Hoi Polloi

Three months later: "show us the money"

How much aid has come into Sri Lanka? How has it been used? December 26th may seem like a long time ago to some, but --heck, it's 90 days- not if you are living in temporary shelter, or have lost your husband or a child.

A new political blog, Dheshapalana, operated by a journalist, keeps this topic alive. He/she (who for now seems to want to remain anonymous) reminds TAFREN ( The 'Task Force to Rebuild the Nation') about

the right of the citizenry to know how much money Sri Lanka has received. So what is the standing figure? Where is the money going? These, undoubtedly, are common questions on the minds of many.

I am glad that people are asking the uncomfortable questions. The time will come when the internatonal community will want accountability; the country cannot aford to squander the goodwill it received, because of the bureaucratic bungling of a few. There are hundreds of government and non-governmental organizations operating relief programs, and the media will be doing a great service by keeping the pressure up.

It's about time writers and blogs like Dheshapalana began focusing on the politics of tsunami relief, now that the warm, fuzzy stories have been covered. As the site pleads:

stop lamenting; there's no time like the present moment - out with the figures please! This is a democracy - the people need to know!

Water purification and Proctor & Gamble

Check this Wall Street Journal article on how a P&G unit is helping tsunami affected areas in Sri Lanka. Apart form the focus of the article --a marketing angle-- the picture speaks volumes about how those with more problems than market share.

The story is about a 'doctor,' a bucket and a purification powder, and how it's being put to the test in a refugee center in Galle. In the picture is Mohamed Irshad and his family.

Fast Company article

Check this article in Fast Company, (the March 05 issue) about AFLAC, and a chap called Mevan Jayawardena, from Australia, who hapened to be in Sri Lanka in December.

Amazing story because his parents founded AFLAC (stands for Association for Light a Candle.) Also because, as he puts it in the article, there is a lot of unity, and people are always finding novel solutions around problems..

"Sometimes our work feels like driving on a freeway. When we approach a slow truck, we switch lanes to another project until that lane clears. Then we go along until that lane backs up, and switch again."

The 'Art' of tsunami relief

This is a story worth doing. While there are plenty of stories being told about isolated spots where relief isn't reaching fast enough, there are the stories of those quiet workers continuing to reach out to the victims.

Two stories here. The first is about a Sri Lankan from Ireland, Chandra, who started a massive and effective fund raising campaign there. Together with his friend Suresh they have managed to provide 25  fiber glass boats with outboard motors, 10 smaller catamarans, all equipped with nets, to the fishermen of the Beruwala area.

Here is Joey Caspersz' account of what he sees in the south:

I must mention that the authorities are moving, albeit at a slower pace. the rail track is repaired and trains are now running on the southern line. roads are open and electricity is, by and large, reconnected to most towns and villages. food is being supplied to the camps on a regular basis. tents have been organized for those whose houses have been demolished. sea walls are being raised on the southern road to galle. all this within a two month period is not too bad for speed in our part of the world. but its far from what is required and needed.

Speaking of rail tracks, here is the 2nd story:

"Rail" the art exhibition and event at a Colombo railway station is a project of the creative folk at advertising agencies.

I will post the pictures in a separate area soon. Stay tuned.

Ad Agencies' tsumani fund raiser in Colombo

'Rail’, a fund raiser by ad agencies in Colombo, was held at Slave Island Railway Station on Wednesday the 23rd Feb, raised Rs 2.5 million toward the profiling of children displaced by the tsuanmi in Sri Lanka.

The event will continue today at 6 pm. Mike Masilamai writes to say that there is more to it than the auction --including live performances such as mime shows, a second-hand book sale, and sale of postcards and photographs etc. This event was the first, hosted by AdAid, an outfit created by a group representing advertsing agencies such as DDB Needham, O&M, McCann-Erickson, JWT, Bates, and several others.

Yala: The Tsunami as a 'Catalyst'

This morning, NPR (National Public Radio) aired a story by reporter Elizabeth Arnold, covering the ecological impact of the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Amazing insight, in true NPR style, with great audio.

The story is from Yala, with a National Geographic expedition, and is full of neat insights into how ecologists are assessing the damage. One scientist, Sanjayan Muthulingam of the Nature Conservancy, observes that he can hardly call this 'damage' since the trees seem to have absorbed the impact, and actually started recovering. Get the background here., and the audio version of the broadcast here. (If you cannot get the audio, pick it up from the link on the NPR page)

Ceylinco promotes ‘Tsunami Lending’ concept

“The poor person is a better credit risk than the rich person.”

