Personality Test

I was sorting out some of the files i have when i come across this file which is normally use as ice breaker on trainings and workshops. Thought i'd share it with all of you and maybe you would be interested to take the test.

On a blank piece of paper draw a pig. If you are doing this with a friend, make sure not to look at your friend's pig. After you have completed the drawing, identify yourself which among the description below best describes your type of personality.

If the pig is drawn toward the top of the paper you are a positive & optimistic person.

If the pig is drawn towards the middle of the page you are a realist.

If the pig is drawn toward the bottom of the page, you are pessimistic & and have a tendency to behave negatively.

If the pig is facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates and birthdays.

If the picture is facing forward (towards you) you are direct, enjoy playing the devil's advocate and neither fear nor avoid discussion.

If the pig is facing right, you are innovative and active, but have neither a sense of family, nor remember dates.

If the pig is drawn with many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.

If the pig is drawn with few details, you are emotional, naive, care little for detail, and take risks.

If the pig is drawn with four legs showing, you are secure, stubborn, and stick to your ideals.

If the pig is drawn with less than four legs showing, you are insecure, or are living through a period of major change.

The larger the pig's ears you have drawn, the better listener you are.

And last but not least . . . the longer the pig's tail you have drawn, the more satisfied you are with the quality of your sex life.

What did you find out? When i did the test myself i was amused and delighted at the same time. It may not be true but one thing is sure, it relaxes me even if only for a while.

Man's best friend

Dog. Everybody says its man’s best friend. I am a bit skeptical about it because of my personal experience with dogs. I was attacked (as in literally attacked) by a dog when I was still a kid. From then on, I always made sure that I am at least a feet away from dogs.

This particular day amazes me though. I was rushing to go home as I have guests. A colleague and her daughter arrived last night and instead of staying in the hotel, I invited them over my house. They are going to tour around Anuradhapura and its historical ruins. After breakfast I made a brief introduction of the town and where are the sites which we are not allowed to go including how to bargain with trishaw drivers and I am off to work. I felt bad because I cannot go with them. I have so much work to do; I mean so much to write at work that I can’t afford a leave. So we agreed that I will be home by about 12 even though they indicated that they will probably finish the round by about 2. Given my experience, it only takes me 2 hours the maximum. When I reached the office, I talked to my boss and the other project managers if they wanted me after 12 noon as I need to be home for my guests.

Before 12, my friend texted me that they are on the way home, I called them back and tell them that I will be there at about 45 minutes. My trishaw (normally the trishaw will pick me up on our agreed time after dropping me off in the morning) did not show up. I hiked and almost run the 1km road from the office to the junction where I could catch a bus to Anuradhapura. I was really walking fast to the point of running when I noticed the dog running behind me as well. I stopped for a moment, thinking of strategy on how I can move fast as I can and at the same time not to scare the dog and motivate enough to bite or attack me. Then, the dog run at least 5 steps away from me and snarl at the two men staring at me. A lorry also stopped and the men were whistling at me when the dog snarls harder at them. This gives me the courage to continue walking, this time as fast as I could. When I looked back again, the dog is behind me again. It was then I realized that he is giving me company and seeing my safety on that almost deserted road. Every now and then he will go 5 to 7 steps ahead of me then stopped and let me overtake him and he will follow behind then go ahead of me again. I felt like we were dancing with him stepping forward then me straightly walking forward and him backward and forward again. When we reached the junction, he turned around and went back to the office.

Now, in spite of my belief on dogs, somehow my experience proves me wrong. Dogs are really man’s best friend and protector. They are indeed able to provide you safe passage and even keep you away from abuse or harassment. My father has always a dog in the house but I never approved of it, sometimes I coaxed him to give the dogs away and it causes disagreements between me and my brother who adore dogs. Today, I am still wary of dogs as they can still bring you harm but at the same time, I believe that in special circumstances they bring you to safety and keep you alive and harm free.

Ancient City of Lanka

Anuradhapura is a city of approximately 60,000 populations, situated in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. It experiences a hot, dry climate with temperatures ranging from 29ºC to 35ºC. It gets rain almost daily during the North East monsoon, which is usually from October to March. It must not be confused with Anuradhapura District, in which it belongs, but with the District representing a much wider area, far beyond the city.

