Update 21

1 Jul 2006

NEWS UPDATE 21

 

June 2006

FRIENDS OF UNAWATUNA

NEWS UPDATE June 2006

 

It has been a long time since the last news update.  Considerable changes have taken place for us, not least Jake leaving Unawatuna and Project Galle to go even further afield (Banda Aceh no less).

The most significant change is that we are no longer taking donations, as Friends of Unawatuna is finally winding down and will cease to be some time this year.  We feel we have gone as far as we can in responding to the needs of the village post-Tsunami, and as we never intended to become a long-term charity we feel this is a good time to cease our operations.

Any of you out there who want to continue to donate towards Unawatuna and the South Sri Lankan area can do so through Project Galle 2006, Friends of the South, or Adopt Sri Lanka.  We believe Project Galle 2006 will also be ending their activities in the next months but are not sure when.  Each of these charities have websites you can access.

 

Annual Report:

We have finished our financial accounts for the year 2005 and will be posting them in full on the website very shortly.  With them we are proud to present our annual report, put together at no expense (thank you so much Julian Blake and Ade Vaughan) but with no effort spared.  The report shows the extent of what has been achieved through the incredible fund raising and generous donations of you all, the efforts of the trustees and the volunteers over the past year, and the joint work with organisations such as Project Galle 2005 and 2006.   Thank you all.

From the financial accounts you will be able to see how much money was spent per project, as well as how much of your money was spent directly on projects compared to organisational costs (which have been minimal).

It looks to be a beautiful document, and testimony to the achievements of the last year and a half.  We have found it very moving to look back and create a narrative that means so much to so many.

 

Permanent Housing Re-builds:

Since January 2006 we have been financing a number of re-builds (repairing houses damaged by the Tsunami) in the Galle region.  This has been through Dave Cooper of Project Galle 2006.  Project Galle thoroughly vet each home owner and produce individual housing contracts specifying the nature and cost of the repair work.

From this project we have already received a number of thank you letters, for which we are grateful. 

Right from the beginning, we had always wanted to contribute towards housing needs, and we are grateful to PG06 for enabling us to do so.  The government, too, has now lifted its ban against rebuilding within 100 metres of the sea.

We have already posted photos on the website of some of the homes being re-built with FOU money.  Our annual report includes copies of two thank you letters.

 

Future of FOU:

As we are now winding down, we are no longer receiving donations.  The remainder of our money will continue to go to the PG06 Permanent Housing Project, with enough held back to cover accounting costs for the year 2006.  Although FOU will continue to exist for the remainder of the year, we will not be active.  People who wish to continue to contribute to the regeneration of Unawatuna and the surrounding area can do so through other organisations such as Project Galle 2006, Friends of the South, and Adopt Sri Lanka.

 

Goodbye:

A BIG thank you to Jake, who has now left Project Galle and is working for Oxfam in Banda Aceh.  He is still a trustee for FOU, but we can no longer look forward to his emailed updates from Unawatuna.  We wish him much joy in his chosen path.

 

Please look out for the annual report in the next few weeks.  It’s an impressive document and makes us all proud!

 

Thanks to all of you, as always.

 

With warm regards,

 

Friends of Unawatuna

Jake Zarins,

Jon Walter,

Tanya Smart,

Matt Rose,

Nick Keegan,

Tine Desoutter,

Tarquin Desoutter.