www.rainbowcentresrilanka.com - UK Registered Charity Number 1114933

Maddewala Road, Obadawatta, Bentota – Spring Pond, Stedham, Midhurst, Sussex GU29 0QH UK alisonnagle@yahoo.co.uk – aruniw_cooray@yahoo.com

Patrons: Jane Chilcott and Evelina Girling

Rainbow Centre News Summer 2017

The Rainbow Centre provides education, welfare, medical care and loving support to children living in extreme poverty in South West Sri Lanka

Highlights

• Comprehensive new English language programme launched

• Six new teachers join the Centre’s existing specialist afternoon tuition classes

• Professional counselling for children and parents provides life changing support

• A total of 22 new children in extreme need join the Rainbow Centre

• Significant expansion of classrooms and facilities is underway

• The Rainbow Centre has a new website, Facebook page and Twitter account

• Sri Lanka’s leading artists provide a master class and future training

English for All

The Rainbow Centre is investing heavily in expanding its programme for the teaching of English. The ability to speak fluent English is key to employment, especially as the Centre is situated in a tourist area. The Rainbow Centre is delighted to appoint a new Head of English, Kasia Baxendale, of Edge Grove School in the UK, who has worked for 20 years as a teacher of English as an Additional Language. During August, Kasia has introduced new methods and materials, which are focused on the specific teaching of English as a second language. The children love this new approach and already making great progress as it’s really captured their interest. The Centre’s excellent, long-term teacher, Harry Barron, will work alongside Kasia as well as the newly-appointed, local English teachers. Kasia and Harry will provide weekly Skype sessions both teaching the children and training the teachers. Kasia will supervise and visit the Rainbow Centre regularly from her home in England. The children, aged from three to 16, have already made significant improvement and have a new determination to learn. Kasia’s visit is a result of a new partnership with Edge Grove School. The Rainbow Centre is extremely honoured and grateful to have this connection and would like to say special thanks to Edge Grove’s Headmaster, Ben Evans, who previously was Headmaster at The British School in Colombo (Junior).

Kasia and the English teachers to be trained for the school children (left) and the pre-school (right)

New Teachers The Rainbow Centre children who attend mainstream school from the age of five to 16 rely on additional tuition at the Rainbow Centre as the standards at the children’s government school are low. The Rainbow Centre has appointed six new afternoon teachers for Grade One to Grade Six to supervise homework and provide extra lessons. (See photographs below). Meanwhile, the older children are given classes from professional teachers in English, Sinhala, maths, science and art. Children who are sitting the important Grade Five scholarship exams which, if passed, would enable them to join highly academic schools, have their own tutor. The focus is also on children who are preparing to sit ‘O’ Level examinations. Rainbow Centre pupils who have passed ‘O’ Level exams have accessed employment and further training, often providing a vital income for their families.

Star Students

Nirosha (above left) will sit five ‘A’ Level exams in August 2018 and devotes herself to full-time study and external tuition classes supported by the Rainbow Centre. Shantini (above right) is to study accounting in January 2018 at a university specialising in Business Studies in Colombo. Meanwhile, she is taking a National Apprenticeship government accredited course in Computer

Studies and Graphic design.

New Students

Happy newcomers, including seven new infants and 22 older students, many of whom have had no formal education and suffer complete neglect, are thriving on routine, regular meals, welfare and loving care and are making great progress with catching up

on their studies.

In recent months, the Rainbow Centre has been joined by 22 new students ranging in age from infants to ten years old bringing the total number of students who attend the Rainbow Centre on a daily basis up to 86. Devastating flooding followed by an unprecedented dengue fever epidemic have been accompanied by dramatic inflation that has resulted in basic commodities like rice tripling in price. The worst hit are the extremely poor. Such hardship has seen a breakdown in many family relationships. For example, all seven newcomers to the nursery have seen their fathers leave the family with their mothers left to fend for themselves and find employment.

Ganidhu (above left), age three, was unable to speak when he joined the Centre at the age of two. Samanalee (above right), age two, was withdrawn, silent and never smiled. She is now laughing and one of the most active infants in the nursery.

