Don’t worry about what you don’t have; focus on what you do have and make the most of your life. (Jude, speaking to the crowd gathered at Vavuniya today.)

Today we visit a rehabilitation centre in Vavuniya. It is special in itself for the great work it does for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, but is extra special because it is the place where Jude went as a young boy after being injured in the Sri Lankan civil war. In some ways it is a homecoming for him, and he has worked hard to organise this day.

We step off the bus to an emotional welcome. The priests and nuns who run the centre greet us warmly, one by one, and we are welcomed with a forehead dot, a handmade garland, and join a noisy procession, band and all, into the centre.

The hospitality is immediate and lavish as we enjoy a morning tea of sandwiches, cake and fruit – watermelon with condensed milk anyone?

A sudden and heavy downpour delays, but doesn’t dampen proceedings, and we set about the morning’s program: welcome speeches, a wheelchair basketball game, wheelchair AFL instruction, and a demonstration of one of the handcycles being used on this trip.

Many of the large crowd of spectators want to get into the action, and soon the basketball court is covered with people trying out AFL handball passes and shooting baskets.

The basketball game is very male-dominated, with just a few women – including Alex and Rosie – joining in. There are plenty of young women hanging around looking like they want to join in, but too shy to make a move, so Annette, Christina and I gradually draw them into shooting baskets. It doesn’t take much: hand a wistful looking girl the ball, and she’s off!

We enjoy a lavish and spicy lunch, then a few of us spend time with the girls who live on the site. Some have disabilities and some are war affected, but they seem well cared for by the nuns. They show us their vocational training centre, where they make greeting cards, bead jewellery and other items. They shy young girls turn into salespeople, pointing at cards and trying to get us to buy more and more.

With help from sponsors, CyclePower was able to donate wheelchairs and sporting equipment to the centre. I had a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as a woman carried her adult-sized son and placed him in gently in a new wheelchair. People’s lives will be changed by today’s events, and not just those with disabilities.

The day in pictures