First and foremost what is Week Without Walls (WWW)?

To be frank, it is a programme in the IB which gets us the students out of our comfort zone, think in different ways, communicate with teammates and make bonds of friendship that will last a lifetime.

 

For us, in Sri Lanka, we could choose to go on 1 trip out of 4 micro-trips (Highlands, Cycling, Hambantota, Northern Narratives). Each of these trips focuses on one area of schooling in OSC. For example, Jaffna and Anuradhapura Northern Narratives was on English L&L and Art.

 

I didn’t get much of a choice when it came to where I would go for WWW as I was overseas when the email to chose came, however, my first choice was to go to Jaffna anyway since I wanted to visit there again.

On the trip, we visited two orphanages, one in Jaffna and one in Anuradhapura, both by the SOS Village Foundation. We also visited famous landmarks of both places in order to experience the culture and exploring how it is significant to the learning process and what information I need to absorb and take in. On day one it was a day for travel. We took a train all the way to Jaffna from Colombo and arrived at the Thinnai hotel in which we stayed for two nights. Day two we went down to Anuradhapura from Jaffna to a hotel called the Kubura Resort, in which we stayed for two nights. And the last day unfortunately arrived, and it was time to head back home.

Also, there will be no pictures attached of me interacting with the kids from SOS village due to the children’s security and safety. My sincerest apologies.

I knew from the get-go what my learning outcome was to be, or rather what I expected from the trip. Of course, I knew I was going to feel emotional and sympathetic to the children and learn a lot from the cultures that I see. But I wanted to feel inspired to do something, I wanted to give back in a way that will impact the people and characters I meet. Making small acts of kindness with the intention of those being paid forward in the future. And after interacting with the children from the SOS Village, I may have found a calling in a way that I did not see coming from anywhere! And I am excited.