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Wattegama

The Home - Our Personnel - The Community - Geography

The Home

Wattegama children's home was initially opened in 1956, the abandoned building donated by the government, after previously serving as a bungalow facility of a British colonial-era tea plantation.  It's a rather sprawling complex in an area now rather overgrown by jungle, up a dirt road from the village main-road.  Wattegama children's home houses 45 girls from ages 6 to 18.  Children attend the local public school in the village.  The home has an impressive weaving center, where all of the girls are trained on the handloom, their products being sold and the money placed in each girl's savings.  The girls also receive lessons in sewing, English, and computers.  The home is run by a full-time resident staff matron and two assistants, all long-time residents at the home, and their dedication and warmth is evident by the warmth of the home and the happiness and health of the children.  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 Wattegama 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...

	Welcome Ranmenike and Susima at the gate...		Driveway Approaching the home...
	The Home Front view...		Entrance From the front doorway; straight ahead is a small common room...
	Veranda Entering the home, on the left and right is broad veranda which serves as a common area for study and play...		Common Room & Corridor Straight ahead from the front entrance is this small common room, which leads to a long corridor which has sleeping rooms on each side...
	Sleeping Rooms Newly refurnished by OSI! One of five large sleeping rooms, each sleeps about 10 children...		Sleeping Room With new bunk beds and furnishings...
	Sleeping Room Each room has been newly furnished with personal cabinets for the kids, a dressing table, and a table and chairs for study and social time...		Back Door View to the left upon exiting the back door of the home at the end of the corridor...
	Kitchen Building Then turning right, leading to the dining room and kitchen which are on the right (cleaning day; not usually so messy!)...		Cooking Room Cooking is done primarily on an open fire in this separate cooking room...
	Kitchen Food is prepared in the kitchen, adjoining the dining room...		Dining Room Adjoining the kitchen...
	Weaving Room In a separate building, where the girls learn a viable trade in Sri Lanka, taught by one of the orphanage staff...		Weaving Malkanthi proudly weaves some beautiful fabric on one of several such machines...
	Inside Play Board games in the porch area when it's too hot or too rainy...		Outside Play On the small, sandy "yard" in front of the home...
	The Home Staff The Matron and her staff, all resident, perform all supervisory, cooking, cleaning, and other duties at the home, with the help of the kids...		Sharmila and Children OSI-Wattegama liaison posing with all of our Wattegama children...

More Photos - More photos of our Wattegama children:

Wattegama Christmas (December 24, 2006) - Plenty of food, gifts, and goodies...

Events - Special events and excursions which OSI has arranged for our Wattegama children:

Year-End Holidays (December 25-31, 2007) - Week-long Pamunugama and Wattegama holiday celebrations...
Sigiriya (October 28, 2007) - Excursion to historic Sigiriya and a hike up the mountainside...
Holiday Camp (August 8-22, 2007) - Wattegama and Pamunugama Camp and excursions...
Colombo Zoo (July 29, 2007) - Trip to Colombo to visit the Zoo and ExcelWorld amusement park...
Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage (April 20, 2007) - Holiday excursion to the elephant orphanage...
Mt. Lavinia and Excel World (December 3, 2006) - Beach and amusement park...
Piradeniya Gardens (April 18, 2006) - Holiday excursion to Piradeniya Botanical Gardens...

Our Personnel

	Program Site Sponsor Connie Carlberg Involved in many ways with OSI and our children, Connie Carlberg is also site sponsor for our Wattegama program.  Mrs. Carlberg is a real estate agent in Florida, USA.
	OSI Program Liaison Sharmila With a huge heart for children in need and living right in the Wattegama community, Sharmila manages our Wattegama program in full and works tirelessly to make our girls as happy as possible!

The Community

Wattegama is a small village on the heavily pot-holed Kandy-Matale road, about 10km north of Kandy, the provincial capitol.  The busy main road is lined for about half a kilometer with the staple shops, bank, post-office, bus and railroad stations.  Surrounding the village are impressive, high-reaching hills covered with jungle and occasional rice paddies and tea plantations.  The village itself exists by serving the needs of the surrounding rural population.

A kilometer and a half south of the village center is a primitive dirt lane, off of the main road, which leads for about half a kilometer uphill to our Wattegama Children's Home.

The village grade school is also just to the south of town, about a kilometer from the home, and the children walk to school via numerous dirt paths and lanes that lead down the hillside through the jungle.

Click on the photo for a larger image...

	Village Center Lined with shops and three-wheeled taxis...		Train Station On the short train line from Kandy to Matale...
	Buddhist Temple Which the kids attend weekly, and pass each day on their route to school...		Shop Also on the route to school, selling bananas, rice, pots, and other staple supplies...
	Village School Where most of our kids attend grade school...		School Cricket Pitch With the several classroom buildings on the higher grounds surrounding...
	School Classroom Open-air and rudimentary...		View From The Hills Above Wattegama On a sunny day...
	Early Morning View  From the hills above Wattegama...

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Geography

	More Maps - See more maps of Sri Lanka and of the Wattegama local...
	The Weather in Sri Lanka:

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