Amazing time in Sri Lanka

I chose to volunteer in Sri Lanka at an Orphanage for three weeks with PMGY after a recommendation from my sister as she went with the company to Vietnam. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I made in my life because my time there was fantastic.
I first sent in my application to volunteer at an orphanage and I got a quick reply within 48 hours that it had been accepted, the coordinators of PGYM never take more than two days to reply to any questions you have. I know this due to having a anxious mother who wanted to ensure her daughter was in safety so therefore was sending many enquiries to PMGY but was re assured by them due to their quick replies.
The provide you with access to their volunteer handbook which they wrote. The book does not lack in informing you in everything. There was not a point in my trip when I was faced with an unfamiliar situation because the book is so helpful. It tells you about the people, culture, history and what to expect and is very accurate! I knew exactly what to bring to Sri Lanka. As it is written by the Coordinators of PMGY and not the in country staff of PMGY, it is more relatable as they understand how it can be difficult to deal with the culture difference.
The support was very strong in Sri Lanka. The in country coordinator provided you with all the phone numbers you will need which means if you had any worries or queries you could just get your phone and call anyone and they would be able to help you, On some peoples weekend trips they phoned the in country coordinator and the coordinator helped them get a hotel and transport. The coordinators were so kind and helpful. As someone who is nervous and shy I was worried that I would find it hard to ask for help but it was very easy. They also spoke perfect English so they was no communication difficulties there.
The accommodation in Sri Lanka felt like home to me, and I often did refer to it as home. I went in summer so there were a lot more volunteers which means they had many houses for volunteers. The one I was staying in was a new house that was only open for summer and it had 15 other girls who were all lovely, I happened to be the youngest there but they didn’t treat me any different. There was many rooms with 8 beds. In my room there were 6 of us in a room. The beds were not the most comfortable, but they are able to be slept in without difficulty. There was two bathrooms. One at the bottom which had a closed shower, a western toilet and a sink and then the top bathroom which I used which had the same but the shower was open. This caused the bathroom to flood with water every time we would shower. But we would just enter the shower with flip flops so it would be fine, The water was also cold which was really nice after you had a hot day, it’s quite a shock at first, the cold water but you get used to it.. We had to put our used toilet roll in the bin as the toilets don’t flush down toilet roll which was odd to get used to but was also fine. The meals are absolutely delicious; you don’t need to eat out because they are amazing. Some people do miss their home food so you can go to a restaurant; there are many Italian restaurants, Chinese, McDonalds, KFC and others. Our house person was amazing, we loved them so much. I had some difficulties with my phone and he completely helped me out. In our free time if we wanted to go to the super market or exchange money, we would just ask them to get us a Ttuk Tuk to take us. The Tuk Tuks are part of PMGY team so they don’t rip you off with their costs and you don’t need to Bargin. When you go on weekend trips and you use the Tuks Tuks that aren’t part of PMGY you realise how cheap the PMGY ones are! There is free wifi that you can use at home at any point, our wifi was one that you have to top up so that meant that it was on and off at points and sometimes slow but it was still good.
I volunteered at the Girls orphanage which was absolutely amazing. I was very nervous when I first arrived. But the girls took my hand, sat me down, and called me their sister. It truly felt like they were family. They were so sweet. There were about 8-14ish all of us sat down at first and went around saying our names, favourite colour, and animal, what we are wearing, how we are feeling. Then we would sometimes do something like ten green bottles or heads shoulders knees and toes. Then we would split them up into older and younger. The Youngers children are the ones I used to stay with often and other volunteers would go with the older. we would teach them colours, shapes, cutlery and get them to do worksheets. The older ones we did reading and comprehensions. They were not afraid to ask for help and did so often. You did not have difficulty getting them to do the worksheets. You plan all this either the morning before as you go to the orphanage project in the evening. After they do their work which should take like an hour or an hour and a half. You can play with them for the rest of the time. They love playing volleyball with you or skipping and dancing was defiantly their favourite. It was an absolutely an amazing and happy time! I loved to tickle them and dance with them. They are very cute, kind and sweet. It was a very tearful goodbye.
Any advice I would give would be to be to enjoy every second of the trip as it goes so quickly. Read the volunteer handbook as it prepares you. Pre plan your lessons and play attention to the kids because you will notice that some of them know colour and weather where as others can only say a few words of English. Worksheets are really good to give to the girls.
I had the most amazing time; even this review can’t express how much I loved it. I miss it a tremendous amount and hope one day I can go again and see my girls at the orphanage.