Elly and Mart, 15 May 2012
Sri Lanka , Trincomalee 37°

CELEBRATIONS!

May 2012
Dutch Queens Day in Sri Lanka
At the end of April the Dutch celebrate the Birthday of their Queen. This is called Queens Day and is celebrated throughout the country with games, orange decorations and clothes , food and flee-markets. In countries abroad, the Dutch Embassies organize receptions for Dutch expats and their relations. Last year we had only just arrived so we missed this Queens Day Reception, but this year we took the night train to Colombo to join in the gathering. Next to meeting new people, there are always nice Dutch treats, such as salted herring, smoked eel and Dutch cheese. This year there also was a bookselling by the Dutch Ambassador and his wife of which the profit would go to a charity.
On my suggestion the profit went to the Mother Theresa Home in Trincomalee, where I could hand over Rps 30.000 = € 200 t the sisters last week.
By the way, going to the reception could be combined with the

P&G Meeting
As a VSO we belong to the Group, Participation & Governance. Each 3 months we meet in Colombo to share our activities. Most of the time we invite a Speaker . This time Priyanthi form CEPA [ Centre for poverty analysis] came and had a very interesting lecture of the way the government went about compensating people for the loss of their properties due to the work on Highway South. Although this was really well done, the government think they cannot repeat it, due to the high costs involved…

4 May Commemoration
On the 4th of May, the Dutch Ambassador and his wife were in Trincomalee. 4 May is the day that Dutch people commemorate the victims of world war II. There is a very well kept Common Wealth Cemetery in Upuveli and Mart and I went there together with the Ambassador and his wife. Next to many other nationalities, also 7 Dutch are buried here. It was an informal celebration as we contemplated all the lives that have been lost in wars so far. The Ambassador took pictures of the 7 Dutch Graves to share with the families concerned. After this we went to Shivas to talk some more and drink a beer.

Sea the Difference
This is the cafe and snack bar, where disabled [different abled] people can get a training in public service to better obtain a job later. It is accommodated in the new Usha Water Park in Upuveli. In future adults and children can enjoy here the water slides and swimming pools. The unofficial opening was on the 5th of May and next to other invited guests, 11 Deaf children and 10 girls from Grace Home were invited to use the slides for free this day, but….. There was no drop of water in the swimming pools yet. The owner did not show up that day and yes, WE were ready with soft drinks and snacks and waited for more than 2 hours for something to happen….. The opening has been postponed until further notice and since May 5th they were filling the pools which took almost 10 days due to the low water pressure. Last weekend the park started to take some visitors that enjoyed and even bought some snacks and soft drinks. Once in full operation this could be something very profitable. We will report in a few weeks again.

Vesak
Vesak is the most important Buddhist festival of the year. It commemorates the birth, enlightment and death of Buddha. Buddhists believe that all these events took place on a Vesak Poya [Full moon in the month of May]. A lot of people hang lanterns to light their houses and the same is done everywhere in the cities throughout Sri Lanka. Also scenes out of the life of Buddha are displayed. A long the roads near temples and organizations food and sweets are distributed. Alcohol, meat and fish are prohibited during Vesak, however…… Not everybody keeps this rule strictly.

Sri Lankan Wedding
May 9 a British VSO married his Sewandi, a Sri Lankan beauty. Although they don’t know each other very long yet, only one month, they decided to tie the knot quickly. In Sri Lanka, where parents often still arrange the marriages of their children, this is quite common. Also they are both of age and obviously fell in love head over heels. The 9th was the official Marriage Registration. The religious wedding will follow somewhere in September. Over the coming months they will have the opportunity to get to know each other better.

Dengue war begins today!
This was on the front page of the newspaper on May 14th. Dengue is a disease caused by the prick of the tiger mosquito. Until recently this mosquito was believed only to be active in the morning hours, but according to the government the tiger mosquito now attacks from the early morning to late in the evening! Was it formerly laying its eggs only in open gutters and Stillwater pools, now it started to lay eggs also in open wells. The governments campaign against Dengue has now been widened its activities to put a halt to the approaching Dengue. There is no real remedy against Dengue and people can also be killed by it.
To see the pictures please go to ellyenmart.waarbenjij.nu
Greetings from Elly