Almost three years ago, the Rotary Club of Bognor Hotham in West Sussex, working with the Chichester-based charity Extra Cover, sponsored a three wheeled tuk-tuk car to transport disabled children and young adults to school in Panangala, Sri Lanka.
The tuk-tuk enabled children to be collected from remote areas, travelling along rough rain forest paths to school. None of these children had ever had the opportunity to go to school before.
Extra Cover had already set up the Panangala Special Education School providing teachers, food, resources, toilets, and water. Later the Panagala Vocational Training School was opened and the only way to fill both schools was to provide transport.
Now the schools have two tuk-tuks, with 15 children at school and 25 young adults attending the training centre.
The training centre has recently moved to the town of Towelama where transport links are better, and which will attract more students. The tuk-tuks will need to be fully overhauled or even replaced very soon.
Now, in their latest venture with Extra Cover, the Bognor Rotarians are supporting a small pre-school in Sri Lanka which was on the brink of closure two years ago.
With two teachers and 25 children, the Rotary Club of Bognor Hotham stepped forward donating £1,500 towards the cost of the teachers and daily food for the children.
Help with resources and school uniform is also offered when parents cannot provide it themselves.