The Ceylinco group, and Lalith Kotelawela are front page news in a story y’day (Feb 17, 2005) in the Wall Street Journal.

The story, “In Sri Lanka, loans take on key role in disaster relief” is about the tragedy of disaster victims having to go after lenders when there’s over one billion dollars in aid that has been pledged. Also it says that the government is messing with aid flow saying it will get its hands on the Tigers. Trust CBKs government to do all the bad PR Sri Lanka never needs! And it’s not just a PR thing. Messing with funds eventually means messing with victims and lives. People don’t forget these things. Of course, the private sector, inevitably scores points every time the government screws up.

Kotelawala is described in the WSJ article as “better known –and seems better trusted—than most politicians here." The ‘lending’ he’s doing is a form of micro-lending, with Ceylinco’s connection with the Grameen Bank. There’s no collateral involved, and that means a slim chance of recovery, should borrowers default. “The poor person is a better credit risk than the rich person.” Kotelawala is quoted as saying.

No surprise there. His philanthropy, risk taking, and simple charm is what makes him the Richard Branson of Sri Lanka. No minister in the government, let alone the top rung, has an ounce of his humanity and charisma.

It’s an amazing story, about how Ceylinco ran ads asking for tsunami victims to come to them for help, and the company going out on the road with 100 managers to provide instant credit.

In an unrelated article, in LMD, the Sarvodaya head, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, praises the private sector, saying he is traditionally not its cheerleader.

Tsunami stories you won't see on the news.

Here's what I mean by yesterday's post on UNICEF, of there being a lot that is falling through the cracks in tsunami relief. You won't see these stories in the Wall Street Journal or on TV. Why? Because there is no sensational component, here.

There's an 'ocean of work to be done' says Joey Caspersz, who's privately heading what one may call a task force of two, providing relief and supplies to schools in Trincolmalee.

"As at today and speaking for Trincomalee, not much of mid and long term help appears to be reaching those in need of it," he says.

So here is what Mr. Caspersz and his colleague Bala Wimaladass are doing. They are providing shoes to children in afected areas, as they go back to school. Hats off to what he is tirelessly doing over in Sri Lanka.

Number of pairs of shoes for                Girls            Boys       Total

St Mary's College                                   148             0             148 

KM Sri Koneswara Hindu College             0            106            106

Methodist Girls College                           63              0              63 

Sri Shamnuga Hindu Ladies Colgl             70             0               70

Total                                                     281      106                387      

The next order of 378 pairs of shoes from Ceylon Leather Products Limited (CPL) is  scheduled for delivery to the Trincomalee area schools around the 21st of February 2005. Also will be added 765 pairs of socks.

Chasing after funds, visiting these schools and making those trips to the East coast is something Joey does on top of his normal work in insurance.

And we think we wear many hats!

Still work to be done for Sri Lanka's children

Contrary to what we see in the media that there is plenty of aid money flowing in, there is work to be done in Sri Lanka. Predictably the media now begins looking for the wierd stories. But unseen work goes on, to solve 'problems' that don't make for sensational stories.

Addressing mental health, water sanitation, infant hygiene, school supplies continue to be addressed. UNICEF released its weekly assessment today. It includes these issues:

-         schools continue to be occupied by displaced families

-          incomplete construction of temporary schools

-       parents are frightened of being separated from their children due to rumors of recurring tsunamis and the possibility of recruitment

-       furniture in schools vacated by IDPs has been used as fuel or has been destroyed

-       water and sanitation facilities are damaged and parents are worried that schools are unhygienic for children to return

-       transport to temporary schools is causing problems

-       children are not attending temporary schools that are intended for different social groups (e.g. non-Moslem children will not attend Moslem schools)

-       schools used as camps are partially operating for teaching but parents don’t think that regular or effective instruction is taking place

-       there is a stigma attached to sending children to school without uniform, even though parents know that regulations have been relaxed

-       living conditions in camps are not conducive to support learning

-      many pre-schools are affected and some school-age children who have lost a parent are looking after siblings

People are not statistics

Tthe magazine in Sri Lanka I write for, LMD, has a good page of statistics, in this special issue (Feb 05).

People are not statistics, but when you look at a list, you realize the scale of the tragedy, and how some towns in Sri Lanka were more affected and lost more lives that the media coverage tends to show.

The town of Ampara, for instance had over 10,000 deaths, while Galle had 4,214. On the other hand, Galle lost 1,536 hotel rooms, while Kalutara lost less than half that.