Anuradhapura City has historical significance, and it is where Buddhism found its first real home in Sri Lanka, so it’s also Sri Lanka’s most sacred city. In 1988, it was designated a World Heritage Site and is a major tourist attraction as part of the ‘Cultural Triangle’. It is estimated at 235 km from Colombo.

Anuradhapura City has two distinct parts - the “New Town” and the “Old Town”. The Old Town or Ancient City is the site of the first capital of Sri Lanka, which was the seat of the kings between the 4th Century BC and the 10th Century AD. The site was rediscovered in the 1820’s during the British colonial rule and, as work started on the ruins towards the end of the century, the New Town developed and became established. The ancient city is a fascinating place of ruins, temples, and pagoda’s and tanks (ancient reservoirs). The area is quieter than the New Town. The Old Town is also the home of the famous centuries-old boa tree, grown from a shoot of the original boa tree from India, under which the Buddha attained his enlightenment while meditating. Hence most Sri Lankans’ Buddhist make a pilgrimage to the tree at least once in their lifetime, and often after significant events like marriage, first job, birth of a child, or death of a loved one. The historic and religious significance of Anuradhapura City means that tourism, from international and local tourists and from pilgrims, is one of the main industries in the city.

The New Town, by Sri Lankan standards, is relatively modern and has many conveniences. The town supports a range of private sector professions as well as a large government sector network. It is the capital of the North Central Province and the seat of the Provincial government. The development initiatives in the surrounding area have brought in a few non-government organisations (NGOs), both international and local. It is also the site of some large and very strategic military bases (army and air force) and there is significant military presence in the city.

The city and surrounding area are almost completely populated by Sinhalese Buddhists. The civil conflict has changed the ethnicity of the area in recent years, with many Tamils leaving the area in the mid 1980’s. The area is associated with strong Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism. There are a few pockets of Sri Lankan Moslems (Tamil-speaking, though not of Tamil ethnicity) in the area, primarily displaced from the conflict areas. Although the city itself is far from the conflict area, the District borders some of the conflict locations. North of the city, towards the conflict zones, entire areas are kept off-limits by security personnel. There are some IDP (internally displaced person) camps in the area, mostly of Moslems or Sinhalese people forced to flee their homes.

The A12 highway running from Puttalam in the West to Trincomalee in the East runs through Anuradhapura city. Many Embassies and High Commissions have advised their citizens not to venture north of this highway. This has put Anuradhapura city in an ambiguous position and tourist numbers, international and local, and even pilgrims have plummeted.

Outside the city, the area is predominately rural with a few small towns in-between. The area is vast, with villages and settlements quite distant from one another. Public transportation beyond the main highways is almost non-existent so in that sense, villages are quite isolated. Most villages have electricity and telephone connections, though mobile coverage is still very limited to some remote villages. People are mainly involved in agriculture and small and medium enterprise. The main crop is paddy and people are also involved in animal husbandry and the cultivation of other crops such as chillies, onions and other Dry Zone vegetables and fruits. The Dry Zone climate means that external irrigation is required if the small scale farmers of the area are to be able to cultivate more than one crop per year. There is an ancient irrigation system of tanks and canals to store and distribute rain water. Work has been done to restore some of these, and the area is part of Sri Lanka’s massive Mahaveli river project that channels the river water into the area. Despite all this, a good monsoon is essential to restore water levels, and the area is frequently subject to drought. The economic situation of the people in the province is one of the least developed in Sri Lanka.

Glimpse of my life in Lanka

My placement is about to come to an end, barely two months from now. For weeks, for whatever reason, I have been looking back as to how I live my life here then and now. I could trace a big difference, not that it is so distinguishable but I am getting accustomed to living here and it actually is becoming my comfort zone.

I am woken everyday by the bell and the chanting from a nearby Buddhist temple. Not that it bothers me; in fact somehow it makes me feel safe and secure. I don’t know, I don’t even understand why I felt that why. Perhaps because, this reminds me of home where I am also woken up by the bell from a nearby church.

