Impact Report 2015-19

IMPACT THIS REPORT AIMS TO SHOWCASE
REPORT
THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS CARRIED
OUT BY VOLUNTEERS FROM
2015-19
TAIWAN BETWEEN 2015 TO 2019
REPORT BY ADELA CHIU
VISION YOUTH ACTION - TAIWAN

INSPIRE VILLAGE - SRI LANKA
INSPIRE VILLAGE
INTRODUCTION
Between the year 2015 to 2019, thirty
two projects were carried out by VYA
Inspire Exchange facilitates
Taiwan in Sri Lanka. Inspire Village
communication between VYA Taiwan
facilitated the projects by connecting
and Inspire Village and assist in
each group with a specific community
designing each project.
organisation or a rural school.
The process of initiating a project

starts with a request made by
community organisations or schools.
After a needs assessment is done by
This report showcases
the Inspire Village project the impact of the
coordinators with the help of volunteer projects
community leaders, school principals,
and teachers, project activities are carried out in Sri
decided. Lanka between the
Meantime, VYA program coordinators
year 2015-19 by VYA
recruit volunteers and invite them to Taiwan volunteers.
attend a series of training programs
and preparation meetings.
DIRECTORS
Up to this year, there have been over It was a privilege to be able to

500 volunteers from Taiwan landing facilitate the projects, which took
on Sri Lanka, who've spent their place in Sri Lanka during the past
precious time on volunteering. They five years. I've enjoyed being part
are devoted and always try to do of the work the Taiwanese
more for others. Then these lives volunteers did there. Throughout
start to make an impact on other those years, I've met many
lives. It never ceases to amaze me amazing people from Taiwan. They
how powerful and influential these are inspirational and their
volunteers can be. I am so proud of contribution to Sri Lankan society
them and also feel honored to have is highly appreciated.
the chance to cooperate with Inspire.
Klaus Ding - Sudam Jayasinghe -

Director - VYA Taiwan Director - Inspire Exchange
COORDINATORS
As a coordinator, it is my pleasure to Being a local coordinator, I had the

witness the change of different pleasure of working with many
communities and people. Starting in volunteers. I am pleased with my role
2015, I've spent three months in Sri and the opportunities to serve my own
Lanka every year. I see things being community by working hand-in-hand
built, and see children grow; I also with volunteers from different nations.
go back to the same community Among those, Taiwan volunteers are
several times. Along the way, I've highly respected and appreciated. I
met so many great people and learn cherish the memory of being with them
from them. Besides, I am also so and their company has been rewarding.
grateful for having the chance to What I admire the most in them is the
bring volunteers from Taiwan to Sri positive attitude even when they are
Lanka and devote ourselves to faced with difficulties. Their knowledge,
making the world a little bit better. general understanding, and sheer
I enjoy this position a lot, and I am dedication are also the qualities I
so surprised by the way that admire. On behalf of local communities,
volunteers contribute to this I would like to thank all of the
society. To sum up, I am so thankful volunteers for the commendable service
and proud to be part of these to the betterment of my country and its
meaningful projects. people.
Ant Lin Jagath Jayawardana

Project Coordinator - VYA Taiwan Project Coordinator - Inspire Village
RESEARCHER
I spent three months as a mid-term

volunteer in the summer of 2019 helping
Inspire Village to carry out its local
projects. I joined the Inspire Village free
education program for local children as a
teacher. I was responsible for teaching the
computer class and the English class in the
afternoons. I also initiated an English
conversation class for adults.
As part of my volunteer experience, I

helped in carrying out the short term
volunteer group projects in summer 2019 in
Sri Lanka.
However, my main task was to revisit those

Having been in Sri Lanka for the third places where we had carried out projects
time, I feel like this place has become and find out the impact we have had on the
my spiritual home. Since 2018 July, I've host communities by talking to community
kept coming back to Sri Lanka as a leaders, villagers, and neighboring children.
volunteer. I have learned so much and
met a number of amazing people along This report is a result of the interviews I did
the way, and each experience with the host communities. It was
profoundly changes my thinking and surprising to me that there were small
deepens my understanding of Sri details the people remembered about the
Lankan culture. I would say my life has volunteers. The impact we have on the
been greatly influenced by this people seemed to resonate more than I
journey. initially thought.
Since my last visit, I've started to think In this report, I record the row data for the
about how to contribute to this society conversations I had with them.
more. Therefore, it is my honor to be in
this dreamlike country again and work
as a researcher. I am thankful for this Adela Chiu
chance and hope my work can Reporter - VYA Taiwan
contribute positively to its progress as
a society.
CONTENT
1. School Projects
1.1 Kadurugaswewa School
1.2 Nabadwewa School
1.3 Sri Perakum School
1.4 Bodhiraja School
1.5 Dutugemunu School
1.6 Thirappane School
1.7 Anthony School
2. Community Development Projects

2.1 Sinnikkulama Community
2.2 Ottappuwa Community
2.3 Sandaresgama Community
2.4 Senapura Community
2.5 Talgaswewa Community
2.6 Kadugama Community
3. Peace Camp
WWW.VYA.ORG.TW
WWW.INSPIRE.CAMP
NUMBER OF
PROJECTS 32
Between the year 2015 July to 2019
Projects
August, 32 projects took place in Sri
Lanka north central province.
NUMBER OF
564 VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers
Volunteers' age ranging from 15 to 55
took part in the projects.
NUMBER OF
COMMUNITIES
AND SCHOOLS
16
Communities
The projects took place in rural areas in
north central province of Sri Lanka. and Schools
NUMBER OF
STUDENTS
INVOLVED 4811
Students from 8 local schools joined
the projects in learning English and
Students
Computer literacy. When community
projects were carried out children from
host communities joined language
classes in the afternoons.
NUMBER OF
185 WORKING
working
DAYS
days Construction and renovation projects,
along with teaching English were carried
out in 8 communities involving
community organisations.
NUMBER OF
VOLUNTEERING
HOURS 19864
Volunteers work as teachers, and also
Volunteering
helping with the villagers to build the hours
buildings.
KADURUGASWEWA SCHOOL
Kaduragaswewa school is a rural Results & Observation:
primary school with 110 students
located 7km southwest of Inspire Most of the students are pretty
Village. active, even the little children are
very happy and want to talk to me as
Kadurugaswewa is a traditional much as possible. Some of the
village with a long history. Majority students even showed me around the
of the villagers are farmers. schools and introduced some plants
to me. Even though they cannot
Those who can afford to send their communicate with me that well, they
children to schools in town are still tried to show me things through
financially better off and those body language.
children who go to the village school
are usually children from poorer As for their English level, they are
families. able to do basic greeting with me.
But if I ask more about themselves, it
Volunteers from SK26 helped to is difficult for them. Besides,
repair the school fence and separate words are understandable
renovated some of the school for them, so sentences are not easy
buildings as well as conducted for them to comprehend.
English language classes.
KADURUGASWEWA
Date: 2019/09/04
Location: Kadurugashwewa
Interview conducted by: Adela Chiu
Translator: Jagath Jayawardana
Interview Conducted with the Principal
Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

A: I am impressed with their unity and good teamwork, and they are
fond of nature, also never waste any food and resources. Besides, they
are friendly to the kids.
Q: Do you notice any changes from the students after the group left?
A: When the group was here, the students would want to talk to them
using English. But day by day, they reduced the usage of English
because the group was not here anymore. Students are willing to learn,
just the environment was not being created.
Q: Do you notice any changes from the teachers after the group left?
A: Some teachers have learned some games from the group.
Interview Conducted with the Teachers

A(Teacher 1): Some songs. Also, I remember one of
the Taiwanese participants sing with one of the English teachers.
A(Teacher 2): Volunteers from the group carried out some experiments
with the students, and the students liked them a lot. They even did the
experiment again outside the classroom after they left.
Q: Is there any teaching materials left by the Taiwan group still in use
now?A(Teacher 1&2): Storybooks they left here are still in the school
library now, and students keep the handicrafts they made in the class.
Q: Is there any teaching method that you learned from the Taiwan
group?
A(Teacher 1): I learned that teachers should be friendly to the
students. They can learn even if we don’t punish them. Also, I found
that students can learn quickly with practical examples and
demonstration.
KADURUGASWEWA
A(Teacher 2): I learned some practical language games, and know that it
is good to take students outside of the classroom. I know that students
also like to sing. Though we know and we want to do the activities with
the students, the major problem is we still need to follow the course
syllabus provided by national educational bureau.
A(Teacher 1): They know more about teamwork. As for English learning,
they want to learn more. But the environment doesn’t support.
Interview Conducted with the Parents