See the full list here.

My article, a piece on how 'connected' the world really is, is here.

Tsunami stories that compel you to do something.

There can be many angles with with we can approach the post-tsunami Sri Lanka. There's tourism, housing, environment, infrastructure for the fishing industry, and then there are the orphanages and the impact on the children.

Children. Read this by a reporter Stan Grant, and see if you can ignore them.

Grant was writing in early January about seeing the bodies of three small children recovered from the beach.

From where I stood, I could see that they were children. No more than babies really, aged maybe between 1 to 3. From a distance, it just really didn't look real. They looked almost like mannequins or dolls.

But as we got closer, I saw their arms were locked around each other. They were hanging on to each other.

Their bodies had been tossed in the torrent ... as it came through. Somehow these three little kids had hung together and died together.

He stoppped being a reporter, and realized that he was a father, first:

I remember standing there, looking, and I couldn't help thinking about my own children. I have three little boys of my own. And I know I look in on them sometimes before they are about to go to bed, and they are often lying there and they have their arms around each other.

Looking at these three little children, with their arms around each other, reminded me so much of my own kids. And I started thinking about the little things that matter.

This kind of reporting stopped us in its tracks. Sure this is a CNN reporter, but this is much more than a 'news story.'

Another angle.

Here's another writer with another great story about how religious and ethnic differences suddenly disappear. Jeff Greenwald writes for Ethical Traveller:

While we relax, Dilan (who is from Kandy) tells us that the monk we hope to see — Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala — did something rather extraordinary, given the events of 1998. Four days after the tsunami, he and his monks loaded 26 trucks full of food, medicine, and supplies. They drove the trucks due east, and delivered the supplies directly into the hands of the Tamils near Trincomalee.

"It was a way of saying that religion doesn't matter," explains Dilan. "For the past 20 years, Sinhalese and Tamils can't find a chance to talk to each other. With this disaster, there is an opening to communicate — so we give help to them, from the bottom of our hearts."

"We Shall Rebuild" --the video.

This video circulating, captures how millions of us Sri Lankans feel about the commitment to rebuild a nation.

‘A thousand Inspiring Stories’ indeed!

http://astream.net/links/asia/song1.asx

"I complained I had no shoes..."

In response to a post here --based on a request from a relief worker in Trincomalee-- about the need to suply shoes and socks to children returning to schools in affected areas in an East coast city of Sri Lanka, here's a follow up.

The board of the New Era Children's Fund, a Arizona-based organization has transfered  $2,000 toward the cause. Also, CEO of NECF, has agreed to privately fund the balance for ths socks. Thank you for such speedy action.

The supplies are being purchased through Ceylon Leather Products, in Colombo 10.

Side note: Other organizations are helping with back-to-school projects. See this BBC article. But let's not forget these other little projects --especially those in the areas that the media don't always visit.

Sarvodaya's Plan Of Action

Sarvodaya, a grassroots 'reawakening' movement in Sri Lanka has been around for a long time --47 years! This blog has been directing many people who asked about donating to a very tangible cause. 

If you haven't checked th site recently it is worth a visit. They have a team of bloggers updating news. They also have a good plan for Active Engagement to assist villages, here.

through an Income Support scheme combined with upgraded skills for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of affected areas.

Also, to

create other avenues of employment through private traders and government projects, which will be encouraged to employ affected community members.

Its goals of tapping the private sector for marketing of products produced by these communities is just one of the many areas worth looking into.

Here is the link to the National Reawakening Plan.

Technology helping relief work

Two sites worth a visit:

1. The Center for National Operations (cnosrilanka.org) in Sri Lanka is a powerful database-driven site maintained created by a private group of individuals, and now run by the Presidential Secretariat.

It covers many aspects of disaster operations in the country such as Water and Sanitation, Childcare, Logistics. Even an UN desk, and useful links. See this map of affected areas.

2. MapAction (http://www.mapaction.org) a UK-based international charity that assists in mapping of disaster areas. It uses satellite imagery, GIS and GPS. Want to see affected areas in Hambantota, or Galle? Check here.

The real heroes

Should it take a calamity to make us empty our pockets and mobilize us into action? 'Honky Tonk Woman,' writing for the Sunday Leader newspaper in Sri Lanka says something most of us feel, but haven't put it into words.