After my morning routine of shower, preparing my lunch (either a sandwich or salad) and my breakfast (bread, coffee, hotdog or egg and sometimes cornflakes) I am ready to leave for work. I live in a self contained, second floor of a lovely white house with its own gate and a little garden which my landlady tended everyday. A few meters is a trishaw terminal where the drivers knew me that as soon as they see crossing the street, the trishaw is ready and they don’t bother to ask as to where I am going. As a routine, they will drop me at the library hall where I will commute in a bus for 40 to 45 minutes to a town called Talawa, 17 km away from the Anuradhapura city. This goes almost the same with the bus unless I happen to go into a bus I have not boarded before. Before the bus reached Talawa bus stand, I normally stood up to give way my seat to another passenger, also to make it easy to get down. Then I will ride again in trishaw for at least 5 to 10 minutes to AKASA. Looking for trishaws in this side of town is not difficult; in fact the trishaw is almost ready as soon as they see me stand up before the bus halt. The ride is always relaxing and refreshing. It is very green, combination of trees, brush and grass intersperse with paddy fields, irrigation canals, tanks and lakes. The entire scene is of green foliage, beige brown land and endless horizons. It’s almost like traveling from Samar to Manila in so short a time.

I reached home at about 6 to 6:30 pm. In some days I will stop at the supermarket to pick up some supplies. In most days, I head straight home, dropped my bag and went back to street with my garbage bag to throw in a garbage bin a few meters away and pick up fruits in a small fruit stall across the road where the man is already ready with papaya and banana for me. Then second stop would be the vegetable store where the lady cordially awaits my choice of vegetables for weighing in. Third stop is the fish stall where I always ended up lurking and trying to make up my mind of what kind of fish I will buy for at least 5 to10 minutes. Not that I am looking for a particular fish because in all honesty I don’t pay attention to types or kind of fish way back home as long as its fresh, and there is little choice here anyway but all because I don’t want to buy fish with its red eyes and almost bloated look. Fourth stop is at the communication center where I buy cards for my phone and last stop is the bakery where the two young ladies await with my “podi pan” (small loaf of bread).

After storing my veggie and fish in the fridge and eat my dinner, I sit in front of my laptop which became my best friend and readied myself to first check my mails, then chat with some friends and finally watched news or dvd’s and am fast asleep as soon as my head touched my pillows.

Stuck

Since the New Year started I have been stuck in writing too many proposals. I wonder if I still have enough English left to construct a convincing and appealing proposal to the Donor. It makes it harder because it is not my forte. I believe it’s easier to convince a person face to face than in writing but then as Sri Lankan always say, “What to do?” I am the only person in the organization who can speak and write English fluently aside from the fact that I can write proposals, so there it is. Write as I could. After a looooong and tedious discussion with the team as to the kind of project they wish to implement, we finally settled and agreed to focus on one big project instead of too many small projects. Finally, after 4 drafts and 5 singlish (combination of sinhala and English discussion), (boring?) and lengthy discussions, I finished the proposal and submitted it yesterday. I think I’ve done 3 proposals in a row already. Whatta a work! Huh! Sigh…at last I am free.

Ooopsss, it seems like not yet. There is another call for proposals coming and an information conference is set. And not only that, I am to attend the said conference, huh! It seems like my role shifted without my knowledge much more my consent. I think I need some rescue here.

My Programme Manager came for a visit as part of his induction program and at the same time to get to know AKASA and assess the progress of the placement. Over all it was positive and heart warming since AKASA are all praise and pleased with VSO work. I have pointed out that a shift of my role happened and much as I am willing to do it, I also cannot ignore that our activities has been postponed indefinitely as a result of that. So before the end of the meeting, we all had an agreement that somebody will be called to take over the writing and I can evaluate and sit down for finalization. I am very happy and pleased. I slept soundly for the first time in three weeks.

AKASA and Me

When I first created this blog I was only thinking of keeping my friends updated of what is going on with me and how I am coping with all of it. However, as me and my friend Joel are chatting, about the successes and challenges we faced being a volunteer advocacy and leadership advisor here in sri lanka and him as volunteer project advisor in china, and discussing advocacy strategies we use in our respective placements, we realized that what better to make use and maximize this blog but to utilize it as another medium of our advocacy effort in creating awareness of the issues we are very passionate with the hope to make a difference.

The organization I worked with is the Association of Women with Disabilities (AKASA). This is a network of self help groups of women with disabilities who aimed to improve the lives of people with disabilities and women with disabilities in particular. AKASA believes that people with disabilities must enjoy the same human rights as everyone else and the best way to achieve this is by empowering persons with disabilities through education and economic development. Their mission is to support people with disabilities in Sri Lanka in order to protect them from economic, political, cultural and social discrimination. They encourage them to develop their skills and talents in order to obtain equal opportunities for full participation in society and help them live as independent, self reliant citizens of their country.