A(Parent 1&2&3): Children are so happy (about their teaching). A(Parent
2): Children wanted to come even if they were sick.
Q: Did the children say anything about the Taiwan group after they went
home?
A(Parents): Because foreign people coming to this area is very rare, they
are excited about the activities they did. They also showed us the crafts
and paintings they did in class with us.
A(Parent ): Children are still talking about the groups. Children like the
song they teach so much. They’re waiting for the group to come. Also,
they know the importance of English now, they know English is a useful
tool to communicate. Children feel that they should learn English.
Interview Conducted with the Students
Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

A(Student 1): I remembered the games we played. One of the games is
“number game,” which means we have to get into groups according to
certain number that people choose. A(Student 2): We sing and dance
together, and also do painting.
Q: Do you feel that you have to learn English more after the group left? If
so, how do you do it?
A: We watch English TV program. One of the TV channels in Sri Lanka
provide English and Sinhalese documentary programs. I will watch the
program more to learn English.
NABADWEWA SCHOOL
Nabadawewa is a small village 3km Results & Observation:
north of Inspire Village. Nabasawewa Because some of the children from
school is a primary school. The students this school have joined Inspire
are aged between 5 to 11 years old. English Class, they talk confidently
There are 190 students. Besides, the and are not afraid of saying anything
villagers are mainly farmers and they wrong. However, I can also see this
depend on monsoon rain for their quality in other students, they cannot
regular rice cultivation, so economically speak in complete sentences, but they
they are not very rich. can speak without fear. I believe if we
carry out more projects here, it is
Nabadawewa is a local school, but the highly possible to improve students'
current principal still tries her best to English level greatly.
maintain the quality of the teaching
they provide. She works hard on
Students from this school are all
tightening the discipline and creating a
pretty active and energetic. They are
friendly atmosphere in the school.
eager to talk to strangers and try
Therefore, the volunteers not only teach
their best to communicate with
the students but also help to build the
him/her. Overall they are very
entrance of the school.
approachable.
This year, 2019, SK30 volunteers carried
The students from this school speak
out English language classes for grade 3
more English. For example, they will
to 5 and they helped to pave a full path
to the school entrance so during the ask me “how are you” and “good
raining season it will not get muddy. morning”. This is already different
from the students from other schools.
NABADWEWA
Date: 2019/09/12
Location: Kadurugashwewa
Interview Conducted with the Principal:

A: That was an interesting program for the school. I remembered that
the volunteers are lovely, friendly, and the parents like them a lot. I
also remembered about the farewell party. Overall, I think it is a great
experience and useful program for the students, really want them to
come again.
Q: Do you see any change in the teachers? If so, what are the changes?
A: Actually the teachers have learned something from their teaching
for sure. For example, the teachers know they should be friendly to the
students. However, here comes three difficult problems for the
teachers ——— the differences between two cultures, pressure from
parents and school syllabus. First of all, being a teacher is a very
respectable job in Sri Lanka. This means that teachers usually are not
allowed to be too close to students. If they were too closed, the
students might easily forget that they should pay respect to the
teachers. Besides, when the parents want to check the students’
knowledge, they only do so by looking at the practice book. Therefore,
we cannot do too many activities outside of the classroom and leave
all the writing practice behind. Moreover, our school has to follow the
syllabus given by the government. This is something we have to
follow, so it turns out to be very difficult for the teachers to do
activities in class time. They have to take the risk of falling behind
schedule.
Q: Do you see any change in the students? If so, what are the changes?
A: Students now want to do more activities. Instead of writing, they
want to sing songs and dance more.
NABADWEWA
Interview Conducted with the Teacher Padmini

A: They were energetic, active.
Q: What was the most impressive thing that happened during the
project?
A: They sang songs with the kids, and the kids liked it. Also, they
helped us with paving the road. Those works were heavy, but they
somehow did it. That was impressive.
Q: What teaching strategy did you learn from the Taiwan group, and
you are still using it now?
A: They are friendly to children, and they pay attention to children
individually. So now I try to do this (paying attention to children
individually) now.
Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

A: No materials were left for my class.
A: They are still singing the songs that they have learned from Taiwan
teachers. Besides, the students want to learn English more and more.
For example, they go to the English class at Inspire village. Some of
the students also keep asking the parents to send them to English
class.
Interview Conducted with the Teacher Dissnayaka

A: That was my first experience with Taiwan group. I noticed that when
they had spare time, they would play with dogs and little infants. I
think they are all very warm-hearted and kind people.
Q: What teaching strategy did you learn from the Taiwan group, and
you are still using it now?
A: I learned that demonstrations are very helpful for children’s
learning. For example, when they wanted to teach children about
vehicles, they might make some noise of a particular vehicle first, or
show them some pictures.
NABADWEWA
A: There is a huge change. Now they are not shy, and also
not hesitant to talk and answer questions in class. They have become
more active and open-minded. They used to be afraid to talk, but not
anymore. Also, they try to use English in daily life now. For example,
when they make requests or take attendance, they will use English.
Interview Conducted with the Parent

A: They are helpful, cooperate. I also appreciate their companionship.
There is one unforgettable thing ----- a volunteer’s pencil box was
missing.
Q: Did the children say anything about the Taiwan group after they
went home?
A: My daughter said that the volunteers are older than them, still they
are very close to them. She didn’t feel any age differences.
A: My daughter is still talking about the group, and she cherishes the
gift from them a lot. I also notice that when my daughter speaks
English, the accent changes. She speaks more like a foreigner now. My
daughter enjoys English better than before, and I can tell from her
performances from the private English class.
Interview Conducted with the Student: Udarshana, Mayura

A(Udarshana): English class, I am interested in the name of different
animals.
A(Mayura): I remembered that we made the path together.
SRI PERAKUM SCHOOL
Results & Observation:
Sri Perakum school is a rural primary
school that is quite far from Inspire The principal of this school likes the
Village. Also being far from town, this Taiwan group a lot and is also devoted to
school faces a problem of inadequate the project. The English teacher speaks
attendance of students. The government very good English and I can feel her
once asked the principal to shut down the passion for education and she wants to do
school. more different things with students.
More than that, the school doesn't Students are approachable, and they
receive a high reputation in this region, also want to talk to me a lot. There are
and this makes the parents hesitant to so many children around me while I
send their children here. was doing interviews with the
students. They are curious and some of
However, the current principal is eager to them even want to answer my
make some changes to the school. He questions.
cares about the quality of the teaching
and aims to provide the students with a Students whom I talked to don’t speak
friendly learning environment. English very well. They are too young,
therefore they speak Sinhalese when
SK28 took part in this project and helped we were doing interviews. However,
to clean the English classroom and made they are not afraid of using English
it user-friendly. Next, the principal wants words inside a sentence and are quite
to set up a shrine room in the school. confident while talking. This is quite
impressive and usually won’t happen,
especially when little children were
talking to foreigners.
SRI PERAKUM
Date: 2019/09/09
Location: Sri Perakum
Translator: Sandeepa Chathuranga
Interview Conducted with the Principal: Uigitha Jayasinhe

A: I remembered they taught students by showing, singing and
dancing. It was very different from school teaching. Everything was
new for students and parents. I also remembered that we worked
together. They clean outside (the field) and kept it very clean. They
were all girls, but they still do painting. (Usually Sri Lankan girls don’t
do painting.) They try so hard, and I also see their unity. On the last
day, everyone cried and were very sad.
Q: Do you see any change from the teachers? If so, what are the
changes?
A: Most of the teachers are a bit old. So it is really difficult to see
changes in the teachers. But what I've noticed is that one teacher got
some ideas from the Taiwan group. He started to do some activities
with the kids. For example, he took children outside. Usually when we
taught students about plants, we only show pictures. But now this
teacher will take students outside and let them see, touch and feel the
plants.
Q: Do you see any change from the students? If so, what are the
changes?
A: I don’t think there is such significant differences. But I think they
know the importance of learning English. The English teacher told me
the students use more English in the classroom. For example, when
they say “go” or “come,” they will use English. Also, now they speak
English without any fear.
Interview Conducted with the Teacher: Pushpa Indumathi

A: They helped us to keep the English classroom clean. They also did
some classes with our students. They visited the parents’ houses. They
got some experience of the day to day with the agriculture.
SRI PERAKUM
They visited farms, fields, and rural houses. So they get some
knowledge about traditions. I can also tell they enjoy a lot. I notice
that they save water and being so eco-friendly.

A: There are some pictures of fruits and animals left and teachers are
using it. They use these materials to teach Sinhalese, English. (Because
they are only teachers.) Also there are some posters of weather left,
some games we still play.
Q: Do you learn any way of teaching from the Taiwan group?

