Happy Christmas!

A very merry christmas to you from sunny Sri Lanka. We’re off to Laos to spend christmas with our friends who live there.

We’re all really well. Luke is managing to wake only 3 times a night at the moment, so we’re not as tired as we were. Joe still has eczema poor mite, but he’s completely full of beans and still a total extrovert. Sarah has found new friends in Colombo, and Mike’s enjoying his new job as national water, sanitation and environment manager. We don't have internet access at home, so photos of us - well we know it's the children you really want to see! - will appear in the new year.
In the mean time, we thought you may appreciate a photographic review of a small selection of the projects I’ve designed and managed over the year, to give you and us a reminder of why we came and to remind us that the hard work is really worth it.


1 of 90 school kitchens, I’m managing, that will provide the only meal each day for around 35,000 children in the East and North of the country. We’re currently feeding them from temporary structures.





Agamethi Balika Vidyalaya – a 3 storey girls school in Kalutara, replacing buildings damaged in the original school. This is one of 60 secondary schools we’re rebuilding.












One of 400 community dug wells, giving bathing water to over 4000 people.







One of the 2000 tube wells giving clean drinking water to over 20,000 people.











Kalmunai Hospital water well, pumps, storage tower and chlorine dosing scheme. Providing clean water for hospital patients, cleaning and medical use for the first time.











The pump station serving the hospital water scheme







The opening of Kontheruparingiyawatte, 49 town houses, giving new homes to 250 people in Kalutara in the west.








All the hard work feels worth it when you hand over the keys and see people beaming with smiles as they enter their new houses.







Kalawanchikudy, providing 250 homes to people in the East.








Pothuvil solar powered water scheme, providing free water for irrigation to a farming cooperative, enabling them to triple their annual crop yield.







One of over 4000 toilets and septic tanks we've constructed.










A bus shelter in the East to shelter from the sun and rain.








Pothuvil tsunami memorial canteen. Built in rememberance of the 70 children who died in the adjacent pre-school, to serve food to the surviving 42 children who lost their best friends, brothers and sisters.







Thirokuvil water treatment plant, I’m really proud of. This clever device removes iron and manganese from the water, using laterite, activated carbon (burnt coconut shell), and slow sand filtration, providing clean water to Thirokuvil town.







School urinals. Prior to this 1300 children were sharing two toilets - ouch!







One of our four concrete block factories - each producing 26000 blocks a month, and training local tsunami affected younger people in block manufacturing, basic business skills, and house construction.









A new school water tank, providing clean drinking water to children.











Can you believe this blow-out? The tyre was torn in 2 on our way back from Trincomalee last week. In a Ford Ranger, that was some loud bang.






All of our love to you all this Christmas.

Mike, Sarah, Joe and Luke. xxx