The founder, a woman with mobility impairment had struggled to find suitable and accessible employment and housing and realized that change is needed whereby women with disabilities would gain independence and become integrated in mainstream society. Realizing that it would be impossible to get her lone voice heard, she organized a group of women with disabilities from different districts in Sri Lanka and started discussion and planning on what could be done. Hence, in December 30, 1995 the group was formed and called them-selves AKASA which means the Sky in sinhala.

As a foundation of this organization, AKASA facilitates the formation of a network of self help groups of persons with disabilities particularly women with disabilities or their guardians. Then several meetings and workshops are conducted to motivate, train and empower this structure to run independently. Once the structure has been formed, AKASA signed a formal agreement recognizing their independence as well as empowering and challenging them to conduct their affairs. The selection of members is being made by the association with guidance and advice from AKASA on criteria, priorities, policies, etc. Then AKASA project staff supervises and facilitates the selection and disbursement of micro credit loans to individual members during the first cycle only, attends monthly meetings of the small groups, village groups and the divisional association which make up the lower, grass root levels; coordinate and arrange trainings as identified by the association and monitor and evaluate the group’s/association’s performance.

Further, another main activity is the management of the residential vocational training center for girls and women with disability. We have instructors who teach and guides students in sewing, arts and crafts, home gardening and animal husbandry. We also coordinate with other government and non government organizations on trainings and workshops for the advancement of the girls and women at the center.

Moreover, another main activity of AKASA is organizing women with disabilities into district movement of women with disabilities with a minimum of 25 memberships to a maximum of 200 per district (at least at this stage). Once it is organized, a leadership training is conducted which aimed to build a broader understanding of the concept and skills of leadership and its role in individual, group or organizational initiatives to advocate for the rights of marginalized population segments. AKASA also aimed to deepen their understanding of rights based approaches to work with marginalized population and examine existing legislative and administrative mechanisms as well as to understand some of the strategic and tactical choices for participatory communication for effective advocacy. AKASA intends to set the scene for and obtain positive shifts in the opinions, policies and practices of the target agencies which we hoped will result in permanent changes in the long term. The lobbying strategies and engagement mechanisms take variety of forms which includes direct petitioning, development of position papers, participation and providing support for policy development, practical recommendations of ways to include women with disabilities into policies and programmes, invitations of government and organization representatives to WWD’s Network activities as well as grass-root advocacy activities.

This is the reason why I am placed with this organization. Part of my role and responsibility is to provide training and guidance on community mobilization, setting up DPO’s (Disabled People Organization) as well as capacity building training focus on leadership, organizational management, creating advocacy resources and developing advocacy strategies. There are so many challenges which sometimes made me think to give up. The work is so much and its impact is also greater than we imagined. Another reason why in spite of all the challenges and issues I have here, I don’t want to give up. The smile and the eagerness of women to move their cause forward gives me strength to combat homesickness, loneliness, the language barrier and many more. No matter how low I feel of being alone and the only one in this side of the country, the determination I witnessed in them made me realized that my struggle is nothing compared to what they are experiencing. It pushed me to do more and not be contented with what is being given. I feel humbled and warmed of all the experience I had so far. I knew I learnt a lot from them more than they learn from me. The experience of being a volunteer, of living a simpler life, of knowing that you have touched more lives in whatever small way you can and helping an organization achieve its goal, is more rewarding than any awards I have received in my life. I know that when I head back home, I’ll go with more experience and more knowledge to share.

Great Country, Philippines!

This is dedicated to all filipinos worldwide with the fervent hope that the beauty of our country may still bring us hope and inspire us. God Bless Philippines!



These are only few of the beautiful sights of the Philippines. Be proud to be Pinoy!

Dakuna Ta or Wama Ta?

It's been 10 months since i had my sinhala language lesson but every time i speak the language i always remember the first time i tried to have conversation with our trishaw driver. It all happened in Colombo.

Everyday we walked to the VSO Office, ready and all set for our language lesson in the morning and a new subject in the afternoon. So far every thing is fine. The language is challenging, some of the words is similar in sounds to Tagalog and more to my mother tongue, so I think I find it a bit easier than the rest of the group and which my colleagues also acknowledge. The difference these regular days is that we now have the regular Sri Lankan food which is rice and curry. Well I mean at least for the majority of us except to one of our colleague who always have a separate one with a name written on it.