A: I learnt that using material is easy to teach, because students can
grasp the knowledge easily. Also I noticed that they are being friendly
and always smile to the children, they sit the same height as the
children do. This is what Sri Lankan teacher can learn from them.
Q: Do you notice any change from the students? If so, please describe
how do they change.
A: Students want to learn English more. They try to speak in English to
me till now. They try to speak English with me and still asking
something about you (Taiwan Volunteers). They ask me if you will
come again or not, and they even want to call you guys so that they
can talk and speak English on the phone. Another thing is that they
learn how to save water and food. I still remembered students asked
me “why don’t they eat like us, take a lot of rice”? Actually outside of
school, students don’t have that many resources, so as long as they can
talk to the volunteers, they are happy.
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Nishathi, Priyangika, Dammika,

Indrani
A(Priyangika): They tried the food they have never eaten before.
A(Dammika): They learned some Sinlahese words and try to say simple
words with us.
A: They work with parents and children happily.
A: Sri Perakum is a school which is far from town. So there were no
foreigners here. So when Taiwan volunteers are here, we were happy.
When they left, everyone cried.
SRI PERAKUM
Q: Did the children say anything about the Taiwan group after they
went home?
A(Priyangika): They remember the volunteers' names, and they would
tell us what did the volunteers do. Also, when they were at home, they
tried to play games that they learned with the kids who lived nearby.
A(Priyangika, Dammika): The children were singing the songs that
Taiwan volunteers taught them at home.
A: My daughter is only a grade 1 student, she didn’t tell me much. But
what I knew was, she was happy. I also think it is difficult for Taiwan
volunteers to teach grade 1 and 2 students, because they are too little.
A(Priyangika): When they talk at home, they might add some English
words into the sentence.
A(Priyangika, Dammika): When the group was here, I can see my child’s
motivation of learning English was high. My child would tell me that
she should learn English at that time, and also used English at home.
But when the group left, the frequency of English dropped.
Interview Conducted with the Students: Dinupa, Shashnin

A(Dinupa, Shashnin): How to sing and dance. I also remembered that
they taught us English.
Q:What’s your favorite part of their teaching?

A(Dinupa): I like to sing songs. I also like the animal lessons they
taught us. I keep the key tags and pens they gave us nicely. We were
sad when they left, I want to ask them to come again.
A(Shashnin): I learn how to count, that’s my favorite part.
BODHIRAJA SCHOOL
A/Bodhiraja Primary school Results & Observation:
Sirimapura is located in the north- The English environment of the school is
central part of the country, about 32 quite good, and I can see that’s because
kilometers from the oldest city, the previous principal and the English
Anuradhapura. A/Bodhiraja Primary teacher both trying so hard to create a
school Sirimapura is an elementary good learning space for students. For
school that provides education for example, the English teacher thinks of
Grade 1-5 students, and there are some ways to use the teaching material we
approximately 200 students. The left differently, and I also knew that the
principal, Senarathne, is one of the assembly in this school is presented in
founders of the school. She is English. With the English environment and
passionate about education and the effort of Taiwan volunteers, I think
hopes to give her children a better overall the project is quite successful and
education environment. has a good impact on students.
Through the cooperation between The students are active but shy compared
the school and VYA, we hope that
to students from other schools. A bit shy. I
every student can practice English
could feel that they wanted to talk to me,
and arise interest in English learning
but whenever I talked back, they seemed
through the culture, conversation
like they didn’t know what to say and might
and English class taught by
stay quiet. But the students whom I
volunteers. Also, the children and
conducted interviews with are a bit more
the parents can work together to
outgoing and answer questions with good
organize and arrange the school's
garden to give a better learning
composure. This is quite surprising because
environment for the students. they are only third graders. I think this can
contribute to the school’s active English
SK20 volunteers joined this project. teaching and foreign exposure from the
Taiwan group.
BODHIRAJA
Date: 2019/09/10
Location: Bodhiraja School
Interview Conducted with the Teacher: J.D. Apeksha

A: I remembered the activities that we did. I also remembered the
students like the morning exercise a lot. I remembered there is a boy
who ate “Halapa” with leaves, and also the name of the food is hard
for them to pronounce as well. There was also a Taiwan boy who is
famous among the students, and I remembered children make a picture
of him with banana leaves and gave it to him. They also have some
gifts to the students.

A: They left some animal picture cards which are still in use today.
There is a certain animal card represents “going to the restroom.” If
you get the card on your neck, that means you are going to the
restroom. I found it effective because students won’t run around with
the card. Besides, they also left some color picture cards for us to
teach color.

A: Activity-base teaching. I learnt some games from the Taiwan
volunteers. I also think that the Sri Lankan way of teaching is too
formal and teachers are not too close to the students. But Taiwan
volunteers are very friendly and they stand at the same height as the
students.
Q: Do you notice any change from the students? If so, please describe
how do they change.
A: Actually we have English environment in the school, our principal
does the morning assembly, big events, and annual concert in English.
But I think our students have learnt some pronunciation from the
group.
BODHIRAJA
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Gayan Sandaruwan
A: They’re friendly and love the children a lot. I remembered they did a lot
of physical work. They care about little kids a lot. Because when they did
community work, they asked the students not to come. I also remembered
Rita teacher. Taiwan volunteers play with children. I remembered home
visit, the volunteers had lunch at my place and brought many gifts for us.
They enjoyed Sri Lankan meal and tried King Coconut. I personally think
morning exercise is the best thing. (They danced baby shark.) All the
students joined and they liked it very much.
Q: Did the child say anything about the Taiwan group after they went home?
A: She has said that the teacher who came to teach us is good, also the
teacher loves her so much. My daughter got skipping ropes as a gift, so she
was happy about it.
Q: Do you notice any changes from the child after the group left?
A: They are not that shy when they talk to strangers anymore. They are now
trying to say little things in English. She is now interested in English more
than before. I think the Taiwan group’s teaching has made her aware of the
importance of English. She also enjoys the private class more.
Interview Conducted with the Student: Pinidu, Dasuni

A: I remembered they did some classes with us, and they made some
lanterns. (The same lanterns that we do on Poya Day.) I also remembered
songs they taught us, morning exercise as well.
Q: What’s your favorite part?

A: We both like the handicraft we made together.
DUTUGEMUNU SCHOOL
Dutugemunu is a school located in north
The English teachers in this school have built
central part of Sri Lanka and provided
quite a good English environment for the
education from grades 1 to 11. There are
children, and the principal supports that as
about 350 students in total, but only 3
well. I looked around the school and talked
computers can be used. Students have to
to some new English teachers. They said they
take turns to use the computers, and
less than 10% of students have try to do some activities in English classes
computers at home. This causes the and I really see them make use of our
inefficiency of their computer education. teaching material left by Taiwan volunteers.
Overall, the English environment is quite
Therefore, in the second year of VYA's good and on Friday the teachers also do the
cooperation with this school, it was morning assembly in English.
decided to let the volunteers do English
education. English education can not I also talked to several students in this
only raise the students' interest in school and found them outgoing, but this is
different cultures but also give every only true for students from lower grades.
student a chance to practice English. Young students would talk to me and try
Also, by donating second-hand their best to communicate with me even
computers, we hope that every student though it was difficult for both me and the
can use computers and catch up with the students. However, older students were
learning process with the volunteers. afraid of talking to me. I could see those
Moreover, because the school is in a students from higher grades wanted to talk
rural area, volunteers can also help out to me, but they were quite shy and usually
with repairing the building, in order to didn’t reply when I talked to them. This
give the students a better learning makes me feel we still need to approach
environment. children when they are still little, then the
effects will be more significant. Overall, I
SK 14 & SK21 volunteers join this school have quite a bit of confidence in this school,
project. for the teachers are very active and really
want to make some changes for the children.
DUTUGEMUNU
Date: 2019/09/23
Location: Dutugemunu School
Interview Conducted with the Principal:

A: They have done the project very well. When it is raining season, the
road gets so muddy. For a long time we couldn’t do much about this.
But the Taiwan volunteers came and helped us to build the floor, make
concrete tiles. They also did English classes after school. We also held
a concert here and they performed Sri Lankan dance. I think after the
program the children like English more.
A: I think the teacher tried to do more practical things. For example,
one of the teachers created a grammar tree (like teaching Syntax), or
some teachers choose to show the students videos (we have an audio
visual room, and we can put videos in the USB). Besides, the English
teacher asks me to stick pictures or English idioms on the walls.
A: Usually when we have English class, they don’t want to come. But
now they really want to come. At the library, they read story books,
and try to speak English with others. (Mainly classmates and teachers)
Now we also do the morning assembly in English every Friday.
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Normal (39) Sandamali (30)

A: They did painting on the wall (the entrance), and they worked hard.
They also helped us to build the wall. They taught the children English
and computer, also gave them certificates. They played with the
children and prepared some food for them.
DUTUGEMUNU
Interview Conducted with the Teacher:

A: They also did some community work to make the school nicer. They help
us to build the wall and floor around the entrance. They painted, lay tiles.
Also, they did English and computer lessons with the students. They played
some games, taught students different words and also pronunciation. They
went to home visit and gave the students some gifts. They also did eagle
dance in the farewell party.

A: They left some pictures, handicrafts (mainly color papers) here. We all
store them in the library so that the teachers can get them when they need.
We usually use them twice a week, and we do some vocabulary games,
picture description activities, or ask them to introduce themselves by the
teaching aids.