After such a tremendous disaster, you begin to realize the triviality of your problems. I'm very sorry to say it has become a kind of a contest with some folks, who like to make sure everyone knows how and what their contributions were to the relief effort. Let's hope everyone will keep up the the level of enthusiasm over a longer period of time, for this effort has to be continued for a while in order to be successful. The real heroes/ heroines are those who work steadily and silently, they don't even talk about it. They don't feel the need for the whole world to know. I called up one of my oldest friends and told her I was proud to know her, she's one such person. I know she doesn't wait for tsunamis but always helps people and DOES NOT TALK about it.

I spoke to several people over the last few days who have amazing sories out of Sri Lanka, of Sri Lankans helping Sri Lankans all over the country. These private individuals who load their cars and double-cabs and make sorties into affected areas on work days and weekends. They don't receive --and don't care for- media attention. We can't thank them enough

Ground Zero, Hambantota Sri Lanka

Just to give you an idea of the force of the tsunami in Hambantota, here's a telecom tower --or what's left of it.

Andrew Samuel sent these pics and a comment:

These pics are of the city of Hambantota which is now fully bulldozed.
You will notice there are more vehicles to be cabled out of the mud and
water. This is a really sad site. The telecom tower has just crumbled down to
ball of metal.

Beruwala, Sri Lanka

At Triton Hotel in Beruwala, several employees living in the area had their homes destroyed. These pictures, sent via Amanthi Dias Abeysinghe (whose dad is the General Manager of the hotel) tell their story. We visited Triton, a beautiful, sprawling beach resort, in June 2003, so I know exactly where these stories come from.

This picture shows you the hotel in the background.

And this one, how high the water has reached in the home.

Fullbright Scholar from US works in tsunami relief ops

Lest we forget the truly amazing stories, I encourage you to please post your own here. Or email me here. I have 2 today:

A health club in California RoughFit is planning to collect money for the four families affected along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. 

A Fulbright scholar Jeremy Gantz (from Cape Cod, Mass.) who had been in Sri lanka, is reportedly involved in relief work.

For the past three months he had been studying the history of Sri Lankan education and its connection to colonial and post-colonial political and economic developments! He had been on holiday in Thailand when the tsunami struck and he says “I felt fairly hedonistic on holiday in Thailand after learning of the tsunami… so flew back to Sri Lanka to help with the relief effort; my research feels very unimportant now”.

This was reported on the Relief For Sri Lanka blog, maintained by the Colombo Rotary Club.

Report from Ampara -- on Thursday Jan 6th

I have been getting mixed messages from people on visiting hard hit areas in the south and east. One of them --reinforced by some CNN coverage-- is that Sri Lankans are coping well with the recovery and rellief efforts. I think there are different stories, and stories within stories, that the media cannot adequately get out, so before you make up your mind, read this from Ravi Ratnapala, a senior manager at Finlays, Colombo, who writes on a visit to Ampara and Kalmiunai. Rationing of food, shortages, monsoon rains etc make it still a very grim picture --at least as of last Thursday. Here is his story (with my emphasis).

Having left Colombo at 4.00am we reached Ampara at 7.00pm. This after we had problems with one of the vehicles along the way. The same evening we unloaded the supplies consigned to Ampara which did not appear to be badly hit. The next morning with the help of Sarvodaya we reached Kalmunai around 10.00 am. What we saw in Kalmunai was total devastation. The pictures tell the story. I have a movie which is too large to e.mail

In the Ampara District there are about 125 camps and Sarvodaya has taken over about 25 camps. There are supposed to be over 400,000 people in the camps in Ampara Distric alone. We visited a camp giving shelter to about 850 people and also visited the Ampara and Kalmunai Hospitals with medical supplies. The disposable surgical gowns (about 100) which we gave Kalmunai Hospital was most appreciated by them. Surgery at the Kalmunai Hospital has just recommenced.  The doctors appealed for water purification tablets as the water in the hospital is contaminated and fresh water supplies are limited. I think this is the same all over in the country and we should get some help from overseas if possible.

The approach road to the Sarvodaya Center in Kalmunai (washed away) was so bad that we had to stop the lorry and carry the supplies into the center. Infact the sea water had come into the Center in Kalmunai

Sarvodaya will be issung a coupon to the people in the camps and they will be given a weekly ration. The next big step is to get them back to the settlements. We left the eastern coast minutes ahead of flood waters as a result of the monsoon rains which had begun in the area.

Harendra Fernando to study tsunami

Arizona State University's Professor Harendra Fernando went to Sri Lanka yesterday with a large research team from the U.S. to study the tsunami and refinine a model that will predict what parts of the country a tsunami would affect most.