We took a trishaw back to our guest house. Unfortunately our driver is not familiar with the address and doesn’t know English as well; we are forced to give direction. When we are about to turn left I told the driver, dakuna ta (which mean to the right) but at the same time pointing my finger to the left. He is about to turn to the right when I said naea (which sound as nah) dakuna ta and still point my finger to the left. Then my colleagues said, Riza you are pointing to the left and saying dakuna ta when dakuna ta is going to the right, it should be wamata. Oh no! Right! and we all laughed (LOL). We are still laughing when the rest of the group joined us. Back at the guest house, we all agreed to dine out and give ourselves a treat of a nice and maybe luxurious meal in a place where we can also grab a couple of beers. Hence, we dined at the Cricket club. We hang first at the bar, ordered beer and chatting while waiting since we are still on the getting to know each other stage.

While the rest of the group is enthusiastically conversing, one of our colleagues said that maybe it’s time for us to sit down and order dinner. So off we went to the section of the club where the tables are set and call the attention of the waiter. The six of us surveyed the menu, then again this colleague of us told the waiter if there is anything on the menu that is only steamed or boiled veggie or beef/pork with rice of course. We chorused in calling out his name and said can’t you find anything on the menu that you want to eat. The poor waiter hurried outside and asked the chef then returned and said that sorry they don’t have that kind of thing. In the end he decided to order bolognese and said, I can’t believe that a place like this where most of the customers are foreigner have limited choices and laugh, so we all stared at him and one of us nonchalantly said, please be reminded that this is not our country and that each have different types of food, it seems like you will be starving yourself if every time we or you eat you will ask for a kind of food that you know is not available in this country. We all said ‘right’ and we better start to like their food until at least we get to our own house and have the chance to cook our own food.

After dinner we decided it’s time to go back to our guest house as tomorrow we still have lesson. Outside the club are numbers of trishaw willing to take us provided we agree on their terms. Negotiating with trishaw is both fun and a struggle for us. Struggle because we have to get a much discounted rate and fun because we always have the chance to practice our Singhala...it is like a game for us where each one of us will try to negotiate using their language. I bet our teacher will be proud of us every time we succeed in negotiation.

Now, my sinhala improved tremendously both in speaking and understanding. However, at work i don't speak the language. This is because the senior management and staff wanted to learn to speak english. When i joined them, we had an agreement that they will all try to speak english no matter how hard it is and i will try my best to understand them. At first it was difficult to understand their english, i have to deduced some words and rephrase it so that i get the meaning. And since we don't have time to have english lessons formally, every day one or two of the staff will spend at least 30 minutes with me and try to practice their english. I am moved by their commitment to learn and i really appreciated the effort they all give. Whenever i hear them speak english, I feel proud. If i leave them (maybe in march) i know my legacy will take them somewhere beyond AKASA.

Sherry, Sherry land and my birthday

When i celebrated my birthday here, i don't have yet a blog account. I have my diary then to account both my successes and challenges. Now, i have my blog so i want to share to you what happened on my birthday. Here it is.

Today is Friday; it’s my birthday….it’s actually my first birthday here in Sri Lanka….and it is also our second month review which means I have been in this country for two months now…wow, seems like it’s been forever that I’m here…maybe I am acculturated already… or is it assimilated….whatever, I just felt like it’s been long that I have been here.

Anyway, the review went well and everybody at least have a bit grasp of what is going on in our respective organization and at the same time have a bit of an idea of what we should do (at least) in order not to jeopardize our placements and us ending up going home early than expected. So, resolution of everybody….be patient, remind yourself you are in Sri Lanka, things take time, people are not accustomed to your working pace….in general….be aware of your environment….here we are only talking of working environment…aside from the “real environment” here in Sri Lanka.

We are not finished yet with our review but whoever will observe will surely get the idea that we better finish it early or we cut it down…simply because everybody (well, aside from one of our colleague) are already preparing for our Friday night out in one of the resort just off the airport to celebrate my birthday and just have fun.

Finally the review finished and our van arrived and every body’s ready, excited and personally I am looking forward for my first weekend out with just fun and relaxation. I can actually feel the adrenaline rush not only by me but all of us. Unfortunately two of our colleague will join us tomorrow as they still have commitment at work which means only 3 of us will go to these resort and have the chance to spend the Friday night work free.