A: I learn to be friendly with the students, and need to pay extra attention
to the students. Doing more group activities can help them to build their
teamwork skills. We want to practice what we have learnt, but unfortunately
we have to follow the school syllabus. However, if we get a chance, we will
do that.
A: In our school, except for English class, other classes are taught in
Sinhalese. (Though the morning assembly is presented in English.) When the
group was here, they wanted to talk in English and the frequency of using
English is high. But the use of English gets lower and lower when the group
left. However, they changed in another way as well. Now the students are
not hesitant to perform on stage.
DUTUGEMUNU
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Normal (39) Sandamali (30)

A: They did painting on the wall (the entrance), and they worked hard.
They also helped us to build the wall. They taught the children English
and computer, also gave them certificates. They played with the
children and prepared some food for them.
Q: Did the child say anything about the Taiwan group after they went
home?
A: They sang and talked about the Taiwan group. They were happy at
that time and they are still talking about the Taiwan group. They
repeated what they learned (basically songs and dance) at school at
home and showed us the handicraft they made.
A: They showed more interest in English. They try to read the story
books at home (borrowed from the school library). They also go to the
extra classes happily now and want to learn more about English.
Interview Conducted with the Students:

A: We remembered the games and English lessons that they taught.
They also helped us to do painting on the wall, and did heavy work
like mixing cement and concrete. They made the floors, lay tiles. As for
the teaching part, they taught us about the different festivals in
Taiwan. We drew and made lanterns together. We wrote cards to them
as well.
Q: What was your favorite part?

A(Senuri): Games, and quiz (it’s more like a games actually, teachers
give them score if they answer correctly.)A(Lakshitha): Drawing
pictures is my favorite part.
Q: Do you want to learn English more after this project? If so, how?
A: We feel eager to learn English and I enjoy English more now. We try
to read story books in English. If there is anything I don’t understand, I
will ask the teacher.
THIRAPPANE SCHOOL
Thirappane is a school near Inspire He helped a lot and took good care of the
Village. It is an old school in this area volunteers. From the interview, I know more
and has has gained a good reputation about how this project affects the children
in the recent years. Parents trust the and the teachers. Besides, it is so happy to
principal of this school. However, know that what we did is a perfect
located in a rural area, the students demonstration for the school teachers. They
don't have so many chances to can learn from the real teaching scene and
practice English with foreigners. In also this is a precious experience for them.
2015, SK01 volunteers came to this However, the educational system still needs
school and provide the students with to be improved, and this is what we cannot
English education. 4 years later, SK29 work on now, but I hope that in the future
volunteers were here to teach the we can get a chance to make some efforts
students English and help to build an on it.
open classroom.
I went to this school before the project
Now the open classroom is frequently started, so now I can feel the differences
used and students like it very much. from the students. When I was there for the
The teacher says the students prefer first time, students said hi to me but I could
to use the open classroom once they tell they felt afraid when I talked back. But
have the chance. now they can even have a little
conversation with me and are not that shy.
Results & Observation: They want to talk to me as much as
possible. Due to the Taiwan volunteers’
The principal is eager to get teaching, I think the students have changed
international volunteers invovled in a lot and kept progressing. I am positive
his school and facilitated the project that if we keep coming, there will be even
work. more significant effects.
THIRAPPANE
Date: 2019/09/12
Location: Thirappane School
Interview Conducted with the Vice Principal: W.G.A Jayathilaka

A: They were active, friendly and they made our kids happy. They were
good at doing teamwork, humble, and respected locals a lot. I think
they set an example for the children. I was also impressed by the way
they use the school environment. For example, they use the balls to
play games, but before the balls were never used like that. Even
though it was only 2 hours a day, children were really excited about it.
A: All the teachers observe the classes, and they have learned different
teaching method. They learned how to use visual aids. The English
teacher has especially changed, now she uses more and more English
in the class. In the past she used to translate all the words into
Sinhalese. Now she will explain the words in English.
A: When the children play, they play the games that Taiwan teachers
taught them. Also, students prefer to use the open classroom that
Taiwan volunteers helped to build more. The teachers use the open
classroom when the class content requires students to sing loudly. I
also noticed that the students want to learn English more and more.
Usually they try to escape from English teacher, but now they talk to
English teacher more often. Like today, the English teacher is not here
because she is leading 4 students to join the English Day Activity. (The
competition includes speaking skills, essay writing, copy writing and
so on.)
THIRAPPANE
Interview Conducted with the Teacher: T.N. Thilakarathna

A: I remembered they taught students with a lot of different activities.
They were active and taught students with a lot of body motions and
different facial expressions. Therefore, when they taught, students didn’t
feel bored.

A: They left some food pictures for us to use. When we have some lessons
about food and environment, we can use them.
Q: Did you learn any way of teaching from the Taiwan group?
A: I learned a lot from the Taiwan volunteers. The Sri Lankan Educational
Policy has been changing these years, and the government asks primary
teachers to join training programs. Those programs mainly teaches
teachers how to do different activities and how to be more active in the
class. This is what exactly the Taiwan volunteers were doing with our
students. Their classes were like a real demonstration for me to learn.
Except for that, what I learned is that when the students feel bored, we
should really take them outside and do some different things. Even
though I still need to follow the syllabus given by the government, I try
my best to do some activities with the students.
A: They want to learn English more and more. They are still singing the
songs that they taught, and they speak more English in the class. By the
way, the school is planning to do the morning assembly in English
starting from next week.
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Rasika

A: They treat children nice and friendly, and they worked hard. They eat
only little food, but they like cucumber and watermelon, also crazy about
ice cream. I also remembered when they played games with children, they
gave them gifts as rewards. About the home visit, there were four
volunteers who visited my family. I felt that they respected locals and Sri
Lankan culture a lot.
THIRAPPANE
Q: Did the child say anything about the Taiwan group after they
went home?
A: They were given some pictures and clay, and they sticked them
on the wall. They keep singing the songs that they have learned.
When they went home, they told me the teachers are very friendly.
A: They are still doing the handicraft that they learned from the
volunteers. Also, they want to learn English more. They not only
went to the private class, but also are planning to go to the Inspire
class as well.
Interview Conducted with the Student: Kushan(9), Shavinday(9)

A(Senuri): Drawing pictures, and we used clay to make different
shapes. They taught us English words.A(Lakshitha): I remembered
the game that we played. We played games with dice. They taught
us the words about different face parts.

A: A(Senuri): I like the songs that we sang together, and the
assessment they did with us. (To test if you know different
parts.)A(Lakshitha): I like the dance that they taught us.
Q: Do you want to learn more English? If so, how do you do it?

A(Senuri): I try to memorize more words. A(Lakshitha): I want to go
to extra classes.
BE THE BRIDGE BE THE CHANGE
ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL
Located in the north-central part of Sri But simply by talking to us makes them
Lanka, Alagollewa, is a village about 45 km happy. They also have excellent
from the ancient city of Anuradhapura. memories and are looking forward to the
Villagers are mainly farmers. St.Anthony Taiwan teachers coming again.
school consists of students from grades 1-
13, and has about 355 students in total. Students from lower grades are not shy
There are only two English and one but they don’t really understand English,
computer specialist teachers. The passing while students from higher grades are
rate of the 11th graders is about 25%, and very advance and able to discuss some
the proportion of students entering global issues. However, something they
university is only less than 0.01%. There are have in common is both of the groups are
only 5 computers in the school for 20 eager to learn English. They are familiar
students in each class. Besides, less than with Taiwanese teachers’ teaching
10% of students have computers at home, because we keep coming. They also
this makes it harder for students to learn learned well and this can not only be
how to use computers. known by parents’ reaction but also the
volunteers’ feedback. A lot of volunteers
Results & Observation: miss this place and those students, for
they have a very good learning attitude
K05, SK12, SK19 and SK27 joined this and are so close to them.
school, and because of the efforts that the
previous principal made, students here are However, the project in this school for
quite approachable and not afraid of the year might be canceled due to the
foreigners. I joined one project here and fact that the principal has been replaced.
taught some of the students. Usually, they This is a pity. But anyway, it will be good
are pretty active and want to talk to you if we can keep revisiting this place and
even though sometimes they might not see the changes in the children.
understand.
ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL
Date: 2019/09/21
Location: St. Anthony School
Translater: Jagath Jayawardana
Interview Conducted with the Principal: Damian Perers (47)

A: They are friendly, and they have the inner thirst to help out the
students. One time we had campfire party, and we danced eagle dance
together. For me, the Taiwan volunteers are willing to do everything
for the students. They also adapt to the environment very quick and
respect Sri Lankan culture.

