Bunk beds to the left; auto repair shop eight feet away to the right.
This is home to 45 young boys aged three to sixteen, many of whom are orphans as a result of the recent civil war.
We were there shortly after one of the daily cloudbursts that occur this time of year, and the area where the boys sleep was completely soaked and muddied.
Quite a few of the toothbrushes are missing.
The current storage area for school backpacks and shoes.
There is a building project underway that will safely house and shelter these boys, but it is frequently stalled due to lack of funding. The new space is being built just behind the current area in use. It has a long main room and an outer hallway which will have cupboards for the boys as well as tables and chairs to use for study, coloring or games. There is also an enclosed toilet and bathing area and a “sick room” with separate toilet facilities. Below the main building will be the kitchen and cafeteria area. The structure is being built in such a fashion that a second floor can be easily added. This would eventually provide classroom space and a recreational area for the boys but is currently in the distant future due again to lack of funds.
The main bunk area
The space below that will be a kitchen/cafeteria
This is the new building as seen from the current sleeping area. The yellow painted doors to the right are the toilets now in use.
When we sat to talk with the teacher/bookkeeper for the orphanage, she assisted us in putting together a list of some of the more immediate needs for the continued funding of the building and the boys in general.
(100 rps = $1.00)
Cement 12,250 rps (25 bags)
Tiles for kitchen area/downstairs 920 tiles/ 50 rps per tile
1 steel cupboard 6,500 rps
1 gas cylinder 3,600 rps
2 burner gas stove approximately 4,000 rps.
5 Steel bunk bed frames (Niasco Ind. 011-2561367) price unknown
10 mattresses for bunks price unknown
10 pillows
2 clocks
On an average day, it costs 9,000 rps to feed all the boys, broken down as follows:
Breakfast 2,500 rps
Lunch 3,000 rps
Snack 1,000 rps
Dinner 2,500 rps
School Shoes (various sizes) @ 400 rps per pair
The teacher was able to show us a note book with all the boys feet traced out to determine the correct sizes needed.
Underwear- S-M-L price unknown
Ongoing expenses, maintenance
Wash powder
Toothbrushes
Disinfectant
These are the immediate needs and all items can be purchased here in Sri Lanka for considerably less than in the U.S. or elsewhere. Many of you have already made donations and for that I am very grateful. I know you MUST be suffering from disaster/donor fatigue. Katrina, Rita, Wilma and the earthquakes in Pakistan and India have numbed many of us into a complete stupor. I assure you, aid agencies and NGO's scarcely know where to allocate their resources. I am not asking anyone to donate to this endeavor; it’s only one of millions of causes that are all worthy and deserving of our time and money. Just find it in your heart to help someone, in your own country or elsewhere. Give of yourself; get involved with a literacy program; fundraise for the Kidney Foundation or on your next birthday, request that people make a donation in your name to the charity of your choice. The currency of your involvement and effort will pay huge dividends and has the power to change you forever. Believe me, I know.
I’m days away from getting the VI website on line, so stay tuned for the link. I’m also setting up an online store where items can be purchased that will support our work here. Today, I’m going to Pettah to buy as much boys underwear as I can find…as my brother Doug says, “I’ll take “Things I Never Thought I’d Do” for a thousand, Alex…” I don’t want any of these guys to “go commando” for the Sunday-almost-done-new building-opening ceremony. 
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