Saturday, November 12, 2011

Taking a Break to see the Sunrise - Trincomalee


Following Polonnaruwa we arrived at Trincomalee on the 4th of November. We resided at the Department of Industries Hostel for three days, during which time we took some time out to complete our individual tasks and also to restore our energy for the rest of the tour.

We visited Nilaweli Beach, Marble Beach and also witnessed the sunrise. We had fun sea bathing and playing cricket at the beach. It was truly a break that we all needed and deserved. We were also able to do some teambuilding activities, learning the deeper concepts of Conflict Transformation. We looked into how conflicts can arise even by ignoring subtle acts of bias, which in turn can lead to stereotypes, prejudices and finally end up in outright discrimination.





On the 7th of November, we visited Vennasampura Maha Vidyalaya in Kanthale, where we conducted an assembly followed by a workshop. Even though it was a government holiday, the school administration organized the assembly and workshop just for us, which showed a lot of commitment on their part. Rajagala Vidyalaya and Seevaly Vidyalaya were two other school that attended the workshop.
We also able to make our first Champions of Change connection for the road trip, between Vennasampura Maha Vidyalaya and Elizabeth Moir International School, Colombo. We hope that these two schools will work together, overcoming class barriers, regional biases and show to the world that Sri Lanka is ready to stand up united, moving away from a culture of divisiveness towards a reconciled nation.

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