in breakfast, we got ourselves packed and ready to head back to school. One of my favorite school buses rides ever. Filled with laughter, jokes, and music, I truly love my Housing & Habitat family and enjoyed this amazing trip filled with more than a handful of life lessons to carry with me for the future. Awesome trip! 100%
