My office and the Tangalla Rehabilitation Centre
One of the nice things about being a foreigner in Sri Lanka is being able to take advantage of having a strong currency back home. Despite the fact that costs are rising in Sri Lanka, and inflation has now hit 29%, our UK pounds still go much further here.
But the rising cost of living is hitting everyone hard here, and people who were just managing to get by are now really beginning to struggle. Because of this, I was particularly pleased this week to finalise and arrange for the funds I have raised for my organisation to benefit two particularly needy people.
As people may remember, before I came out to Sri Lanka I did some fundraising to raise enough money for my flights and vaccinations (I ran a 10k run on Boxing day, and my brother kindly sang a concert in aid of my organisation here). Once I had paid for my flights and vaccinations, this gave me over £300 to donate to my organisation.
In the UK, £300 would not go that far towards giving disabled people the specialist equipment they need, but in Sri Lanka it is exactly the amount to provide two fully supportive seats for children with no mobility caused by neurological problems. So this is what I am putting the money towards.
Last week I was invited to meet Geetha (below) and her mother. Geetha is eight years old and lives in a small village along the coast from Tangalla. She has cerebral palsy and is unable to move her body independently. Since she was born, Geetha’s mother has been her only carer, and has had to spend most of the day and night looking after her.
Cases like this are common in Sri Lanka, as access to hospital is difficult, doctors in the remote areas are often not experienced in dealing with birth traumas or disabilities, and intermarriage is high. When a child is born without the ability to move for themselves they often spend their life lying on a mattress in a dark room in the house where they were born. Their mothers will try anything to help them, but are often isolated, extremely poor and find it difficult to cope with the situation.
So last week Geetha and her mother came to my NGO for a fitting for their supportive seat (below). This seat, which will be custom made to Geetha’s measurements, will allow her to sit up for the first time and see the world around her. As she can move her arms a bit, it will also give her the independence to move around freely and will give her mother some much needed respite from caring for her.
Next week the supportive seating technician is going to be building the seat for Geetha, and then she will come back for her fitting. And the costs of the seat (and one other) will be fully met by the money I raised in the UK before I left.
So to everyone who contributed to my fundraising, either through attending the concert or sponsoring my (slightly traumatic) run around the lakes in Poole on Boxing day, thank you for helping me stretch our UK pounds to help life Geetha and one other child from the mattress on the floor of their small houses.
