Ratnapura RC Projects - 03 February

Visited two Rotary Matching Grant Water Projects in the Sabaragamuwa Province that were sponsored by the Ratnapura RC, the Kandy RC, and a RC in the Netherlands who I believe learned about the project on the WCS website. The project involved providing clean drinking water to 17 schools in the province. The total project cost Rs1.2M; which is about US$12K.
What really stood out at both schools was the excitement on the children's faces and the gratitude expressed by the school teachers and administrators. The girl shown in this photo was very happy to receive a pen and pencil that Lynsey brought from DSWA to give to the school children.

Seevali Vidyalaya (School) – 100 yr old school located in Ratnapura
This school was home to several hundred children – I'd say 400 or more. This school had an available water source but it was not pure. Through the grant a water filtration and purification system was installed along with a storage tank. I was honored when I was asked to turn the knob starting the flow of water to the hose bibs.

Halmillawa Vidyalaya (School) – rural school located in Embilipitiya
It took about 1.5 hours to travel from Ratnapura to Embilipitiya. There are about 250 kids in this school. This project was a bit more involved because there was no water source at the school. Rotary installed the distribution system, filtration and purification, and storage tank. At this school I again felt honored when I was asked to cut the ribbon on the path to the new storage tank.

After visiting the Halmillawa School we headed back to Ratnapura and visited a local waterfall called Bopathella Falls. Sorry no photos because it was early evening until we got there and the sun was practically set. However, the team was able to enjoy a quick dip in the pool at the base of the waterfall.