Working visit 2026

Report Working Visit February 2026 Arrival On Thursday, February 5th, we left for Schiphol. We had a good flight to Doha. The transfer went smoothly. In Colombo, we were through customs in no time, and the suitcases arrived quickly too. Sister Amatha was waiting for us outside. It was very nice to see her again. We drove to Kelaniya in the congregation’s van. In Kelaniya, Sister Rafaëla, Sister Anne, and one of the oldest girls were waiting for us. The other children were at school. What a wonderful reunion! We had a quick bite to eat—some mango and bananas—and then went to bed. Later, when the children had come home from school, they all came to say hello too. At first, they were a bit shy, but that passed quickly. Soon we were singing together and teaching each other words. We handed out the drawings, hearts, and butterflies made by the children from the Geerteskerk in Kloetinge. They really liked them. Afterwards, we all took a walk around the home and the garden. The oldest girls showed us their newly planted vegetable gardens. They have planted cabbage, tomatoes, and beans, among other things. There are many flowering plants in the garden; it is rather beautiful! After dinner, we sat outside singing with the children. Sister Rafaëla appeared with the big speaker box, and then we had a wonderful time dancing with the children. Great fun, especially because of Jos’s silly dance moves.

Visits to the homes
We were received very warmly in all the homes. It is so wonderful to see and speak with all the children and sisters again. We gave our presents, with which they were very pleased. We sang many songs together. They especially liked “Zo draait de molen” (the Dutch version of When The Mill Turns). We played games together and we danced. We “talked” to them using our hands and feet. We asked their names and how old they are. We taught each other words in our own language, much to the children’s amusement. Together, we watered the plants with water from the well. A teacher also come to give lessons in the English language. The oldest girls in Ja Ela, made a delicious lunch for us. It is absolutely wonderful to see that the children are so cheerful and happy. We inspected the homes. They all look rather good, despite all the recent storms. Great! All the homes received LED lighting from the new government. In Kelaniya, they have also received solar panels. That’s very nice! At the home in Ja Ela, a section of the roof broke off during the storm in December. This still needs to be repaired. It is important to us that the homes are well maintained. Sister Amatha would also like the water butt on the roof to be placed on a small raised platform, so that they no longer have leaks when it overflows. And the back side and part of the right side of the building in Katupotha still need to be plastered and painted.

Visits to temples, the Kelani River, and lakes We visited the temple in Kelaniya with Sister Anne and 11 children, 9 of whom are Buddhist. There was a red band and a band with the Buddhist colours around the stupa, due to a holiday. It is a beautiful and very old temple complex. Afterwards, we walked to the Kelani River. Here, they are restoring the riverbanks after the heavy rainfall in November/December last year. Whilst we were all sitting on a low wall by the river, a couple who was sitting opposite us, decided to treat us all with an ice cream. They asked us foreigners where we were from. They were there with another couple. One of the men addressed Sister Anne and explains to her that he works in a hospital. He asked for her phone number, because he would like to provide any necessary medication to the homes. He really wants to do something to help the children. We also took a walk along the dike, beside the Kelani River, behind the home. We saw where the houses had been washed away by the floods and where they were now building new houses. The people here are very friendly. We, just the two of us, also took a wonderful walk to a pretty lake in Katupotha. We walked past rice fields, we saw mountains in the distance, and we saw how they harvest rice and lay it out to dry in front of their houses. In addition, we saw beautiful flowers and plants everywhere. Nature here is absolutely beautiful. In Katupotha, we also strolled to the temple that the children often visit, with two of the girls. It was a fairly small temple complex. Afterwards, we walked to another beautiful lake.

Opening of new extension in Katupotha At the opening in Katupotha, we were all welcomed by the children and the sisters. All the men were given a beautiful flower garland to wear, and Tanja received beautiful flowers. Then we all walked to the new extension, where our donor performed the opening by cutting the ribbon at the door. He also unveiled a plaque stating that he made the extension possible. We all admired the beautiful new addition. Afterwards, we were taken outside, where chairs were set ready for us and the children. One of the girls narrates everything in English. Three girls dressed in beautiful saris performed gracious Sri Lankan dances for us. The smallest girls, in their skirts and white T-shirts, also showed us two dances. So sweet! Afterwards, Tanja also gave a short speech, in which she thanked our donor very warmly. After that we all had a delicious piece of chocolate cake with lemonade. Then the children blow bubbles with the bubble blowers we had brought along. We were also presented with gifts and beautiful, handmade cards. Then all the girls started dancing again and came to fetch us to join in. And we actually all danced together. Everyone joined in! It was really quite a lot of fun! What a beautiful opening we had! We were all very impressed. Then they took us on a tour of the home, where we first admired the new annex, where the children were now eating. After that we went to have lunch ourselves. The sisters had made a delicious lunch for us. After lunch, our donor unpacked a large bag full of items for the children: puzzles, games, and puppet show puppets. So nice of him! Then it was time to say goodbye to our donor and his friends. Late in the afternoon, three women came by—a grandmother with her daughter and granddaughter—with an Almsgiving (the voluntary giving of food, for example, to the less fortunate, driven by religious conviction). The granddaughter had received her first salary and wanted to share it with the children. What a beautiful and sweet gesture! And what a wonderful day!