After checking in, showered and changed into new clothes the 3 of us went out to find something to eat without chili. I have been graving for a food without chili, I mean food that I can only buy without asking if it’s spicy or “godak chili da?” which means “is there a lot of chili in that food? We managed to find a Chinese restaurant. I ordered stir kankun with beef (it’s actually kangkong ha ha ha ha….my little sister would have a laugh, right she?) while my two colleague ordered shrimps and pasta. We were glad that it is not spicy or hot…our spirit are uplifted, at last we find a restaurant with no chili in the food. Right after dinner we head on to find a bar where we could grab a drink or two, unfortunately all the bars and restaurant…no, actually all the places close down at 11pm. Wow, what a change I said, in the Philippines especially at Friday night, the party is just about to start at 11pm, and two of them agreed saying that it is almost the same in their place. Huh! Is this Friday night or Monday night…I can’t believe this…anyway, we don’t have any choice so we went back to the hotel and we settled in the veranda of my room with the bottle of beers we picked up at the supermarket near VSO office. We had two bottles each before we decide to celebrate full blast tomorrow night when the rest of the group arrives.

We woke up at 10 and after refreshing ourselves we walked outside to get some breakfast, well actually its brunch because it was 11:30 when we arrived at the hotel cum restaurant called “the ice cream house”. We had tea, plate of fruit and garlic bread. The place is cozy and very reasonable price. We were having very good time when one of my colleague said, I didn’t realize that I could still afford to do this while at the same time able to do some charity work which I replied by saying, this is one of the perks of being a volunteer, if you manage to save some of your allowance then here it is otherwise we will end up spending our personal money for all the holiday that we may have. True enough because that is actually what I did, I save some of my allowance and here I am able to celebrate my birthday with my colleagues in a nice yet affordable resort completely relax and worry free.

At about 2, our colleague arrived, the other one called and said that she get caught up with office work and sorry to miss the fun. After short talk and updates of what happen during the morning, we went down the road and enjoyed ourselves like tourist hopping from one shop to the other, bargaining for items we want and trying our best to convince that we are “volunteer kenek” therefore we don’t have tourist money with us. I think we are lucky as we got most of what we want in much discounted price, local price as they say since we are resident of the country. Wow, isn’t it nice, it definitely is.

By the way, aside from window shopping and really shopping for some of us, we also checked out every hotel in the area as the sister of one of our colleague is coming over for a holiday. Some of the hotels are really fantastic, with big and beautiful room, bar, Jacuzzi, over looking the pool and the beach as well. Whew, what a treat if we get lucky to be in one of those rooms, we chorused. In the middle of it all, we decided that before anybody leaves the country (which surely will be me as the three of them are here for 2 years) we will have a night in one of those lovely rooms and enjoy ourselves. We finally reached the end of the road and checked almost all the hotels in the vicinity. We decided that it’s time for a cool drink. We walked back and find this small hang out place called “sherry land”. We all ordered pina colada when suddenly a colleague remembered a story about sherry back home. She told us the story and at the same decided that she would like to have a picture with a sherry here in sherry land. So we call the bartender and ordered a sherry. After a long wait, the bar man appeared with a two pieces of sherry fruit. We roared with laughter then suddenly realized that the bar man still in front of us…we said sorry there seems to be a misunderstanding but she meant sherry drink and not sherry fruit. The bar man felt embarrassed (I think) and apologize and promise to bring the sherry drink. In a flash there is the sherry drink at last. So we coax our colleague to stand near the sign board of the sherry land with the sherry fruit in her one hand and the sherry drink in another hand. It’s hilarious but in fairness we all enjoyed this experience. It was indeed a very nice week end and a very memorable birthday for me.

Remembering my first day in Sri Lanka

It's almost 10 months now that i have been here in sri lanka but i still vividly remember my first day.

I woke up early morning and readied myself for my first ICT and also the first time that I will meet all the staff of VSO Sri Lanka. Though I am hoping that there would be other volunteers coming in the country the same time with me, my experience says not to have higher hope as it may be like the first time where there were only two of us. Fortunately, as soon as I opened my door in the guest house, I heard excited voices downstairs of at least 3 or 4 people. I said to myself, they maybe volunteers like me too, I hope they are so that I can experience proper ICT like regular volunteers too. Answered prayers, yes indeed they are volunteers and I found out that there were seven of us. After breakfast and a bit of exchange of information, we boarded VSO vehicle (Upali's been waiting for a while now actually because it takes us a while to finish our breakfast).

