Richard Huish College 3rd Community Aid Tour to Seenigama

Students from Richard Huish College led by Mr. Rob Setchell have been volunteering with the Foundation of Goodness every other year, since their first visit in 2013. This year for their 3rd time, a group of 21 students and 3 staff members joined us in Seenigama over two and a half weeks to engage with the rural beneficiaries and contribute towards uplifting the underserved community in addition to sightseeing and travelling around Sri Lanka to learn more about the country.

During their time with us, the students volunteered across a variety of sectors ranging from the Lahiru Pre-School, English Teaching, Sustainable Income Generation ventures, Rathgama Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre, the Community Psycho-social Unit & Child Resilience Centres to the Sports Academy and also conducted a special beach cleaning programme. However their favorite activities by far were visiting the Wellawatte Elders’ Home and Anula Girls’ Home in Balapitiya.

The visits to the orphanage and elders’ home were fulfilling for the residents of the home and the students alike. The elders and orphans who live a very basic life with few luxuries often feel forgotten and isolated from the rest of society, as though they have been left behind. The visits from the Richard Huish College students were like a breath of fresh air, bringing so much joy and sunshine with them and the students enjoyed playing games, dancing and singing songs to brighten up their day.

The group also took the time to travel around Sri Lanka, visiting the Yala National Park where they had the good fortune to see three iconic wild animals- the Elephant, the Asiatic Bear and the Leopard. The students were very lucky to tick them off their lists as it is a rear occurrence to see all three in a single visit.

Prior to departure, the group also donated funds towards the humanitarian and empowerment activities carried out by the Foundation of Goodness along with 30 notebook computers and sports equipment to uplift rural communities through increased access to resources.

A big thank you goes out to all at Richard Huish College and we look forward to having more teams join us in the coming years.

16th August 2017