A: One teacher gets help from the group. He learns how to attract the
students. Also the English teacher got so much inputs. Therefore, after
we left, she continues to speak English with the students.
A: They didn’t have love for language before. But after we came, the
interest in English started to arise. Some of them perform better in
English class, and some go to private classes. They also want to learn
English more and try to speak like Taiwanese do.
ST.ANTHONY SCHOOL
Interview Conducted with the Teacher: Ramani Disna (51)

A: These four projects are not only important for my teaching career
but also for students. At first, the were afraid of talking to Taiwan
volunteers. But as time went by, they became friends with Taiwan
volunteers, and also the volunteers were like locals. They got to know
each other very fast, so the students were not afraid of them anymore.
Besides, I remembered that they prepared the classes very well. They
knew how to adapt to the situation.

A: No, there is no any material left.

A: I noticed the Taiwan teachers are trying to be friends with the
student, and I want to learn that. But this is a bit difficult for the Sri
Lankan teachers, because we have syllabus to cover and schedule to
follow.
A: They attempt to imitate the accent of Taiwan volunteers, and try to
imitate their speaking style. When the Taiwan group is here, they have
interests in learning English and they are excited. But as time passes,
the interest gets less and less. However, this project is held annually,
so the interest can be continued when the volunteers come back.
Interview Conducted with the Parent: Agabtha (41)

A: My daughter said that the program was so good, and she talked
about the English class a lot. She said that she enjoys this program a
lot. I remembered that I prepared some food for the Taiwan group. I
also remembered that there was a campfire party, and I think that was
the highlight of this whole project. People went and enjoyed, and we
played on the playground. Besides, whenever the Taiwan group is here,
the sports event is held. So Taiwan group add colors for the sports
event.
ST.ANTHONY SCHOOL
Q: Did the child say anything about the Taiwan group after they went
home?
A: My daughter talked about the Taiwan teacher. She was so interested
in the teacher. They were talking about the songs.
A: She was interested in English more than before. She is waiting for
the next group. My daughter was weak at English before, but now she
participates in extra class and gets higher grades. Also, when she
speaks, she speaks more English words in the sentences. She didn't
want to go to extra classes before, but now she doesn’t leave class.
Interview Conducted with the Students: Nirvana (16), Tharaka(12),

Sathsara(14), Maduahan(13)

A: I remembered Ant. They played with us, teaching English. They
taught us about Taiwan food, landmarks in Taiwan. They also taught
computer class. We remembered some of the names of the teachers,
such as Lily, Martin, Sabrina. I remembered one of them like K-pop
music.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the project?

A: (Nirvana) Campfire. (Sathsara) One of the teacher showed us the
picture, and she wanted us to guess what it is and act it out. (Tharaka)
I like to play cricket with them. (Maduahan) I like every game that
uses pictures to play.
SINNIKKULAMA Result & Observation:
It is quite joyful to see the
community hall is used now. The day
Sinnikkulam is a rural village located
I went to the village, some people
5 km north of Inspire Village located
were having meetings there.
within Anuradhapura district.
Therefore, people are really using
this building for different reasons.
Youth group of Sinnikkulam initially
The building is functioning very well,
approached Inspire Village and
so from here I can tell the
request assistance to repair
community organization has put a lot
the abandoned community hall in the
of effort on maintaining this
village. The hall was built twenty
building. However, the library could
years ago and since the roof of the
have been used and cleaned. This is
building fell off, it has been unused.
the only point I found that could be
improved. Because the community
Sethsaviya community organisation
leader is now not in a good health
and it's community development
condition, it is a bit difficult for
officer along with the goverment
them to raise some funds
official took the leadership in
themselves. However, next January I
bringing the community together to
hope that they can come up with a
complete this project.
proper plan and sort out the library
issue. Overall I would still consider
Project started on 12th of Aug 2015
this project successful, for the
and three groups of volunteers
building is used almost every week. I
joined this project.
am also looking forward to the next
decision that's made by the
Estimated current value of the
community concerning the
building 10,000 USD.
community hall issue.
SK03, SK06 and SK12 joined this
community project
SINNIKKULAMA
Interview Date: 2019/09/06
Location: Sinnikkulama Community
Translator: Sudam Sameera Jayasinghe
Interview Conducted with the Community Leader: Wickramasinghe (58)

A: They helped and worked very hard, and we are so thankful for that. All the
communities members and villagers helped, and they brought some materials
and timbers. They came everyday to help. Now there are 200 families served
by the community hall. Actually there are 585 families in this region, and this
is the only community hall that’s with facilities, power and toilet. It also
opens for everyone.
Q: What do you use the community hall for?

A: We use the community hall for any common meetings (for civil society),
government related activities (elections), and clinic health check. Usually it
will be used twice a week. Besides, this building cannot be used for political
meetings, and this is the decision that we discussed and made. We also want
to hold extra classes, but now we have no money for that. (The extra classes
will be free of charge.) Also we pay the bills for electricity and maintain the
functioning of this building.
Q: We also helped to build a library in the back of the community hall,

however it seems like no one is using it now. Why?
A: Children are the main users of the library, and it was set for them as well.
But children usually go to extra classes in the afternoon, they don’t have time
to use the library. That’s also the reason why we want to hold a free extra
class here, so that the children can come and read books in the library. Q:
What’s the future plan for the community hall?A: The yearly plan is not set yet
because of my health problem. But in the January we will be discussing the
future plan.
Interview Conducted with Villager: Rasika Hemanthi

A: The volunteers worked hard. There was no roof, and it was very hot. Also we
made some spicy food (fried chili), but we didn’t know it was too hot for
them.
SINNIKKULAMA
Q: Did your child join the English class? If so, what did she/he say about the
Taiwan group?
A: She said she wants to hang around with the foreign people. She likes the
game they played, and she remembers a volunteer called Ting. My daughter
still keeps all the things she got from the class.
Q: What change did you see in your daughter?

A: I can only tell that she was happy about the class, and she cherishes the
things she got from the class so much. Because she is too little (Grade 1), I
don’t think I can see much difference.
Q: What do you use this building for?

A: The building is mainly for three purposes. One for peace and harmony
meeting linked with another NGO. Another for agriculture meeting. Still
another is for the meeting of government officials (Samurdi) and low-waged
people. Local government officials set classes here to educate them on how to
use money wisely.
OTTAPPUWA
Ottappuwa is a small village 16km
Leaders of this community are pretty
south of Inspire Village located in active and sincere. I can feel that they
the North Central province of Sri want to do something for the community
Lanka. and achieve certain goals in the future.
Kusalsampada community They have plans and organize

organisation took the initiative to everything properly. I am quite
confident in the completion of the
build a community hall for the community hall.
village. There are 156 families
involved in this organisation. As for the English Education Program,
The community organisation we did here, the effects are quite
approached Inspire Village and asked significant. We held our first project
here one year ago, and just finished our
for assistance. The project started last summer group here as well.
on the 17th of August 2018 with Students were quite shy on the first day,
SK17. Five groups of volunteers have but they gradually progressed and dared
joined the project. to talk in class more and more. This
time I also conducted interviews with
two students, one of them is a very
This is a self-funded project initiated young girl. She talked a lot actually and
by the community. The estimated is quite different from the girls her age.
value of the building: 50,000USD. This is not usual and commonly seen in
Plan to complete within five years. Sri Lanka. I think we can see the effects
in the near future if we keep carrying
out projects here.
SK24, SK25, SK27, SK28 and SK32
contributed to this project.
Date: 09/08
OTTAPPUWA
Location: Ottappuwa Village
Interviews conducted by: Adela
Translater: Jagath Jayawardena
Interview Conducted with the Community Leader: R.M. Muthubanda (50)

At first, we were talking about the building (community hall), but still we didn’t start
building it. Taiwan group gave us a reason to start doing this. For all the villages,
it’s a new thing because Taiwan group is the first group of foreigners who came to
our village. Villagers are all so excited. The most impressive thing is they are so
respectable. Because they respected our culture and us, the villagers gave back the
same respect. Taiwan volunteers dressed as Sri Lankans, and they never waste food.
Also, in the past, the locals did things together. But nowadays, they are more
individualized, but Taiwan volunteers set an example for us that we should work
together again. For example, Taiwan volunteers all eat together. Now, everyone
works together towards the common goal.
Q: What’s the future plan for the community?

We want to finish the roof of the community hall. We have money for the walls
around the roof, but we don’t have enough money for the tiles of the roof. We hope
to get some money from the government, but that’s far from enough. I also want to
mention that Taiwan group and Inspire helped a lot. At first, the government doesn’t
want to give us any money because we have nothing to show them. But now they can
give us some pension. (Originally we have funds in the bank. Farmers can borrow
money from the bank and we receive the interest to build our community hall. But it
is too little money.)
Q: What changes do you see in the children of this community?