We were introduced to everybody (both to VSO staff and our teachers)and were served tea. They are all friendly,accommodating and welcomed us warmly. We had our first session and amazingly we all bonded easily. The lunch was great, the choices are between Sri Lankan food and western food, and to our amazement there are food servers, which later were confirmed that it was catering service. Excellent I said, this is completely opposite to what I had in my first placement. Am I not blessed, yes I believe I am. So far so good, I mean not only referring to food but in general. Then suddenly one of my colleague said, I don’t eat spicy food, can I have a separate one and it should be rice? Huh! We were taken aback by what he said because as I said there are choices. We told him that he can chose from the tray of food in the counter and rice is there the only problem is that yes the viand is actually hot (at least to my standard (LOL)I am not from bicol so I am not really good at eating chili and spicy foods). Sensing that every body is looking (and maybe wondering) at him, he reluctantly joined the group. The rest of us looked at each other and smiled. Huh! I smile to myself while thinking isn’t he something? (LOL)

WHO SAY'S THEY CAN'T?

This video is dedicated to all men and women out there who are differently abled and that believe in yourself that you can make it happen! To all of us, let us give them the chance and the opportunity and help us raise awareness to change attitude of society towards people with disability and ensure their inclusion and participation. Help us fight for equal rights.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948

They are not DISabled, they are differently ABLED

To all of us, let us help them get equal rights like everybody else.

Recap 2008

It has been 3 months since I created my blog and I have not posted anything as yet from my sri lankan experience. It is not because I don’t have anything to write but more of finding enough time to organize my thoughts and put it into words.

Now, it’s 2009 and I felt that what’s better to start the year by doing what I have not had the chance to religiously do last 2008. Thus, I am now going to look back and try to put it into words.

Celebrating Christmas in Sri Lanka

At the start of December, I was a bit uncertain of how my Christmas would look like in this side of the country where people don’t celebrate Christmas.

During the first week of the month, I went to Colombo and attended the VLG regular meeting, I also took the opportunity to visit the doctor as my back and lower extremities have been bothering me for a couple of weeks now. I was diagnosed with sciatica. I said what? What the hell is that? Anyway, the doctor explained to me what it was and when I went home I really spend time doing research about sciatica. OMG! I can’t believe it. Based on my research Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock and/or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body and indeed that is all what i experienced. I thought that it was only simple back pains, like the usual back pains I always felt. Then I was also referred to an orthopaedic doctor for a second opinion. I had my x rays but I still have to go back to him for a reading of the film and final diagnosis. With that in mind and with the advice of the doctor to take it easy, I decided to stay at home for Christmas.

When my work colleagues learnt that I will only be in Anuradhapura for Christmas, they all expressed interest of celebrating it with me. I was glad and anticipating the day that I will not be alone on Christmas day and at the same time not sure because my culinary skills is very limited and in fact it is mostly tested within the confine of my family. Anyway, I prepared food that is normally prepared by me and my sisters at home during Christmas. My colleagues and my landlady and her daughter came and I can see from their expression this new experience brought to them. They were all excited and with full of questions as to the traditions of Christmas at home. For people who don’t celebrate Christmas, they all came with presents. I felt like I am a child again presented with Christmas gifts by my ninong and ninang, only this time, it’s my guests.

On Boxing Day, I was invited to the pass out of Pahalagama Police College training Center. It was like the graduation day of the new police officers. The proud parents and relatives were all there. There were simulation game and drill. It reminds me of the time I was an officer in CAT (Citizens Army Training) during my high school days. How excited I was during the drill and how high my feelings were with the knowledge that all your friends and relatives are watching. Coincidentally, after the ceremony, my colleague informed that one of the graduates was the son of her brother who is also my friend; the same young man whom I visited at the hospital almost three months ago. After small talk and a handful of introductions with the officials of the training center we went to the front ground and meet the graduate with the family and friends. The day ended in a very high spirit and positive note for the family. For me, it was a different experience as well.

My Christmas party was extended up to the day after the Boxing Day. The Executive Director and the Project Director came to my house as they were not able to attend the Christmas party we had. Luckily, I still have food in my fridge and I just bought some groceries in the morning before they called to inform me of their coming which enable me to cook something for them (LOL). Again, I was surprised when they presented a gift to me; whew my Christmas is really an occasion to remember (LOL). Not only because of the presents I received from all of them but more of the efforts they made to ensure that I have a happy and memorable Christmas in sri lanka. Thanks a lot guys, I surely will not forget you all and especially this experience. It humbles me.