28 March 2024 - 8 April 2024 (wk 4,5)

Ayuobowan!

If you have missed the blog about our stay with a guest family in Mannar Island I recommend you to read that first. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this week’s blog about our fieldwork in Galle.

The teachers have never learned about snakebite prevention or treatment. Nor do they have basic knowledge of first aid. Another thing we learned in the focus group is that, similarly to the teachers in Mannar, they have a lot of knowledge about Ayurvedic treatment methods. Ayurvedic treatment is commonly practiced amongst communities in Sri Lanka. Examples of Ayurvedic treatment for snakebites would be the consumption of medicinal herbs to strengthen the immune system or the use of Condy’s crystals to remove the venom out of the body. The teachers are aware that in the case of bites from venomous snakes, medical attention is required.

Another challenge is that this school does not have money to pay for labour to cut the grass. The student restroom is in a little outhouse behind the school building. To get there you would have to walk through a field of grass, where the week prior to our arrival the teachers found a cobra! Another issue is that the school has not been renovated since its inception in the 50s. There are a lot of holes, doors that don’t shut and no glass windows. The instances in which snakes have gotten inside the building are numerous. In the schoolyard you can find a Buddha statue, where the children come for prayers in the morning before class. The statue’s backside has a hole in it and when teachers looked inside they found a snake nest with baby cobras inside.

Because of all these incidents the teachers feel motivated to learn more about this topic as there are a lot of snakes around the school premises and they feel responsible for the well-being of the students.