A son asked me, “What was the most interesting country I worked in.”

         I had no trouble answering that, it could only be Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was called when I first visited in 1946.

         I have visited ten times and carried out many missions for national and international organizations. I have trained trainers and administrators in Kandy and in Colombo.

         I even carried out US Aid programs for the Chamber of Commerce.

         The longest assignment was for a three-month audit in rural communications-  That was for the UN organization FAO and for the Sri Lankan government.

          I have traveled the country widely – perhaps being one of the last foreign visitors to Jaffna before the civil war.

         For a decade I represented the Sri Lankan Rugby Union in New Zealand. My role was to send them coaching material. At that stage, I was helping to train rugby coaches.

         My most memorable event was when I was on a Colombo Plan mission sponsored by the New Zealand government. My task was to run a five-week workshop to help train trainers to teach agriculture extension in ways to stimulate agriculture.

         The weekend we arrived we found an extra million people in Kandy as it was the weekend of their Parahera. It was one of the most memorable sights I have ever seen.

         Can you imagine over a hundred elephants, in silk robes covered in lights taking part with dancers with many carrying flaming charcoal baskets? They were leading a huge elephant carrying Lord Buddha’s tooth around the lake.

         Another memorable event was when my wife and I visited a city called Matele to attend a Young Farmers quiz show.  It was being broadcast on National radio.

         I went to Matele to lobby the Minister to see if he would help set up a rural people’s newspaper.

         The Minister did not arrive and we were conscripted to give an opening speech and to take the march past.

         “If only our kids could see us now I whispered to Joyce.”

         Did I make a contribution to Sri Lanka?     Possibly,  but only for a limited time. Like many developing countries they seem to have reverted to their old habits.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Those who need advice the most –   like it the least.”

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