Done in 2025
- Like every year, I visited the school between December and April and took care of what needed to be done.
- This year, however, I arrived feeling a bit tired and worried about the many expenses to be covered, so I wanted to cancel the start-of-year ceremony, but one of our supporters offered to cover the costs in full so that the children could perform during the annual show, as this gives them confidence and the day stays etched in their memories. I accepted.
- Another immediate priority was to settle the overdue rent and ensure we could continue to use the school premises.
- At the same time, I visited Butterfly Villa and realised that the monsoons last season had been particularly intense and had caused water to seep through the reinforced concrete roof/terrace, damaging all the plasterwork inside Butterfly Villa. It was therefore necessary to take immediate action.
- Also bearing in mind that Butterfly Villa, which had been listed for short-term rental on Airbnb and Booking – the proceeds from which were intended to cover the school’s rent – had remained vacant since the pandemic, I considered the possibility of moving the school from the rented premises to Butterfly Villa, which belongs to the school.
Moving is not easy, and it is also costly and labour-intensive, but, after careful consideration, I felt it was necessary and sensible.
- The parents of a Russian child, who attends our classes whilst on holiday in Sri Lanka, offered to cover the cost of the removal van. How could we possibly refuse?
- Once at the new location, we had to restore the Wi-Fi connection, which had been badly damaged by the monsoons; a good, stable signal required the installation of a satellite dish.
- The fans were repaired and we put out a good publicity campaign to inform the local community about the move to the new premises.
- We organised an ‘OPEN DAY’ so that the villagers, and especially those from the surrounding area, could see what we have to offer. A great success!
- We bought books, exercise books and all the materials for the school year and… off we go on this new adventure!
- During these months, I also helped and accompanied friends who had come from Italy to visit the school, and I showed them the many interesting places of interest on the island, in the hope that next year we might have more visitors and perhaps even some native speakers to support our teachers.
- Among our visitors was a yoga teacher who gave a lesson to our little ones, entertaining them whilst helping them learn new vocabulary, thereby enriching their knowledge of the English language (which is our goal).
- For Butterfly Villa, we have had a project approved by the local authorities to build two rooms where we currently have the terrace which is causing us the aforementioned problems.
- I’ve had a couple of quotes drawn up for different solutions, but to do a proper, high-quality job it’s going to cost quite a bit of money, even though I don’t intend to start building the rooms straight away. A solid roof requires the stability provided by walls that protect the roof itself from monsoon winds; in short, it’s quite a financial commitment.
- For this reason, I have launched a special fundraising campaign on GoFundMe and I really hope to reach this target.
https://gofund.me/f693a4266
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