See William Herman's article "Prof takes expertise to disaster site" in the Arizona Republic of Sunday, Jan 9th, 2005.

Israel and Sri Lanka

Rabbi Robert Kravitz, the Excutive Director of the American Jewish Commitee in Arizona said something that must put the popular misconception about Israeli aid being refused by Sri Lanka to rest.

He said that aid was never refused, and showed us a newspaper, the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, which had it as a front page story. Check it out here. The story shows the picture on the left, of the Israeli army handing over aid to the Sri Lankan army. We build walls and rules in our world, he observed, but there are times when we must defy these rules and break down these walls, because we all belong to one human family.

Rabb Kravitz spoke at an inter-faith service for the family of Lal Fernando, a businessman in Arizona, whose wife lost several members of her family in Hambantota.

Pictures of Sri Lanka tragedy

I have had several pictures sent to me from people visiting the area and have to hold back several. These are just too grotesque to be published. Also, they bring up another issue voiced by a victim who said this (in a story sent me from Tyronne Paiva)

They talk as though they do everything here. Many people come here; they just take photographs, but we don't get anything,'' said Ramzan Mohideen, a man in a Muslim cap and gown who lost his jewelry business.

The story was about a visit by US senators to the southern region.

The picture above (via Andrew Samuel,) is particularly tragic -and not too graphic. An ice cream truck on the east coast.

This one, via DigitalGlobe, shows the tsunami on the South west coast of Kalutara --the area populated by several beach resorts, including Tangerine beach hotel.

Another, shows the wave receding.

Random acts of kindness, on a large scale

On Saturday --New Year's Day-- I rode in a large truck pulling a trailer loaded with some 40 boxes of donations from friends and family contacts in Arizona.

It all happened in a few days. Day 1: Tanu had made a few calls. I sent off a few emails. Sri Lanka Delight, the restaurant in LA (referred by the locals as the 'Kade') had said we could send a few boxes in a container leaving in a few days. Perhaps, we thought 3 big boxes wouldn't be too expensive if we sent it via Fedex. But this was not to be. Day 2: People started arriving at our home dropping off boxes and large black bags of stuff, cans of food, bags of medicine, cases of infant formula, packs feeding bottles etc –so much so that we had to park our cars outside the garage. The fedex option was now out of the question.

Day 3: someone –in this amazing friend-of-a-friend network— came forward saying they had been praying for Sri Lanka and wondered how they could help. The husband had just got a new job at Microsoft. They offered to drive us in a huge Ford F250 with a trailer if we needed. We jumped at it, and continued to stack the garage.

Day 4: A TV station came a calling. Tanu refused to be on camera. We tried telling Channel 12 this was futile as the real story was all about them in Sri Lanka, and not about us. But if you know how the evening news works you know they want the sob story. I do appreciate their concern, but they stole a goood 2 hours of the day I had taken off from work. Packing and sorting takes time. ASU students come to help. A vendor nearby offered empty boxes. My British friend and his stepfather from 2 house up the street left their dinner to help us stack the boxes on the truck.

Day 5: 6.30 am, Don and Barbara Hiatt arrive at 6.30 am. The I-10 freeway is terribly foggy; they begin to pray we get there safely. I call my cousin Tania's husband (and fellow Peterite) Chari, who offers to come and help us unload the truck and trailer. In 6 hours, we are in Tarzana, a town in the San Fernando valley. Ahead of us was a Uhaul from the Buddhist temple in LA, with guys and even Buddhist priests loading up the container. Behind us pull up about 2 other large trucks waiting for space.

The giving hasn’t subsided. A doctor came by twice to our house with some antibiotics and portable water purification units. He had somehow got my email forwarded to him. This morning, a dentist called saying they can help, too. Every one wants to help. The bank branch I go to, the Starbucks round the corner, my former boss at work leaves an envelope in my drawer, my sister's boss wants to chip in, my corporate office, a magazine I write for, a printer, all pledge.

I have always believed, that in spite of the dark cloud hanging over us right now, there are tons of positive stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Not just in this country, but everywhere. Anyone who for a moment believes the rot put out in the media that America is being stingy, please speak to me. I am sure there are similar stories out there too. At least 2 people wrote to me from the UK, via this blog, saying they want to a contact in SL because someone is going over for relief work.

Sri Lanka may be one of the unluckiest countries on earth to be smitten by a tsunami just when the war had eased up. But God does work in marvelous ways, and I am optimistic that we will someday lift up our heads again.

