My experience in Sri Lanka

Being a first time solo traveller, I didn't know what to expect from my experience; in fact, I made a conscious effort to minimise any expectations in fear of disappointment. I can pleasantly say volunteering in Sri Lanka was one of the best experiences I've ever had!

After an anxious flight, I was picked up by a member of the Green Lion team and driven to the Green Lion volunteer house. I must say, I felt like an excited child during that 3 hour (ish) bus journey. Getting to know the other volunteers, looking out of the window to witness the hustle and bustle of Sri Lanka's streets. Everything I saw was new to me, and to be honest everyone was really excited to get to the volunteer house.

The volunteer house has a really fun atmosphere, everyone I met was travelling on their own, so everyone made friends really quickly. The orientation week is spent doing most of the touristic things people do in Kandy. Green Lion coordinators accompanied us on trips to visit spice garden, tea factory, Temple of Tooth etc. The orientation was a great way for us to get used to modes of transport and how to get around the city.

My work placement was called 'the disabled orphanage', it was a home for abandoned women and children with a range of physical and mental disabilities. Let me say, your first day will either terrify you or motivate you (or maybe both). The conditions are something that we all found disturbing. Vulnerable women and children are left to their own devices, one rocking in a corner, another who had wet themselves, others getting up to no good. There is very little supervision, as the few staff they have are busy carrying out tasks to keep the home running. It's a complete shock to the system.

Shortly after arriving, one of the nuns who works at the home lead a guided meditation session for the volunteers (there were volunteers from other organisations). She reminded us why we were here, how important our work here is, and gave us the motivation to go out there and interact with the women and children. We did the mediation every morning, and to be honest, it was something we all really looked forward to.

After the initial shock, we all began to fall in love with these women and children, and I really looked forward to going there every morning. You do morning classes with them (singing songs, reading, writing etc), and spend the rest of the afternoon helping out with feeding and interacting with all of the women and children who call you 'ANTI!!' (yes, being called aunty all day was pretty cute).

I won't try to explain the bonds I made, some things just can't be put into words. I just want to advise anyone thinking about doing this project to do it! Lets just say, I came home and began my career working with young people with disabilities. You don't get more life changing than that right?