NEWS UPDATE December 2005.

 

What an incredible year this has been!  As we approach the first anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami our thoughts are drawn back to the events of 26^th December 2004. 

Time to look back and to look forward.  To remember those who lost their lives, their homes, the lives of their families and friends.  Those whose world was turned upside down.  Those whose lives will never been the same. 

 

Whilst the village of Unawatuna will never be quite the same, the village has risen ‘like a phoenix from the ashes’ as Asoka writes in his emails.  The hotels and restaurants are ready for business as usual.  They have had their busiest low season of tourism ever.  The festival of Esala in the summer was a real success, bringing people and revenue to the area.  The shock and grief will not be forgotten, but life is continuing in all its richness and vibrancy. 

 

Although Friends of Unawatuna is beginning to wind down its operations, now is a good time to recap on some of what we have all achieved.  We should also say we have extended our remit to assist not only the village of Unawatuna but also the surrounding area.  This will include Displaced People’s Camps in the region, through Project Galle 2005 (PG05).    

 

Projects past and present:

 

Education: 

 

We have funded, through the Tsunami Scholarship Programme, financial assistance for 52 children affected by the Tsunami at the Buena Vista School for their entire school lives.

 

We have built a toilet block at the Buena Vista School. 

 

We have built a perimeter wall around Maha Viduhala School, as well as provided them with a computer suite, 10 computers, and a IT teacher.  We have also supported their Rugby team. 

 

We have given toys, musical instruments and furniture to the Unawatuna Montessori Pre-school.

 

We provided thousands of pens and pencils and 500 new text books to Anuladevi Balika Vidyalaya School, as well as 250 pairs of shoes.  We also built a perimeter wall, as theirs had been damaged by the Tsunami. 

 

We helped fund two UK teachers provide IT training and English lessons to young adults in the community. 

 

We also assisted the Ruhuna Orphanage, along with several other agencies.   

 

We have financially assisted a scheme organised by UTDS creating postcards out of children’s drawings for sale in the village and surrounding area.  The revenue raised will be spent on educational materials for children through schools. 

 

Temples:

 

We repaired a damaged wall of the Vri Shrimaya Temple.

 

We funded the creation of a moonstone for the entrance of the Roomasala Temple, where there is an inscription:  ‘in memory of all who died on December 26^th, Friends of Unawatuna.’

 

We sponsored the lights at the huge Esala Festival in the summer that brings pilgrims and much needed revenue to the village. 

 

Health:

 

We helped the Unawatuna District Hospital by painting beds and furniture, and providing living equipment such as fridges and sewing materials.

 

We bought the Karapitaya Hospital some medical equipment, and a television and video for the children’s ward.

 

Environment:

 

When a beach clear up was organised in May by the IUCN World Conservation Union, we provided volunteers and funded a tractor to remove larger debris from the sea bed.

 

We planted mudilla trees on the beach by the restaurants to provide shade and help prevent erosion, and bourganvillea around the town to replace some of the lost greenery. 

 

We employed 20 local people for a week to clear the Dutch Canal that had been blocked by the Tsunami and was therefore a potential health hazard. 

 

We supplied 100 families with the tools and seeds necessary to create small scale vegetable production.

 

Employment:

 

We have helped 290 people set up their own small businesses, from bakeries to wood carving, through the Livelihoods Scheme, organised and managed by Project Galle 2005.  This scheme is in the process of being evaluated and we will publish the results on the website when we receive them. 

 

We donated funds to provide several fishing boats through Adopt SriLanka, a locally-based charity.  However we have now been told there is an excess of fishing boats in the area, so we have decided to divert the money to be spent on rebuilding homes instead.

 

Displaced People’s Camps:

 

We have funded, through PG05, a number of projects that benefit the people currently living in Displaced People’s Camps.  These include:

 

Improving the drainage system in the camps (this affects 480 families); 

Transitional housing for people to erect shelters on their own land (55 families should benefit, and 40 local Sri Lankan people be employed); 

A mobile cinema unit, to provide entertainment and a sense of normality for families in the camps;

The restoration of old photographs damaged in the Tsunami, for families to maintain a sense of continuity with their own histories.  

 

 

And the future…

 

We hope to support a building project organised and managed by PG05, creating and re-building new homes for people who have lost so much.

 

We hope to sponsor the lighting to mark the first anniversary in Unawatuna of the Tsunami.

 

 

Nino doll ‘Passport to Education’:

 

This scheme has been organised by Cork Aid to provide 12,000 Sri Lankan children with an educational scholarship.  People can contribute by buying a Nino doll and thus sponsor a child’s education.   12,000 Sri Lankan children were killed by the Tsunami.

 Their website is:  http://www.ninodoll.org

 

 

A huge thanks to so many throughout the year:

 

Of course all the above has only been made possible by the contributions of hundreds of people across the world, people who were moved by their experiences of the Tsunami to act in some significant way. 

 

We must thank the volunteers who gave up so much of their time and energy to do the ground work, sometimes under difficult circumstances.

 

We must thank the hundreds of people who gave so generously to the charity and trusted that we would spend their money wisely.

 

We must thank those of you who read the website, stayed in touch, listened to the news, and kept the experience of those affected by the Tsunami alive in the public domain. 

 

We must, too, honour those people who lost so much on 26^th December 2004.

 

 

 

With warm thanks and season’s greetings,

 

Friends of Unawatuna

 

(Jake Zarins

Jon Walter and Tanya Smart

Matt Rose

Nick Keegan

Tine and Tarquin Desoutter).