I notice that the way Taiwan volunteers taught was far more different than school
teaching. The English teaching at the school is in the book, but Taiwan way is to put
English learning into the environment. Children are not afraid of using English now.
Because Taiwan volunteers taught in an interesting way. I noticed that they want to
learn English more, yet maybe they don’t have proper plan for that so far.
OTTAPPUWA
Interview Conducted with the Villager: Janaka (40)

I remembered the home visit, and also their hard-working attitude. I noticed that
Taiwan people were not really good at doing heavy work, but they never gave up
on trying. Also, they danced with my kids.
Q: What’s the future plan for the community hall?

As the community leader said, we try to ask money from the government, and we
want to finish the roof part of the building.
Q: What did the child say? A: She said the Taiwan teachers were not like school
teachers. They taught in a different way. They also taught us with singing and
dancing.
Q: What changes do you notice from the children?

She tries to use more and more English words when they are at home. For
example, they will put some English words into a Sinhalese sentence. Also, they
talked about learning English, and enjoyed the private classes more than before.
Interview Conducted with the children: Dulanjalee (Grade 9, girl) Sithmi (Grade 2,

girl)

(Dulanjalee): They were friendly and taught English well. A(Sithmi): They taught
us singing and dancing.
Q: What’s your favorite part?A(Dulanjalee): They told us about the famous tourist
spots in Taiwan. They showed different pictures and I found it attractive. I still
remembered the sky lamps and Chinese New Year. A(Sithmi): They taught us to
write something. I still remembered they showed us the picture of different types
of dress, boba tea, different kinds of food and black tea. They gave us worksheet
and we had to complete it, and I liked that part the most.
Q: Do you want to learn more English more after the group left? If so, how do you
do that?A(Dulanjalee): I want to learn English more. Because I want to talk to
another person from another country. I now try to read books and newspapers in
English. Once I encounter the words I don’t know, I will consult a dictionary.
(Sinhales-English Dict.)A(Sithmi): I actually just came from my English class. I
now enjoy going to English class more then before.
SANDARESGAMA
Samdaresgama is a relatively large Last year we helped them to make the
village located 10 km southeast floors, though after we left they
of Inspire Village. The villagers installed new windows, the formal
approached Inspire Village and construction agenda is not set yet.
requested assistance to complete their However, I think the village is still
community hall which they had been quite unified because they have a very
building for the past 10 years. Because supportive community structure. They
they can't raise any funds from the just need a little more push from the
government, the building work has outside of the community.
stopped for a long time.
I meet some children from the
SK22 volunteers took part in this community, and they are quite shy. They
building project and did English and are not afraid of me, but they also don’t
computer teaching with the children. talk much. But soon I talked to two to
Also, the volunteers helped to pave the three children, they were a bit more
floor. This large community hall is outgoing. They said they wanted the
hoped to be used as a multi-purpose Taiwan teachers to come again, and
building. also told me some of the names of the
teachers. Because we have only been
Results & Observation: here once, surely the children won’t be
that much affected. However, these
I think this is a quite typical Sri Lankan children are already quite lively
community, for people want to do compared to other Sri Lankan children. I
something but they don’t have a reason believe if they receive more exposure,
to get together. they may be very active soon.
SANDARESGAMA
Date: 2019/09/15
Location: Sandaresgama Village
Interviews conducted by: Adela Chiu
Translator: Jagath Jayawardena
Interview Conducted with the Vice Chairman: K.D. Jayawardena

A: Even though they come from a far away country, they are very Sri Lankan.
They are like our own brothers and sisters. Apart from language, they feel like
our own people. Also I noticed that when they work, they focus on working.
They are so concentrated. Yet they have trouble with spicy food.
Q: What do you use the community hall for?

A: We use it for funeral, health check for infants, sports class, annual concert for
pre-school students are all carried out here. As for meetings, village
development society and government officials (Samurdi, a kind of meeting that
is held especially for low-wage people, mainly teaching them how to use
money) also hold the meeting here, at least once a month.

A: There are two rooms in the back, and we plan to make them a changing room
and toilet respectively. But we haven’t discussed how to do it yet. No time frame
is set.
A: I think children are eager to learn English. After we came, a lot of children
want to go to English classes. That’s all, no more changes I noticed.
Interview Conducted with the Villager (Parent):

A: They taught English here, and helped out with the construction work. We
prepared meals for them.
A: They talked about the differences between Taiwan volunteers and school
teachers. Also that was the first time they met foreigners and had foreign
exposure, they told me about some funny things happened in the class because
of language differences.
SANDARESGAMA
Q: Do you notice any changes from the children after the group left?
A: They were interested in English more than before. They showed their
interests in exercise book and kept talking about the program. When
they saw us yesterday, they were asking if Taiwan volunteers are coming
again this December. Besides, I think they learned how to work as a
group. Now they want to learn English, so they watch TV programs that
teach children English.
Q:Do you come to this community hall to have a meeting often? If so,
what’s the meeting about?
A: I am a member of welfare society, therefore we have a meeting every
month. The meeting concerns the village development, day-to-day
issues, some loans and also emergency help for the members.
Interview Conducted with the Villager (Parents): Sarimathi

A: My daughter was excited about the class, and she waited for the class
the whole day, from morning to afternoon. I remembered that Taiwan
people are helpful and on the last day they gave us some cards. When
Taiwan group left, people were so sad. We will for sure be very happy if
you can come again.
Q: Did the children say anything about the Taiwan group after they went
home?
A: She explained what happened on the day, also the activities they did,
the teacher’s name and so on.
A: I noticed that their accent changed, and they want to learn English
more. They want to communicate with foreign people more. Now they do
their homework interestingly and also write some extra activity books.
They joined some English classes afterwards as well.
Q: Do you come to this community hall to have a meeting often? If so,

what’s the meeting about?
A: I am also a member of welfare society, therefore we have a meeting
every month.
SANDARESGAMA
A: They were interested in English more than before. They showed
their interests in exercise book and kept talking about the program.
When they saw us yesterday, they were asking if Taiwan volunteers
are coming again this December. Besides, I think they learned how
to work as a group. Now they want to learn English, so they watch
TV programs that teach children English.
Q:Do you come to this community hall to have a meeting often? If

so, what’s the meeting about?
A: I am a member of welfare society, therefore we have a meeting
every month. The meeting concerns the village development, day-to-
day issues, some loans and also emergency help for the members.
Interview Conducted with the Child: Menula

A: We learned English from them, drew pictures with them, and
played with them. I also remembered they gave out the certificates
for us.

A: I like the games we played on the ground, and the cup games we
played.
SENAPURE
With the experience of working in they were good at guessing. We only
NGOs, the coordinator of Senapura had one project here, so it was so
community who is form a youth surprising for me that they were not
organization with a group
afraid of me at all. I think this part of
of ambitious young people organised
the work. The aim of this organization their nature, and also a good point
is to develop the community and help for them to use in learning.
to build up global vision for the Therefore, I think having more groups
children in Senapura. Most of the come here definitely can help a lot.
children here don't have any foreign
exposure because the village is This community is quite organized
located in rural area. Therefore, the
and all villagers are involved in many
villages are glad that the volunteers
can come here and talk to the events. Through the interview, I could
children in English. feel that the villagers were eager to
make this community better and help
SK13 volunteers did English teaching their children to learn English. They
for the children and help to build the not only answered my questions but
community hall. They built the walls also provided some solution from
of the building, and now the building
their side. I think this is good and
is used for several different purposes
and benefits the villagers greatly. through effective communication, we
can reach a better conclusion of “how
Results & Observation: to make this community better.” The
future of this community is bright
Children in this community have quite because they keep looking for help.
good English levels, and I conducted Though there is no specific timeline
the interviews in English with some of
for them to fix the building, I believe
the children. They understood what I
was talking about and if not, it will be soon.
SENAPURA
Date: 2019/09/22
Location: Senapura Village
Interview Conducted with the Community Coordinator: Darshara (38)

A: I remembered that they did the construction work with us (we did the wall,
roof, floor) together. The also did the English classes and cleaning campaign.
And they carried the sand that we needed for the construction work from the
canal.

Q: What do you use this building for now?
A: Basically we use it for different societies. First one is Community-based
Society, and the aim of it is to develop the agriculture, economy and
infrastructure of the village. Sometimes we talk about food security as well.
Second one is free clinic for pregnant ladies, and health check for children.
Third one is children’s club, and different activities or sport events will be held
at this time. Because we care about the children’s personality development and
also their mental health, we start the children’s club. Besides, we hope that this
can also improve their thinking ability. All the societies mentioned above are
held usually once a month. But at the same time we hold private classes for
children as well. We charge very little, and now the ongoing classes are Tamil,
English, Math classes.
Q: What’s the future plan for this building?

