I've got into the pattern of getting up at 7am and saying my morning prayer at the entrance of the building where I am staying. This morning I was greeted by two of the girls who were busy sweeping the path. There is no school on a Saturday but the girls still have to be up early to do their chores. I was shown their rota and it is 'full', mostly of study, even on a Saturday! We did, however, get to spend a lot of time with them this afternoon. Let's just say, they LOVED making loom bands. Even the warden made some.

They also had great fun playing with the parachute that we brought with us, thanks to the generosity of my lovely colleagues. These girls haven't had a lot of joy in their lives and although we would consider their lives here to be difficult, they feel very privileged to be here. Today I lost count of how many girls came to say "I am happy, Aunty"

Tomorrow we are going to church. The full service will be in Sinhali, which will be interesting. My mosquito bites go from bad to worse and I've lost count of the new ones today. I even have four bites on the tops of my toes which are particularly sore. Prayers for them to be less itchy would be appreciated!