The Truth Behind Volunteering in Sri Lanka

After my five-month stint last year of travelling during my gap year, I had officially caught the bug. And so it was no surprise to anyone around me that I wanted to spend part of my four-month university summer holiday's exploring new lands.

The only questions on my mind was where to go and what do I want to do?

I have grown up in a very giving and charitable family where I have been taught the value of life and helping others. My mother has been an avid fundraiser for cancer research over the years. She created risque humourous calendars and donated all profits to the charity and from a young age she roped me in to regular fun runs with her in the hopes of raising money. As one of my first jobs I worked in a care home helping those who were coming to the end of their life. So I learnt pretty early on the value of life and the joy you and others can get from helping those in need.

So after a few Google searches on the world wide web into volunteering abroad my heart was pretty set on what I wanted to do.

Welcome to Sri Lanka

After a lot of research my decision on volunteering in Sri Lanka was set. Sri Lanka is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean, it lays just 30 kilometres south-east of India and I was heading to the quaint ocean-side town of Ambalangoda. The town is located in the Galle District, the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It was traditionally a fishing village but now is famous for being the major production centre for demonic wooden masks and devil dancers.

The Forecast

If you are a sun seeker like me it is best to envision Sri Lanka in two separate parts. When planning your trip it's important to understand that there are two monsoon seasons that affect different parts of the country. On the the south west coast, the monsoon season runs from May to September and on the north east coast it runs between October and February. However, for the rest of the year sun basks the country and overall it is dry. Temperatures vary, reaching up to 30 degrees in the coastal regions and 18 in the highlands.

As I visited Ambalangoda, which is situated in southern Sri Lanka, in July I hit smack bang in the middle of monsoon season. I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me question my choice of volunteering location. I am well aware that volunteering is not a summer holiday and that was never my intentions for going. However, I am a sun worshipper and my mood always skyrockets as soon as those rays of vitamin D hit me. I am glad that I didn't let my sunshine doubts affect my final decision. Mornings were often dry and humid with high temperatures sometimes reaching the 30s and early afternoon I was often greeted with a shower which normally lasted between 1-3 hours. Surprisingly, the rain was often welcome. Volunteering was hard, hot and sweaty work and as the rain fell it pulled the temperature down with it.

Respecting the Culture and Modesty

In recent years Sri Lanka has become an increasingly popular tourist destination with holiday makers flocking to the coasts. As a result western culture is becoming more normalised in touristy parts of the country. However, it is important to recognise that overall the island has a strong sense of tradition, religion and cultural history which should be adhered to and respected by all visitors.

Sri Lanka has a population of more than 20 million with only 750,000 Sri Lankans living in the capital (Colombo). Therefore, the population is predominantly rural and so a traditional way of life is maintained by the majority of the country.

Religion

The largest religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism with 70 percent of the population practicing it. The constitution places Buddhism at the forefront and the government is required to protect it. The island is littered with Buddha Statues as well as Dagobas and temples which are seen as sacred entities. The Sri Lankan calendar has 25 public holidays and many of them are dedicated to Buddhist celebrations. Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but if one achieves a state of nirvana, it is possible to escape this cycle forever.

I later learned in volunteering just how strong Buddhism is in Sri Lanka and how disciplined the people are at following it. As an atheist myself, I respect religion and I admire the communities and the faith of those that following it gain. However, I struggled throughout my time volunteering and questioned the some of the inhumane aspects of Buddhism that seemed to pop up everyday. The culture shock of this aspect was apparent to me and other volunteers, although we respected it and followed the "locals" Buddhist rules, although at times it was hard and made us question our volunteering work.

Modesty

I was volunteering in a small and traditional local ocean side town called Ambalangoda, so I was very conscious of wanting to be respectful towards the local community. A big part of volunteering is helping the locals and building a strong positive relationship. The community was very traditional and conservative and so it was important for myself and all volunteers to dress in modest clothing. This entailed wearing clothing that covered knees and shoulders. My go to was a long breathable skirt which I would pair with a lightweight oversized shirt. Obviously it is very hot and humid in Sri Lanka and so as a western visitor its hard work having to wear clothes that cover up your body, so it's important to opt for lightweight and breathable fabrics.

Accommodation

The majority of the time when volunteering accommodation is pretty basic. Why would you put money into luxuries for accommodation when your purpose is to be helping often in dire situations? Any volunteer would prefer the money goes to the cause they are helping.

During my time in Ambalangoda I stayed in a rather large volunteer house. In the main house, where I was staying there was eight dorms. Originally we were told that dorms could hold a maximum of 10 people, I guess I drew the short straw as I was put in a room consisting of 11 girls. Fun - but messy! I'm sure you can imagine the state of the room after a couple of hours. We had all the necessities, AC and mosquito nets. What more could a girl want in a rural village in Sri Lanka? My dorm had girls from all different parts of the world, including England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Austria and Australia.

The house also came with social areas and a dining room, which hosted countless games of uno by phone torchlight when the power would often cut in the evenings.

Food

All three meals of the day were provided in the house and cooked by local ladies by whom were referred to as 'the sisters'. The sisters spoke little to no English but were a comfort to myself and all volunteers as they adopted a motherly role in the house. the majority of meals were traditional Sri Lankan dishes. Rice and dahl became a regular occurrence with the odd appearance of a roti.

During my time in Sri Lanka I took part in a cooking class which was taught and held in a local ladies home. In my cooking class we made bread fruit curry, soya and onion in a tomato chilli sauce, fried onion and aubergine and finally homemade roti to mop it all up with. The process was lengthy but I got a real sense of how cooking and culture is so important and brought families together. Recipes are passed down through generations and I was taught how nothing goes to waste and how resourceful Sri Lankans are with their food. Another popular Sri Lankan dish which I had never hard of is Kottu. Kottu, is made up of roti which is cut into small ribbon like pieces almost resembling noodles. It is then heated on an iron sheet with vegetables and onions. Eggs and meat are cooked and then all added together to create a dish. Tactful, wasteless and delicious.

Sri Lankan food takes hours to cook and often women will start cooking from the early hours of the morning. As a Brit I am used to having my main meal at the end of the day for dinner. However, in Sri Lanka, your main and largest meal will be eaten at lunch time.

Transport

Colourful tuktuks are the most popular mode of transport in Sri Lanka, they zip all over the country taking people from A to B. Often seen as a symbol for the country in tourist shops with magnets, snow globes and shot glasses displaying the mode of transport. These three-wheeled vehicles are a menace on the road with their need for speed.

It is possible to hail a tuktuk from roadside but be sure to agree on a price before getting in if the tuktuk is not metered. It is a better and safer option to download apps such as PickMe, Uber and YoGo. These apps are great as the price is fixed and paid for online and there are tracking options available to ensure a safer ride.

In terms of pricing, the law requires all tuktuks to have a meter so passengers can clearly track the distance and cost of a journey as it progresses. However, not all tuktuks are metered so prices may need to be agreed before you ride to avoid disputes. Tuktuks ultimately are the cheapest and most effective mode of transport, so once you get over the craziness of it and adopt to the tuktuk lifestyle you'll be unstoppable!