orphanage - what to bring

We hope to visit an orphanage when in Lanka. What is best to bring? What do they need most? Is it appropriate to offer cash donations when there? Would appreciate any advice on this. Also, are there many orphanages or just a few?

Thanks once again for all your help.

Happy holidays

Jody

orphanage - what to bring

Hi Jody,

1) There are quite a few orphanages. On the one hand (contrary to the West) in case a child gets orphaned there is often remote family willing to stand in, but on the other hand both poverty and local cultural taboos (like premarital pregnancies) cause that still quite some kids don%26#39;t get enough care. Also of course Lanka has some more causes for deaths than just medical - e.g. the tsunami period and the war/violence.

2) Cash donations will probably be welcomed but, except for the most trusted religious-run (read: nuns or the like with western accounting standards) organisations, won%26#39;t be safe. The country simply has too much corruption for it. So better donate concrete goods.

3) Educational stuff is most welcomed: writing pads, pens etc. etc. Education is seen as the key to the future of those kids in Lanka, not so much toys or food (of which they generally have %26#39;just enough%26#39;).

4) And finally it%26#39;s better not to bring from the UK but to buy locally as much as possible. It%26#39;s at least 3-4 times cheaper than in Europe giving you more effect for the euro, and also helps the local economy twice. Still you can bring small souvenir-like gifts from Europe, like child-size baseball caps or T-shirts with an European mark on it (%26#39;see, I got this from an aunty in Europe, this is the proof%26#39;).

Those from your hotel/operator that point you to the orphanages also can recommend some shops where to buy the stuff. Better have a trusted person from the hotel accompany you in order to get local prices, not %26#39;tourist prices%26#39; because those would spoil the rupee-better-than-euro-benefit to some extent.

Hope this helps a bit,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

orphanage - what to bring

Thanks so much Erik and Sandya for that most valuable informaation.

Jody

And thank YOU for the question, my answer is also partly composed of knowledge gathered during earlier similar questions.

Esp. for the future readers I%26#39;ve now transferred, with some changes, to a FAQ article under

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293961-c106596/Sri-L鈥?/a>

and I invite everyone, esp. the fellow Lanka experts, to have a look at it and review/change where needed!

Tnx,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Hi Jody

I agree with Erik on buying things locally. A good ball pen (e.g. Atlas or Rotomac) costs LKR 13 (EUR 0.12), just to give an example.

I disagree with Erik on only religious run orphanages can be trusted. I have sponsored children at SOS Children%26#39;s Villages of Sri Lanka for the past 15 years. It%26#39;s an INGO with base in Austria and run according to western standards but on Lankan premises and only employing local staff. The are villages at Piliyandala (near Colombo), Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Anuradhapura and Moneragala.

Hans

Okay, that%26#39;s the kind of feedback we needed.

The current sentence in the FAQ text is

';except for the most trusted religious-run (read: nuns or the like with western accounting standards';

so you%26#39;d propose to change that to

';except for the most trusted organisations with western connections and accounting standards, e.g. run by nuns'; ?

I agree that there are exceptions but in our experience, and that of a large Dutch orphanage sponsor, it%26#39;s mainly religious-run stuff that works. And due to the Buddhist and Hindu institutions delegating this mainly to lay people and the catholics having their (slowly aging) ';nun%26#39;s army'; for it, amongst the religious in Lanka it comes mainly down to this specific denomination. Next to the western-linked lay stuff, e.g. the post-tsunami large Orphanage in Koggala which is managed from Holland.

Plse come back with FAQ changes, or edit yourself ;-)

Tnx,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]