All the children in our home are school goers and we provide them school bags, books, stationery, shoes etc. Students from Grade 4 to Grade 13 are studying at Urani Saraswathy Vidiyalayam and Batticaloa Hindu College. The Grade 13 students use bicycles and others walk to school.

We provide facilities for extra classes for students who need additional support in the Home to strengthen their studies. Grade 13 students attend private tuition classes in the Batticaloa town. Various achievements were recorded; as such one student is studying G.C.E (A/L) arts, another in the technical stream. Further, one student in Grade 5 scored 100 marks in the scholarship examination.

All the students attend drama classes enthusiastically. They are trained by a local artist Ms. Kamala Vasuki who is a well-known artist in South Asia, along with Prof. Jeysanker and Dr. Ponni Arasu. Students performed at festivals and events in the Home and developed their personal skills as well.

We provide an opportunity to all the children to attend swimming classes which is conducted for 2 hours for 2 days per week at Batticaloa Sports Stadium. Our students are trained by the coach who has the record of crossing the Park Strait. Two of our students, Harris and Hariharan, have won places in the swimming competition held at zonal level in Batticaloa District and also have the ambition of having a swimming record of crossing the Park Strait.

We have opportunities for games such as Carrom, Cricket, Volleyball, from 4 pm to 6 pm. Our students participate in school events and have won places. They have performed in zonal level and district level as well. They have the ambition of going to the district level events. The Home provides all the necessary equipment such as cricket bats, balls, boots etc. to support them to improve their skills in sports.

Children engage in painting and handicrafts and use them to express values such as caring for others, love the nature, etc. We provide the necessary material needed such as paper, color paint, brushes, clay etc. Clay needed for hand work is brought from Eravur which is 14 km away from the Home. These activities help the emotional well-being of our children and buildup team spirit of caring and sharing.

All the students engage in self-studies after the evening prayers from 7 pm to 8 pm to complete their school lessons or study their text books. Home staff and volunteers supervise and help weaker students. This is a self-disciplined compulsory time for all the students and the students in higher grades continue their studies after dinner.

Among all the other activities we allocate time for recreation entertainment as well. As such, once a month, children are taken to the beach, children’s parks, cinema and a local excursion according to the availability of funds. During the festive season children go on shopping trips with the staff to select their own clothes and gifts.

St. John’s Boys Home is a Christian home with children from other faiths as well. We give space to celebrate cultural festivals such as Christmas, Thai Pongal, Tamil-Sinhala New Year to maintain religious harmony. During cultural festivals children organize events with dramas, singing, cultural dance, speech competitions, essay writing and give prizes to the winners as well.

Under this program, once a month the Home children and staff visit the home of one child and spend the day with the family (parents or guardian). We take all food items vessels for cooking and cook & enjoy the meal together and show them our love and care. Also, we provide an opportunity for other children to know the different living environment of others, their culture and background and challenges they face. Further, children get an opportunity to know the villages and visit religious places and other cultural places in that village.

Birthdays of each child is celebrated in our Home with a beautiful cake. Children get-together and sing Happy Birthday and enjoy the cake & the short-eats together. If parents or guardians are able to come, we invite them as well. Likewise, Children’s Day celebrations also take place each year. This year senior officers from Batticaloa Police Station who participated in this event and distributed gifts to the children which was commendable.

Our Home is supervised by Probation officers in Batticaloa and we maintain a good working relationship with them. They visit our home weekly and converse with the children and discuss any matters of concern with the staff. They also attend our meetings and participate in other functions and celebrations as well.

Since all our students are school going children, we maintain a close relationship with the Principals and Teachers of the schools they attend. They are very supportive and show much interest in our children. They encourage our children not only in studies but also motivate them to participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities. They also participate in our home functions and celebrations.

The area police and health authorities are very supportive for safety and maintaining a clean environment. Specially on Sundays, police officers pay a site-visit to our Home and talk to the children and staff about their safety. They also advise us on keeping our environment clean, free from mosquitoes and flies which are causes of many diseases.

Officers attached to the Children & Women Section of the Divisional Secretariat also visit our Home periodically and have discussions with the students and staff about the well-being of the children.They give valuable advice to children as well as staff.

There are individuals who support our Home in many ways, such as providing food on special occasions, clothing, school stationery, playing equipment, annual linen supplies etc. and show concern on the welfare of the children.