A: We want to build the iron nets for the rest of the building, also we want to
install a door and make the wall nicer. As for the money, we have some funds
from the government for the iron nets, yet it is not enough. For the rest of the
money, if we cannot ask any more money from the government, then we might
consider asking help from Inspire. But basically, there is still no specific plan
for this building.
Interview Conducted with the Parents: Amalp (32), Priyanthi (43), Iresha (41),
Samanthilaka (46), Podimahathiya (62), Karunswatp (46)

A: We remembered how they cleaned this place. And they brought us some hoes,
shovels to help. Also they mixed concrete, went to buy some bricks on the
tractor.
SENAPURA
They get water from the construction area nearby the lake. They had spicy food and
it was a challenge for them. The most impressive thing was the cleaning campaign
we did in the temple.
Q: Did the children say anything about the Taiwan group after they went home?
A: They were talking about English classes happily. It was really special for them to
learn from foreign than local teachers. The children also made some food after they
went home, because they said they have learned something from the teacher.
Q: Do you notice any changes from the children after the group left?
A: (Priyanthi) My son had only a little knowledge in English, but now he tries to talk
to foreigners. All the children were hesitant to talk in English, but now they don’t
have fear in talking in English. They started to talk to each other in English. They
want to imitate the accent of the Taiwan teacher. They were really happy about
those few days, and still are talking about it.
Q: Do you feel like the children want to learn English more? If so, can you explain
how?
A: Surely they want to learn English more. We sincerely hope that there can be
another group of volunteers or mid-long term volunteers from Taiwan to come to our
village to do the English classes again, and it would be very helpful. Because they
were afraid of talking in English before, but now they try to use English as much as
possible, even with the parents.
Interview Conducted with the Students: Mihirana (14), Mlitha (13), Sanjeewa (14),
Buddiks (15), Dilmi (13), Kalhara (13), Harshi (14)

A: They did English camp here. They taught us about sports and songs and sports.
They cooked Taiwan food, bubble tea for us. We went to the special museum
together with the group, and play musical instruments together. We also played
some games about favorite food, and they presented a drama about new year festival
of Taiwan. We remembered some names, such as Jess, Lin, Sun, Ant.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the project?

A: Our favorite is playing sports with them. They taught us to do the morning
exercise, and did games with our names. (Each person gets their names written on a
piece of paper and stick on their back, then you need to tear off other people’s name
tags.) We also like the games they did to teach us colors and the names of food. The
most impressive thing would be we went to a temple nearby and we had a cleaning
campaign.
TALGASWEWA Results & Observation:
Since we only carried out one project

here in 2017, it is surprising to me that
Located in the north-central part of Sri it has such a huge impact on the children
Lanka, Sri Wimalasara is a Buddhist school and the villagers' unity. The girl who I
shared by three villages and 60 families. talked to has good pronunciation of
English words and is eager to learn
The Buddhist temple is an important English. I can tell that is the influence of
gathering and student learning place for Taiwan volunteers. Through the teaching
the community. There are 11 volunteers of Taiwan volunteers, children have a
leading 110 students. The students learn reason to learn English well and have
about religion on Sunday morning. Most of the desire to do so. This girl is a typical
example. I also met another girl from the
the villagers are mainly farmers or soldiers,
village who I conducted an interview
and the average household income is about with me. She is not that shy as other 10-
190 US dollars, just enough for the whole year-old girls, and she actually
family to barely live. understands what I said. This is very
impressive and I believe our work has
contributed to their progress.
In the second year of cooperation between
the social workers of the community and The temple that we worked on is used
VYA, we hope that every student can and becomes very important for the
practice English and arise interest in villagers. This temple now is serving 118
English learning through the cultural, families, and they pray and do some
religion-related activities here. Though it
conversation and English classes taught by
is not completed yet, the inside of the
volunteers. After the class, children, building is almost finished. The head
parents, and volunteers will build a priest is also very active. So I am pretty
Buddhist temple together, in order to create sure that once they get the money, this
a better learning space and future for the building can be done quite well. Overall,
children and the community. I think this project has gone very
successfully.
SK17 volunteers took part in this project.

TALGASWEWA
Date: 2019/09/17
Location: Talgaswewa Village
Interview Conducted with the Head Priest, also the Principal of Sunday school: Rev.
Talgaswewa Sumanarathana

A: They cleaned the temple and did a lot of construction work. They helped with the
English education in the village, because they taught English in the Sunday school. I
think they got attention from the children easily, mostly because they are friendly
with the children. I can tell the children also enjoyed the time they spent together a
lot. However, the most important thing is that Taiwan group gives us a reason to
gather together. Everyone joined willingly and you didn’t need to force them. It is
usually difficult for us to get people together. Also, they never wasted any food and
were so polite to everyone. They were always on time. They started on time and
finished on time. And for the children, usually they don’t do any physical work. But
when the group is here, they were willing to help. I think the farewell party is also
good, for we get to see performances from a different culture. When the group left,
everyone was sad.
Q: What do you use the temple for?

A: It is mainly used for praying and sermon. The temple served 118 families in this
community.

A: We want to build roofs for the extension of the building. But the time is not set
and discussed yet because we have no money now. Things will be discussed once we
get the funds.
A: Before the Taiwan group came, students had a low English level. But now they
have interest in English, and they can write their names in English now.
Interview Conducted with the Villager (Parent): Mangalika (47), Guyana (38)

A (Mangalika): They helped to build the temple, and did some English classes for
the children. The children enjoyed the classes a lot. I also remembered that they
didn’t waste anything, and they try to save things.
TALGASWEWA
A (Gayani): They sieved sand, mixed concrete and did heavy work. They worked as locals
with us, and they adapt to Sri Lankan culture a lot. I also remembered that on the
farewell party, everyone was so sad because they were about to leave.
A (Mangalika): They said they were happy and wanted them to stay forever. My child said
if the Taiwan group stayed here for a long time, for sure they would learn English better
and they would speak English more. My child also talked about the games that Taiwan
group played.
A (Gayani): They talked about the songs and games that Taiwanese teachers taught them,
and they told me their names as well. My child even said that she wants to go to Taiwan
one day, and she had the picture with the Taiwan group under her pillow even till now.
A (Mangalika): That was the first time they had a chance to meet and communicate with
foreigners. So the differences I can tell is that they’re doing English workbook
interestingly. Also, their accent and pronunciation changed. They are still talking about
Taiwan friends right now, and my child still will send letters and postcard to them.
A (Gayani): When the Taiwan group was here, the children were happy to see and talk to
them. I noticed that even though my child learned English before the group came, they
feared to speak in English. But now they can speak without fear. They would add little
English words inside the sentences when they talk at home or talk to classmates. She is
now interested in English more, so she reads everything she has in English. She also gets
higher marks for English in school and English has become her favorite subject.
Q: What do you use the temple for now?

A (Mangalika, Gayani): We use the temple to pray. But these days they tiled the temple
floor, so we couldn’t use that. Now it is done.
Interview Conducted with the Child: Nnadeesha (15)

A: They are friendly, and were good at teaching. We were good friends. They were active
and not lazy. I still have contact with one of the volunteer now. She is in the US.
Q: What’s your favorite part of Taiwan teachers teaching?

A: Playing games is my favorite part. They played games with songs with us, and we can
learn new words through songs.
Q: Do you want to learn English more?

A: Compared to the past, I am interested in English more. I go to extra classes now and
writing letters in English. Sometime I also watch English TV program.
KUDAGAMA This event sort of correspond to my
observation of this community. People
Education is not that common here, here don’t have much, but it seems like
they enjoy the moment. I think for
because children have to walk 2km
people who live here, today is much
every day to school and this causes more important than tomorrow.
them to drop out easily. People in Besides, villagers in this community
the fishing village live on fishing, are all religious people, and I think
but the yield of the catch is not that’s the reason why they seem so
stable so as the wage. Mainly, it's optimistic. They are quite interested in
because of the unpredictable religious things because they already
have plan to build a real church for
seasons. The daily wage is 4 dollars.
prayers in this community.
Villagers usually settle down here
since 1980, but it is always difficult We carried out quite a few projects
to get the proof of residence from here, so foreigners are not strange to
the government. them. When I arrived, children were
Recently they finally get the power quite excited and asking if the Taiwan
and residential right from the volunteers are doing the English
classes again. Besides, there were two
government, so they can start
English long-term volunteers staying
farming and building houses for long here and taught them English for six
term use, also they can live a more months. Therefore I conducted the
stable life. interview mostly by directly talking to
SK04, SK08, and SK18 the children. Sometimes they are a bit
shy, but overall they are pretty
outgoing and try so hard to understand
Results & Observation: what I was talking about. Therefore, I
We launched a mushroom project here think if there is another long-term
a while ago, but the project didn’t volunteer staying here to teach, I
succeed because villagers were not believe the English knowledge of the
that interested in this kind of long- children will surely improve.
term project.
KUDAGAMA
Date: 2019/09/15
Location: Kudagama Village
Interviews conducted by: Adela
Translater: Sudam Sameera Jayasinghe
Interview Conducted with the Children: Nethimi(12), Nipuni(13), Dewmini(9),

Senuri(11), Vihanga(11), Chamod(10), Nafara(14), Nethmi(12), Manisha(8),
Scwwandika(8), Sanduni(16)

A: We played cricket and volleyball, also we played skipping ropes together. We
learned some songs, and they taught us how to write English. Taiwan volunteers
worked, picked up grass, painted the wall, repaired the roofs, and removed the
tiles. I also remembered that they brought some sands and helped us to build
the house. They went on the boat with us. They joined the farewell party and we
had a campfire in the party.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the program?