Arugam Bay Blogger

There is a very interesting site at www.arugambay.com. It was once a site promoting the area (called the official site of the abay association -a sort of a take off on the ebay name) that had the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka. Now, there is someone blogging on the site. If you want to see how the international effort is shaping up on  the east coast, check it out. Here is an excerpt:

07. 30 am : Good news !! French soldiers landed with several helicopters at Arugam Bay. They already build a medical center, teaching local army what to do and so on. Most people in the missing list without description are alive !!! I try to send all names from missing people for exact informations. Please be passioned. Several generators for electricity and all needed is working already. Food, drinking water and medical suplies is no problem at all anymore.

Please be sorry for my broken english. No experience in the last few years in writing. !!! More informations soon !!!\

--------

Sean McKay (on Dec 31st) wanted to contact someone on route to Sri Lanka. Contact him at this email address.

            ----------

Disregard Esther B's request below:
She has contacted someone in Colombo

Can someone help these relief worker?
Esther Burley (on Jan 1st) wrote today about her uncle visiting Arugam Bay for relief work:

My uncle Richard will be travelling to Colombo then on to Arugam within the next few days (from England). Richard has lived and worked in the Eastern Provinces for the past 15 years mainly in the Pottuvil/ Arugam Bay area. He has considerable experience in dealing in situations like these (for theUN in Timor in 2000) and has great local knowlege. He already has water purification tablets, face masks, rubber gloves and is desperate to find out what else is needed and if anything can be obtained from Aid Agencies in or near Colombo. He would also like to know what is the best way to get Arugam from Colombo.

Contact her at eburley@btinternet.com

Ogilvy O&M relief efforts

STILL IN SHORT SUPPLY   (Dec 3oth 2004)

Shirani Saunders informs us that Water purification tablets are in short supply. See below: I spoke with the team that did go..............consisted of 5 lorries & 17 double cabs taking tonnes of supplies. 6 doctors went along & will set up camp there. They had about 5 lakhs worth of medicines but the direst need is water purification tablets. Cos its impracticle to carry clean water all that distance & its never going to be enough. If there is any issue at customs bringing in the water purification tablets pl. give us a call & we can clear it without any duty etc. (it should be allowed but just in case) If there is excess cash the next items are pillows/rubber slippers which can be purchased from here. If there r any other big items that people want to send they can container it & we will clear it without any cost from this end as even warehousing has been arranged free of charge. ok. If you need to speak to her call her on hr mobile, at 94 773 088 705

Refugee situation in Hendala

Shirani Saunders, not a reporter by any means files this story from Tewatte on Dec29th. By day she is a 'business development manager' at Phoenix Ogilvy & Mather advertising. As we hear every day, people have literally left their offices, to go out and do whatever needs to be done. This is just one person operating almost like an NGO.

Hi Angelo,

Yesterday evening i was able to go to Tewatte where there are about 10,000
people - displaced/evacuees from the Negombo/Hendala area.I spoke to a
mother who was trying in vain to discover the whereabouts of her husband.
Just that morning she had manged to locate her 2 children who had been at
another centre but the last she saw of her husband(who is a fisherman) was
him watching his boat shatter on the shore.

We took bed sheets/plastic sheeting & medicines like Piriton/Paracetomol &
bandages etc. There was some sense of organising as many volunteers from
the church were seen distributing stuff. The church is full with refugees
and the surrounding rubber plantaion is also packed with families camp
style with basic plastic sheeting roofs - its really heartbreaking to see
little children put to sleep on plastic sheets out on the grass - theres a
shortage of mats here. Food seems to be available as once again there are
people bringing in boxes of cooked food to be distributed. Its amazing how
much the average ' not very well off 'person is contributing to this
effort. Because really no big money has reached any of these places (yet)
its the average citizen  who is rallying round for the moment.

Our next effort is directed towards collecting medicines/dry rations to be
taken to Pottuvil - a private group is organising a little convoy to go to
the Lahugala nature reserve where evacuees from the arugam bay/Pottuvil
area are being sheltered. At least 10 of us from office will be joining. I
' not sure if you've been to Arugam Bay? We have holidayed there ever so
often & apparantly none of the guest houses/the fishing
village/roads/bridges are standing - its like a wasteland of mud & debris.
The four wheel club was there yesterday & one of the guys called in with
this infor - they 've been helping with the evacuvation of people marooned
in the jungles of Panama - extreme tip -  south-east of the island.

Shirani Saunders