Art Therapy - Sri Lanka

Product Details

Navajeevana provides therapy for disabled people living in the fishing community of Tangalla. Volunteers with a degree in art are needed to provide therapy through teaching art to both children and adults.

The project is based in the small coastal town of Tangalla in the south of Sri Lanka. Tangalla (population 6,000) is centred around a traditional market. The economy is based upon fishing and farming. There are also a number of comfortable guesthouses to cater for the small number of tourists that come to enjoy the extensive beaches, surfing, Scuba diving and view the wildlife. Sri Lanka’s main game reserve is situated just south of the town.

Tangalla is set back from a long sandy ‘picture postcard’ bay three or four miles in length. It has not yet developed as a tourist destination so the only time that the beaches are busy are in the morning and evening when the fishermen pull their boats ashore, unload their catch and mend their nets.

Unfortunately the town and surrounding area were badly damaged in the tsunami disaster. Many fishermen lost their boats and most properties within 100 metres of the shore were completely destroyed. A considerable amount of work has been done to rebuild the area and the economy is now on the road to as full recovery.

Outreach International have placements in and around Tangalla with the disabled, teaching in schools, working with giant sea turtles and also helping at a school for deaf children and a school for blind children.

The Project

Navajeevana provides support for over 2,000 disabled people. 65% of these are aged 1-14. Some of these people have trauma related problems associated with the tsunami; others have cerebral palsy, club foot, Down's syndrome or have been involved in an accident. They have a small team of physiotherapists, an occupational therapist and a prosthetics workshop. (By coincidence the prosthetics specialist was trained at the Outreach International centre in Cambodia). The base is a spacious, colonial-style house on the edge of Tangalla overlooking a spectacular sandy bay.

Volunteer activities

You would be based at the centre in Tangalla where most of the patients receive their therapy. However there are also many people who live in surrounding villages and communities. They cannot travel due to their disability, the poor roads and the cost of transport. You would be asked to visit these people in their homes. Art is known to be a great therapy and stress relief. Facilities and resources are good in terms of space and basic consumables. There is also a small budget to facilitate the project. A translator and driver are available for working in the rural areas. In addition to art therapy there is also a role for a volunteer to teach English to the patients and staff.

Accommodation / time off / working hours

You would normally live with other volunteers in a great guesthouse, which is a close walk to the ocean. The volunteers would be involved in different projects in the area. You would be given an allowance for food. The staple diet is fish, prawns, rice and an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Pineapples, mangoes, guavas, papaya, avocadoes, limes and tomatoes area all grown locally and can be bought very cheaply in the market. You would be expected to work from 8am – 5pm five days a week. Weekends are free to explore the wonderful coastline and other parts of Sri Lanka.