Repair of the roof of the home in Kelaniya While painting the outer walls, the painters noticed that the roof no longer fit together properly at the edges. Of course, this needed to be repaired, as soon as possible. They suffered some massive leakage, in the home, during the severe storm last November. We were introduced to a Dutch company that builds bridges in Sri Lanka. They liked the idea of donating their yearly charity gift to us this year. We indicated that we would very much like to have the roof of the home in Kelaniya repaired. When we were on our working visit, the representative of the company came to inspect the roof. The actual repairs to the roof were to executed by the contractor whom Sister Amatha knows and trusts. Meanwhile, a few weeks have passed, and the roofs have now been repaired. We are very pleased and grateful for the financial help from this company. Thank you so very much!!!

Visits together with Sister Amatha and Sister Rafaëla After the visit to Pamunugama, we drove to a very beautiful spot. A kind of pilgrimage site on the Negombo lagoon. There is a small chapel and a small church there, and all kinds of religious statues. It is a beautiful park with beautiful flowers and ponds. People and children were walking around, and there were also people having a picnic. A very beautiful, peaceful place. After this, we drove on to the beach. That was wonderful! We went paddling in the surf. Later on, we drove a bit further along the seaside and then encountered a small fish market. We stopped to have a look and saw that there was still plenty of fish. The sisters bought prawns and a very large fish, a greater amberjack, which one of the fishermen cleaned and cut/chopped into pieces for them. They also bought five barracudas. Fish is healthy for the children, Sister Amatha said. We drove home with bags full of fresh fish. In the evening, we had delicious pasta with prawns for dinner, made by Sister Giovanni. She is, by the way, staying temporarily in Kelaniya for her studies.

Farewell Sister Rafaëla set up everything up for the farewell presentation. Two of the smallest girls came, all dressed up in beautiful white saris and with colourful lotus flowers in their hands. Two other girls were holding the Sri Lankan flag between them. One of the other girls held a small board with two little black elephants, and yet another an elephant decorated with a “silver” cloth, like the ones you see at the Perahera. Then one of the oldest girls read the text, in English, that they had prepared about Sri Lanka. Very Nice. José (our daughter) had sent us a video last week, in which her pupils asked if the children in the home could please tell them something about their lives, and the rituals and religions of Sri Lanka. We had asked Sister Rafaëla to investigate whether the girls would like to tell a little story about Sri Lanka. It was all so nice! The little girls presented the lotus flowers to us. Later on, we handed out the elephant keychains, that we had bought, to the children. They are very pleased with them. Arrangements had been made for a man to come and bake hoppers. We all sat outside to devour them. A hopper is a kind of thin pancake, made from rice flour and coconut milk, in the shape of half a bowl. In some of them, he adds an egg that slowly sets. Quite delicious! You can also eat them with a spicy sauce of ground pepper. After dinner, we gave the gifts, that we had bought for the sisters, to Sister Amatha and Sister Rafaela to distribute. Sister Anne and Sister Giovanna also came later. We thanked the sisters for everything they had done for us. All the children came inside and we were also presented with gifts. Jos received that beautiful elephant with the silver decorations and Tanja received two bags, a large one and a small one, made by the girls in Ja Ela. And we were both presented with a beautiful, handmade card with all the names of the girls on them. Jos called out the all the names of the girls on the card, one by one, much to the amusement of the children. After this, we went to the “library”, where the children danced for us. Then it was time to say goodbye. With lots of hugs and kisses, we said goodbye to the children…….We went to take a quick shower and after that we took some tea and coffee together with the sisters. We had another very pleasant half hour together. Then we had to say goodbye to the sisters too. We thanked them for the wonderful time, the delicious food, and all the fun things we had done together. It was truly fantastic!! Thank you so very much!