OSI - Sri Lanka
Pamunugama
The
Home
- Our
Personnel - The
Community - Geography Today,
the home accommodates up to 50 orphaned and socially-orphaned girls, aged
6-18. Many of the girls are from impoverished families and while
they visit family and relatives during holidays, are otherwise permanent
residents of the home. The home is as wonderfully warm and
nourishing as it can be. Yet with such a large number of children,
OSI sponsorship helps to provide each of these girls with a sense of
individuality. The home is operated by Sri Lankan
charity "National Council for Child and Youth Welfare."
NCCYW runs a total of 7 children's homes in Sri Lanka, very much from the
heart but with minimal means. For the Pamunugama home, OSI
sponsorship assures that the children's needs are fully met on a secure
basis, from their nutritional needs, to the costs of running the home, to
more individualized items like clothing, medications, school fees and
supplies, and gifts for birthdays and special events.
Click on the
photo for a larger image... The lane leading to the
orphanage... Caretaker Martin mans the
gate... Front view (study room to the
far right)... Entering the home from the
front entrance... There are one of these dorm-style sleeping rooms
on each side of the common room, each sleeping about 10 children... For the littler kids, on the
far side of the common room... For the older kids, just out
the back doors of the common room... Just
out the back doors of the common room, with the kitchen on the far
side... The cook, Asalin, and her
helper Deepika; cooking is still done on an open fire... Back side of the kitchen;
Sandamali and Nimanthi helping out... From the
kitchen, looking back towards the common room on the right, and the
third sleeping room at the far end... Adjoining the courtyard,
sleeping up to 12 children... In the second building, just
feet behind the main building and the third sleeping room; with bunked
beds, sleeps up to 20 children... In the second building,
adjacent to main building; for
daily mandatory, supervised and assisted after-school study... Where most
of our girls attend, a 30-minute walk from the home; with some of
our girls posing in front with fellow classmates, in mandatory
uniform... Open-air classrooms spread
across a large grounds... Sugandika, Nirosha, Santhana,
in uniform, headed to class...
Walking home after school
(not usually this orderly)...
Playing ball on the front
lawn, while the assistant matron tends quietly to her knitting... Our
littlest kids... All smiles... Time
for play and rest...
The Matron and her staff of
two assistants and two cooks... OSI-Pamunugama liaison posing
with all of our Pamunugama children... More Photos - More photos of our Pamunugama
children:
School Holiday
Celebration (August 3, 2007) - Visit to Pamunugama beach and
party and McDonald's... Events - Special events and excursions which OSI
has arranged for our Pamunugama children:
Year-End Holidays
(December 25-31, 2007) - Week-long Pamunugama and Wattegama holiday
celebrations... Projects - Special projects for the Pamunugama
home funded by OSI sponsors and donors:
Bathroom
Reconstructions (June, 2006) - Complete reconstruction
of bathroom facilities...
Click on the
photo for a larger image... A common scene in Pamunugama... With footpath running along
side; near the orphanage... A little further on, viewed
from an old bridge crossing; a nice commute home for the local
fishermen... Sand and rock shoreline,
lined with palm trees... Rowing in with the morning
catch... Landing their boats and minding
their nets; a daily scene on the shores of Pamunugama... Hand-made and heavy... At least on
days that don't end with a thunderstorm... Pamunugama sunset...
Other OSI Program Site Pages:
About
35km north of capitol Colombo, in a quiet jungle of coconut palms and
banana trees and about 1km from the seashore, is our Pamunugama children's
home. The home has been in operation for over 50 years.
The building probably served previously as an estate home, with its grand
entrance way and inner courtyard. It is a simple, modest building by
modern measure, but still retains much of its old charm. This is
augmented by Seline, the wonderful home matron, who has lived at the home
and cared for its children for over 40 years.
Headed
to the Home
Welcome
The
Home
Common
Room
Sleeping
Rooms
Dining
and Play Area
Outside
Dining Area
Courtyard
Kitchen
Outdoor
Cooking
Courtyard
View
Third
Sleeping Room
Fourth
Sleeping Room
Study
Room
Village
School
School
Grounds
At
School
Headed
Home
After
School Playtime
Drawing
and Coloring
Friday
After School
Weekend
The
Wonderful Orphanage Staff
Anita
and Children
Shopping
Spree (March 30, 2007) - Shopping for themselves, and dinner at
McDonald's...
Pamunugama
Christmas (December 22, 2006) - Plenty of Christmas gifts, food, and
goodies...
Pamunugama
Beach (April 19, 2006) - Sunset visit to Pamunugama beach...
Holiday Camp
(August 8-22, 2007) - Pamunugama and Wattegama Camp and excursions...
Excel
World (December 21, 2006) - Amusement park and dinner party...
Eye Examinations (November, 2007) -
Complimentary eye exams and follow-up care from IRIS Asia...
Interior
Remodel (March-April, 2007) - Repair and remodel of entire home
interior...
Personal
Cabinets (October, 2006) - Personal cabinets for each child's
belongings...
Bicycles!
(April, 2006) - Four new bicycles for our Pamunugama kids...
Program
Site Sponsor
Jeff Blanford
A long-time supporter of OSI's programs, Dr. Jeff Blanford is also
site sponsor of our Pamunugama program. Dr. Blanford is the
owner of a dental office in Ohio, USA.
OSI
Program Liaison
Anita Priyadarshani
With an education in English and
computers and much child welfare experience, Anita is our
resident-liaison at the Pamunugama home, managing our program there in
full.
Pamunugama
is simply the name of a region along the coast, running from Negombo
southwards for about 15km. The area is not populated enough to be
called a village, yet is too populated to be called rural. The
coastline is a sandy beach lined with palms, where fisherman may constantly
be seen dragging their heavy wooden row-boats to and from the water.
Immediately inland is a low-lying jungle of coconut and banana trees.
Estates surrounded by old coconut plantations are intermixed with modest
huts of local fisherman. Old canals from Dutch and Portuguese colonial
times lace through the region. A rough asphalt "main road"
meanders along this stretch of coast, sometimes near the water, sometimes
further inland. Off of this road are countless little dirt and gravel
lanes heading into the jungle and on one of the less conspicuous of these,
in a quiet place about half a kilometer from the main road, is our
Pamunugama Children's Home.
Old Coconut Plantation
Dutch
Canal
Dutch
Canal
Seaside
Fishermen
Fishermen
Fishing
Boat
Sunset
View
Favorite
Photo
More
Maps - See more maps of
Sri Lanka and of the Pamunugama local...
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