Krys Gadd and Bela Singh share their experiences, and in the galleries above and below some of their lovely pictures. (To view these simply open up the gallery by clicking on any of the images)
Bela and I went out in February for 10 days to a refuge run by the Women’s Development Centre in Kandy. The refuge is for girls who have suffered gender based violence and have fled there for safety. Krys has had connections with the charity since 2019 and this was her second visit.
Thanks to everyone in MBC (and many other people) for your financial support and encouragement. Bela and I funded ourselves to go to Sri Lanka and all the money raised last year and this has gone to help the girls, either with their day to day living costs or a number of projects that we have started.
Thanks for your prayers. It really made all the difference – no delays, illnesses, mishaps or even insect bites! Which for me is unheard of.
Your money and the donations of others helped not only with the running costs of the refuge but several projects. One weaving project was to make a bag from recycled fabric and another to make reusable nappies for the babies in the refuge. The sewing teacher knows how to make them and will teach the girls how to sew them.
The refuge is a happy place. It is clean and orderly but with very little of the extra stuff that we are used to. It really made me think about what is important in my life and what I spend my money on. One of the pictures in the gallery above is of Chandani, the refuge manager who is also a mother figure to all these lovely girls. She is standing in the television room. As you can see it has a television in it and some chairs.
There’s also a picture of where the girls sleep and to the right you can see some lockers in which they can keep any personal items.
Again, for me this was a sharp reminder that you do not need lots of stuff to feel safe and happy.
It was also so lovely to see some old faces as well as some new ones. The final picture in this gallery shows Bela and I with our translators and the teachers. We had such a warm welcome which involved very sweet tea and some sweet treats.
We had various projects in mind before we arrived. The first success was the bag made out of recycled fabric, woven on the rigid heddle looms Marcia and I sent out in 2020.
Bela taught them how to weave in a different way. Firstly with fabric strips and then on finding some jute string, they tried the technique out on a table mat. I think it looks great and we hope to have the girls producing some of these soon.
Another success, the nappies. Here we have a picture of one of the babies modelling the latest one produced by one of the teachers.
The girls really took to crochet under Bela’s expert tuition. They were all really keen to model the bag they had collectively created
Some of you know about the tea towels. I spotted 15 of these and thought immediately: “These will sell” so I bought them for 300 rupees (under 1 pound) and asked people who would like to buy them for £4? I have orders for 61 and have some new ones coming soon.
We had fun too! Last year in the searing heat I was shattered after 4 days working in the refuge plus another celebratory day. This year I built in a lot more rest time. In fact on one of the days we had off we went to see some elephants in a nearby sanctuary. Also the last couple of nights we stayed near to the airport, and this lovely shot, in fact the last in the gallery was the view just a few feet from my hotel room.
We left Sri Lanka feeling we had really achieved something. I saw the improvements in their use of colour, and the weaving from last year. The girls have stolen my heart; their stories are sad but they have the hope of a future in this refuge. When they leave, they have experienced love and safety. They have had a chance to finish their education and learn some new skills.
Thank you again for supporting them through your donations, items you have bought and most of all your prayers. If you want to find out how you can help by fundraising or if you are considering coming out then please get in touch with Krys.
