Preparing to go to Trincomalee: Tucker's January 18th report

January 18, 2005

Today marked the final day of preparations for the journey to Trincomalee, some 280 kilometers northeast of Ratnapura on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka. Early morning purchases were completed at headquarters with the help of several Serendib members who took half day leave and lent their efforts to the collating and packing of items for the school children.

The upper class boys of nearby St. Aloysius College were also enlisted to help with the assembly line production of the bags – which contain pencils, notebooks, toothpaste, pens, drawing tablets, school uniforms, and other essential items for the children who will be returning to schools in nearby areas within the next several weeks and days.

Also the tabulation of members who will join us was finalized, and the total has now risen to 15 – most of whom are Serendib members, some teacher’s assistants, and others friends of the organization. We have secured lodging in Trincomalee and hope to arrive by 3 or 4 p.m. in the afternoon tomorrow.

In addition, an activity that was omitted from yesterday’s report was a brief session with the Year 6, 7, and 8 school children that was conducted by our volunteer from Thailand. At the request of the founder of Vitamin Angel, a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to providing children all over the world with vitamins, Serendib organized a publicity venture where local school children were provided with t-shirts and vitamins. The press photographs will be sent back to Vitamin Angel in the United States, and serve to solidify support for a shipment of several million vitamins which are ready to be forwarded to Sri Lanka.

Tucker

[Webmaster's Note: Please click on the link below to see the photos relating to this report. Tucker's description of the pictures is also below, under the link.]

http://www.serendib.us/tsunami/11705/page.html

Photographs

#1: Aloysius boys bearing books

#2: To shift to the school with more packing space

#3: Carrying armfuls of hope

#4: Teamwork along the assembly line

#5: Chonnikarn working with an Aloysius student

#6: Students helping students

#7: Even teachers pitched in a hand

#8: The final product for tomorrow

#9: The vitamin kids of St. Joachim

#10: Posing for a photograph