Sri Lanka’s Leading Artist Gives a Master Class

Puwendran, star artist and his work – Gayan, Jayani and Puwendran who will work together – Master class given to all children aged from six to 16

The Rainbow Centre was honoured to be visited by Gayan Prageeth, one of Sri Lanka’s most eminent artists and his highly talented artist wife, Jayani. Gayan gave a two-hour master class in which all the children participated with rapt concentration. Puwendran, the Centre’s gifted artist, is to be taught by Gayan and Jayani. This is a huge breakthrough that will give Puwendran an understanding of abstract art, based on a grounding of complete dedication to his craft and 16-hours per day practice. Meanwhile, younger, highly talented Rainbow artists are also being inspired to pursue art as a serious subject.

Child Line Provides Valuable Teaching About Hygiene

The recent floods brought a mass outbreak of viral flu and a highly contagious skin disease which presents like a burn and continues to grow and bleed, unless treated. Child Line, a new Indian NGO, made its first Sri Lankan presentation to the Rainbow children, teaching them the basic necessities of general hygiene.

New Buildings The Rainbow Centre is delighted to receive additional support from the Graham family who, after the tragic deaths of Stevie and Stef Graham, have transformed life at the Centre with their huge generosity. In March, David Graham completed a major sponsored, marathon bike ride in Oman with a team of eight, attracting much local publicity, and providing the funding to construct a second, Graham family funded four-walled, air-conditioned classroom and a purpose-built vocational training centre. The Rainbow Centre will always be extremely grateful to the Graham family, including for the team effort, time, thought and compassion put into this marathon. Meanwhile, two highly dedicated schoolboys from Radley College joined the Graham campaign by successfully completing the huge challenge of canoeing from Devizes to Westminster, also attracting significant sponsorship funding. Neither of the boys had paddled before and their achievement and determination are phenomenal. Rain, government bureaucracy and the absence of honest and reliable contractors have delayed the major new building projects. However, it’s hoped that work will start in the near future. Already, there is great need for an additional classroom as well as facilities for providing training to a growing list of older children and young mothers who are extremely keen to learn new skills.

The work of David Graham and his team took months of organization and training. Their success, with the huge physical challenge of marathon cycling in scorching temperatures, has enabled the Centre to fund more classrooms for its students.

Meanwhile, Hamish and Tiger, who completed the 125-mile canoeing challenge, won the Radley College award for outstanding charity fundraising.

Classroom Extensions In addition to the construction of the Graham family buildings, the Rainbow Centre has converted its garage and extended the area at the front of the main building in order to create more teaching space. This work has been funded by a grant from Scott Bader and by other donors. With each grade being taught separately and the number of specialist classes increasing, the new classrooms are much needed.

Counselling News After a seven month weekly programme, professional counsellors from Damrivi Foundation in Colombo are providing a life-changing service. The cases tackled include attempted suicide, uncontained anger and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are several children who are under treatment to help them cope with abuse and neglect. Parents have also received counselling for a range of problems related, in part to stress and leading to abusive behavior. Much of the counselling work is succeeding because, for most of the recipients, it is the first time they have received high quality, professional care and individual attention.

Welcome to Ajanta Hilton the Centre’s New UK Director Ajanta, the granddaughter of Sri Lankan educationalists, joined the Rainbow Centre in February and has already made a huge impact. Having retired from the corporate world, she has brought her business acumen to improve awareness of the Rainbow Centre’s work. She has redesigned the Rainbow Centre’s website, boosted its presence on Facebook and has set up a frequently-used Twitter account. She is also responsible for outreach work with UK schools and sourcing potential volunteers and donors. As the Rainbow Centre grows, the need for increased fund raising becomes vital. Ajanta, whose children are at Edge Grove School, was instrumental in making the partnership with Edge Grove School and enabling the new head of English, Kasia Baxendale, to assume her new role. The Rainbow Centre is delighted to have her on board.

Welcome Ajanta the Rainbow Centre’s Dynamic UK Director

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How to Support the Rainbow Centre Children

If you would like to support the Rainbow Centre, please set up a standing order or donate by contacting

http://www.justgiving.com/rcsl/donate. Or, please make cheques payable to “The Rainbow Centre Sri

Lanka” and send them to Top Floor Flat, 7 Colville Terrace, W11 2BE. Alternatively, please make direct

bank transfers or standing order payments to: The Rainbow Centre Sri Lanka, a/c no. 71647431, sort code

40-04-09, HSBC Bank, 16 King Street, London WC2E 8JF. The Rainbow Centre Sri Lanka is a UK-registered

charity and a Sri Lankan NGO.

Or please go to www.rainbowcentresrilanka.com

Puwendran, the Rainbow artist’s latest work as he prepares for his second exhibition