A: Playing frisbee and skipping ropes is our favorite part.
A(Nethimi): I have a bag from the Taiwan volunteer, and I still keep it in my
house.
A(Nipuni): I kept some pictures, workbooks and color pencils from the Taiwan
volunteers.
Q: Do you like the Taiwan volunteers? Why?

A: They are good, and we have learned some new things from them. We played
together and learned new games. We like them because they worked with us and
we remember the song they taught us even till now.
Interview Conducted with the Villagers: Kanthi(40), Randika(31),

Madumanthi(37), Nirmala(35)

A: We cooked some food for the Taiwan volunteers, and they also went on the
boat. (We also joined but usually we don’t do.) They also bought a lot from our
shops. They also joined “period party.” We remembered that we sang together,
and had a campfire party, English class. In the class, they gave some gift for the
children.
KUDAGAMA
Did the children say anything after they went home?
A: My daughter goes home and taught me some English words, and she
was so happy. They were waiting for the Taiwan volunteers to come
again. Yesterday my daughter saw you were here, so she thought you
guys were coming back to teach. Now they are practicing performance
for campfire for you.
Q: Do you see any change in your children? If so, please explain.

A: Their English knowledge has been improved, and they do things
together now. We also kind of notice that now they are interested in
learning English, therefore the English marks also improved.
Q: What does the use of this building now?

A: This building is using for church prayers every Sunday. Also some
activities will be held here, and community organization holds their
meetings here as well.
Q: Is there any future plan for this building?

A: We have plan but not for this building now. We are building a church
near the lake, because we mainly do our sermon here now. And we want
to separate religious activity from normal activities.
PEACE CAMP
Sri Lanka is a multi-racial country, and various religious practices and beliefs
exist here as well. Sinhalese is the dominate race while Tamil is the minority in
this country.
Because of the complex racial issue, Sri Lankan civil war began in 1983 and
continued for 30 years. To bring the concept of peace to the children, each year
in August, Peace Camp is held.
We bring children from different parts of the country, and we deliver peace
through dancing, singing, drawing and acting. Through these activities, children
at any age can understand what "Peace" exactly is.
Volunteers of SK02, SK09, SK16, SK23, and SK31 took part in Peace Camp. They
spend their time with children of different races and make them realize they are
the same kind of people.
PEACE CAMP
ENGLISH EDUCATION
English and computer education projects have always been our main
focus. Because the use of English and the internet will allow the
children to construct a different picture of the world.
We are not paying our attention to how many words do we teach the
students, instead, we want to motivate them to learn and use
English. If we can build their confidence to use English by positively
reinforcing what they know, I think it will have a lasting impact.
Through my observation in the process of revisiting the communities,

I saw that these English education projects have a great impact on
the children. Because they are comparatively more approachable
than other Sri Lankan children that I met. These children are not
afraid of meeting me and were willing to try speaking to me. They are
more open-minded and want to make friends with foreigners. These
are the qualities I seldom see in other children.
In my first month, I met a 5-year-old girl. She was so shy and she
never spoke a word in English. I saw that other children were not
quite close to her as well. Then I decided to pay more attention to
her and tried my best to talk to her though she never talked back.
However, a few weeks later, someday she started to repeat what I
said. She gradually learned how to greet, and learned how to do a
brief self-introduction. By the time I left, she could catch up with the
class.
This story reminds me of the power of volunteers’ influence. I believe

what I did for her raised her confidence, and she wants to learn more
because of that. For me, magic can happen in a classroom. If one
volunteer influences on one student; then 500 volunteers have a
greater influence on 500 lives. I think this is the power of teaching
and what we do, it can change people’s lives profoundly.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
"Village" is a quite important unit for Sri Lankan, for many
discussions going on in the monthly meeting. Most of the
communities don’t have a proper community hall, because
building one requires a large sum of money and labor work.
Communities can ask for money from the government, but only a
small amount. So people can only expect money and labor force
from the residence of the community. But villagers have their own
things to deal with, therefore it usually takes a considerable
amount of time for people to build one.
But with volunteers’ joining in, it gives the villages a reason to

come together. Volunteers bring the whole community together,
and people are willing to be there and help. This is what we try to
achieve, and we also expect that the cultural exchange naturally
happens.
I have joined quite a few construction programs. In the program, I

saw many villagers come and act like they are curious about us.
They came to join us, and we do everything together. They taught
us how to build, how to paint, and how to mix concrete.
This August, I joined a project at Ottappuwa community. There are

a lot of villagers joined us, and we chatted, we worked, we ate. On
the third day, we were informed that we already finished four-day
works in three-day. We finished our work effectively, and everyone
enjoyed the process.
Based on my interviews and experience, I think we've reached our

goal and affected the communities a lot. We have completed some
community halls, and some are still being built. I see those
completed ones benefiting the communities significantly. They
hold meetings, classes, health-checks in the buildings. It
unimaginably changes the villagers’ life.
TEACHER
I have seen Sri Lankan teachers teaching

several times. For me, there is a
difference between Sri Lankan teachers
who’ve joined our project and who have
not. I can see how the teachers change
and what they have learned from
Taiwanese volunteers. They try so hard to
think of more games, songs and different
ways to approach students. This is also
like a teacher training for them. They not
only benefit a lot from the project but
also learn how incorporate activities that
can change students' engagment in
lessons considerably.
STUDENT & CHILDREN
Children have long memories and

remember what the volunteers have
taught. During the interviews, they told
me that they want to learn more about
English because of the camp they have
joined. They want to be able to talk to
foreigners next time. Children have
realized that speaking English can open
a new window for themselves. Also, they
find ways to learn, as they are self-
motivated to learn. Some of the students
study hard, as they are waiting for the
next group of volunteers to come.
VILLAGERS
For the villagers, a proper community hall

can improve their social interactions.
Because lots of meetings are conducted in
a community hall. When the villagers have
a place to get together, they attend the
meetings and start to talk about
community events and how to improve
their lives. These talks stimulate the
development of a village. They can discuss
how to make their life better, how to make
the village grow. The community hall is
the place where they have the monthly
discussions. Their lives are changed,
maybe not in a way that we can see
immediately but in a subtle way.
OVERALL IMPACT
To sum up, I think we have a positive

impact on the teachers, students, and
villagers. We bring in new energy and
prospectives from another culture.
Building on this point, I think we become
part of their struggle to improve their
quality of life. I am sure that we achieve
this goal and the effects are lasting. I see
people who have joined the projects start
to change in a good sense. Some children
start to learn English, some teachers start
to find more activities to do in the class.
These are the changes I see, and I am
confident to say that their change will
continue, and go on and on.
WE THANK ALL THE
VOLUNTEERS WHO
TRAVELED TO SRI LANKA TO
CONTRIBUTE TO THE LOCAL
COMMUNITIES AND FOR
ENRICHING THEIR LIFE.
Be the change
you want to see
in the world. MAHATHMA GHANDI
www.inspire.camp www.vya.org.tw

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IMPACT THIS REPORT AIMS TO SHOWCASE

REPORT BY ADELA CHIU

VISION YOUTH ACTION - TAIWAN

The process of initiating a project

Up to this year, there have been over It was a privilege to be able to

Klaus Ding - Sudam Jayasinghe -

As a coordinator, it is my pleasure to Being a local coordinator, I had the

Ant Lin Jagath Jayawardana

I spent three months as a mid-term

As part of my volunteer experience, I

However, my main task was to revisit those

2. Community Development Projects

Interview Conducted with the Principal

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Teachers

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Parents

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Students

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Principal:

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

Interview Conducted with the Teacher Dissnayaka

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Parent

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Student: Udarshana, Mayura

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Principal: Uigitha Jayasinhe

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Teacher: Pushpa Indumathi

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

Q: Do you learn any way of teaching from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Parent: Nishathi, Priyangika, Dammika,

Interview Conducted with the Students: Dinupa, Shashnin

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q:What’s your favorite part of their teaching?

Interview Conducted with the Teacher: J.D. Apeksha

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

Q: Do you learn any way of teaching from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Student: Pinidu, Dasuni

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: What’s your favorite part?

Interview Conducted with the Principal:

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Parent: Normal (39) Sandamali (30)

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

Q: Do you learn any way of teaching from the Taiwan group?

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Interview Conducted with the Students:

Q: What did you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: What was your favorite part?

Interview Conducted with the Vice Principal: W.G.A Jayathilaka

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?

Q: Is there any teaching material left from the group?

Interview Conducted with the Parent: Rasika

Q: What do you remember from the Taiwan group?