The third leg of our Sri Lanka project trip in 2013 took us to the Warehouse Project in Colombo, which is in an industrial area near a slum. We had arranged to see Mel, the leader and founder of this great project. As we wandered in that afternoon, a little earlier than scheduled, school was in session and we were able to take a look at the group work and chat to the teachers and children.
The children, who are separated into groups by age, play and learn under one roof, that of a large, rented warehouse belonging to the Singhalese railways (hence the name, Warehouse Project). All the little ones get a healthy portion of milk every day, and a delicious meal eaten all together once a week. We thought it was much too hot to do any studying, but these kids are made of stern stuff and it didn’t seem to bother them. We thought “at least the ventilators the size of aeroplane turbines cool the place down a bit”.
Mel gave up the chance of a successful business career to concentrate 100% on the Warehouse Project. A lot of the Warehouse Project teachers work part time on a voluntary basis and talk proudly and enthusiastically about the project’s development. We think they can be really proud of what they’ve achieved here! It is wonderful to see children from all sections of the population and from different ethnicities learning and playing together, as well as rehearsing plays and musicals that are then performed as part of a celebration. Mels original Warehouse Project idea was and is to educate the wealthy parts of the Sri Lankan population about the poverty in their country. In her opinion, it’s best to start that in childhood. We think that’s fantastic and are delighted to continue supporting the project.