The two best words anyone can say on tour...
SLEEP IN.
We all got to enjoy an 8:30 am breakfast this morning. Though Prof. Thomlinson thought he would arrive early to make sure there were no issues with the egg hoppers - a very selfless act. After settling some "unintended" in room purchases (just quietly, how much do these lads eat, even with buffet breakfast and dinner each day...) we were off in the bus again. As we traveled, some of us thought that it would be appropriate to have a bus theme song seeing as though we spend so much time on it. The nominations among the boys were:
- "Hooked on a Feeling", by Blue Suede.
- "Roar", by Katy Perry.
- "Use Somebody", by Kings of Leo.
- "Copperhead Road" by Steve Earle.
The voting was tight, so the coaches had the deciding vote - naturally Copperhead Road won out.
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| Steve Earle as a young up and comer. |
At just after 10 am, we arrived at Seenigama - a town that relied heavily on the ocean for it's survival. The ocean provided food, employment and recreation, and on Boxing Day 2004, it also provided devastation. The Foundation of Goodness (FOG) Centre is quite close to the ocean and on that day the water rose to 15 feet high in the main building. The founder of FOG, Kushil Gunasekera, was there that morning, when 120 local men, women and children lost their lives. The centre which was on land donated by Kushil's family, was in ruins and took many months to clean up. In 2007, with the help of various benefactors, celebrities, and well-wishers, FOG was 'revitalised' with their board of trustees (including Kushil and some famous rcicketers like Murali, Kumar, Mahela, as well as Barker's own Russel Arnold) restarting a number of projects focusing on providing opportunities for those in rural communities. Some of the programs include: English training, computer skills, various health programs, education, and unsurprisingly various sport programs including cricket. Since 2011, the Foundation has also established some Northern learning centres, which the area has been in dire need of since the cessation of the 30 year civil war in the area.
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| A monument for those who lost their lives on the train passing through Seenigama. |
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| The entrance to FOG covered in the novelty cheques that have been donated over the years. Our 2017/18 efforts would soon be added. |
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| At the end of an amazing experience. Every emotion tapped into: sorrow, joy, relief, thankfulness. |
Anura, one of the foundation's workers showed the touring group through numerous projects and classrooms; even the Barker College Computer Centre, which was financed by the money raised and donated two years ago. Many of the boys wore their FOG polos - purchased after the game on Monday, with the money going to the Foundation's various projects across Sri Lanka. The highlight for many of the lads was visiting the pre-school attached to the grounds. There were 70 kids between the age of 3 and 5 there, with 7 qualified teachers providing free education for the local young-un's. They were so happy to see us, and very playful showing very little inhibition when conversing with some almost 3 times their height.
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| Anura gives the lads a tour of the facility. |
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| The boys see what their efforts (and more importantly of family and friends) has done for this community. |
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| Ben R and Dan show a memento from our last visit. |
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| All of the programs offered by the Foundation. |
The Barker lads were somewhat sad to get back on the bus and leave the dozens of smiling faces, but Colombo awaited our arrival. A stop at a service centre for lunch where the boys smashed a few dozen pizzas at Pizza Hut and the coaches were finally able to get their beef burger. One had enough nous to substitute his bread roll for some rice crackers at he local supermarket (don't knock it until you've tried it). We also stopped at Laksala - yet another opportunity to buys tea or a wooden elephant, and we were back at our favourite 5 star hotel by 4 pm; just enough time for a jog, swim and shower before dinner - which was magnificent!
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| The highlight of the morning!!! See the smiles of the young ones that have been given a chance to thrive thanks to the Foundation. |
Tomorrow is a tough game against the Colts Cricket Academy - plenty of sleep need so that's where we'll leave it.
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