YPPs plant trees at the YMCA

To mark the visit of the YPPs to Pamunugama a tree planting programme was organized on 18th December, 2014 with the participation of the YPPs, children and youth of Pamunugama YMCA. Programme started with planting a palm tree named as YPP. Then the YPPs together with local members planted several trees in the YMCA premises. 

At the beginning of the programme It was mentioned that the YMCA is one of the best place to talk about on environment as we are scattered all over the world from grass-root levels to the top international levels.
After the Tree Planting programme, the group went to the beach with Pamunugama children to play a game of elle. 

YPPs in Pamunugama

Welcome and introduction

20 member (Young Peace Performers) YPP group have arrived in Pamunugama on 17th December, 2014. Current;y they are involving with variouse activities in Pamunugama and they will stay in Pamunugama till 21 December, 2014.

As they arrived, the group was welcomed by the young board members at Green Banks with a introduction session and a welcome dinner. On 18th morning they involved with a Work Camp where they supported a family in Pamunugama to build a part of their house. Events are organized by the YMCA of Pamunugama and variouse activities with Children and Youth are scheduled for coming few days.

Work Camp

Pre School Kids, Guides, Scouts and Children's Club on stage!

Children and teenagers attached to the YMCA had their Annual Cultural Concert on 07 December, 2014. There were around 50 kids took part in the show where they have performed number of dances, dramas and carol singing.

Children of the pre School performed several dancing acts and drama while the members of the Girl Guides Group and the Scout Group also staged several dances, drama and a carol singing.

Rev Father Cloud Wanasinghe, Shivankara Ranaweera, President of Pamunugama YMCA, Simon and Vindis (Scouts from Bronnoy Scout Group) and several other Board Members attended the event as guests while around three hundred people came to witnessed the event. YMCA of Pamunugama were able to bring this wonderful concert as a result of hard work by the Pre School teachers with the support of parents and children's club.

Kids welcome the guests

Lightening of oil lamp

Welcome speech by Pre School kids 

Wonderful dance by Sasindu and Chamalsa - Mal mada Biso ithin

Dancing acts by Pre School Kids

Dancing Guides

Drama by Scouts and Children's Club

Young people from North and South meet on court!

It used to be the battlefields where young people met in the past. Peace Maker Trophy Volleyball Tournament was planned as one of the events of the Peace Maker Project conduct by the YMCA of Pamunugama together with the Y global to facilitate young people to meet on attractive environment. Tournament was held under flood lights in the YMCA of Pamunugama court on 29 November, 2014.

10 teams participated for the event under two categories for the Tournament. Six teams competed for the competitive category while four teams played for the friendly category. Most importantly there were 12 young people from Vavuniya YMCA participated as an invited team for the tournament while the rest of the teams are from the surrounding of the YMCA of Pamunugama.

Team from the Santosa Foundation won the title in the competitive category while the YMCA of Vavuniya youth grabbed the runners-up trophy. Two teams from Pamunugama YMCA won both the Championship and the runners-up trophies in friendly category.

Around 80 young people took part in the competitive while there were around 100 spectators attended the event. 

President of Vavuniya YMCA hosted the National Flag

Ridma from Pamunugama YMCA explained the objectives of the event

Teams of the competitive category

Good smash from Vavuniya

YMCA of Pamunugama boys ready to defend

Get if possible

Runners-up - Friendly

Champions - Friendly

Runners-up - Competitive

Champions - Competitive 

Pamunugama boys back with Scouting

YMCA of Pamunugama has a fact to be proud being the first YMCA scout group in Sri Lanka as well as the first YMCA guides group. It has not being a month since the guides of Pamunugama conducted a three day camp in the YMCA grounds. This camp has motivated the boys in a grand way to get the YMCA Scout programme up and running again. 

18 young boys got together and conducted a scout camp under the guidance of Pamunugama leaders and staff on 8th and 9th. Since the boys were new to scouting, camp was conducted in a way that boys could learn basic things on scouting (conduct of a meeting, basic knots, outdoor cooking, etc) and enjoy the nature while living outside. 

Group was divided into 3 petrols and they were named as penguin, eagle and ostrich. These petrols will work in groups in the scout programme and their meetings will be held on Saturdays following the ongoing Children's Club meetings. During the camp petrols made their own tent and cooked for themselves which gave a lot of fun and team spirit to the new petrols. Camp-fire was held in the evening with number of items including comedy dramas and songs. 

Apart of the Pamunugama Leaders, Two trained guides, Lahiru Fernando who is a president scout and two scouts from the global friendship programme (Simon and Vigdis) also joined leaders. Pamunugama YMCA wish all the new scouts a happy, fruitful SCOUT life with the YMCA.
For more pictures see 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.314111915457102.1073741850.145784678956494&type=1

Morning rally

Learnt knots and pitched tents

Beautiful Camp life

They were very disiplined

Camp lunch the best!

Learnt about lashing

Games!

Wishes from Petrol leaders for the Camp-fire

YMCA Wise President lighten-up the Campfire

Performances!

We made rotti for dinner 

Cold morning around the camp-fire

Drama Workshop - New Drama Group formed

25 children from the Children's Club, Girl Guides Group and the Scout Group attended a drama workshop held in the YMCA on 26 October, 2014.

Workshop was organized by the YMCA of Pamunugama with an objective of forming a new drama group. Workshop was conducted by Weranga Mendis who is a street drama artist from one of the popular street drama groups in the country. Weranga was supported by Pamunugama youth (NIrmala & Sudeepi) and Sudesh Mendis from Moratuwa.

Workshop was held through out the day and the children were trained through practical sessions and at the end the group was formed where they will have regular trainings in future.