Onward to the devastated eastern coast: Tucker's Jan 28th Report

Friday, January 28, 2005


Today we departed Ratnapura as planned at about 8 a.m. with approximately 20 members of the Serendib Sri Lanka team. As it was a short journey, and our work at the refugee camp outside of Dikwella was not scheduled to begin until 3 p.m., we counted on making our way without too much of a rush down to the southern coast – only four hours away.

With 250 school bags in tow, we began to discuss the strategy for distributing these items in such a short time period. Given the results of yesterdays’ reconnaissance mission – that only one camp with 85 students seemed to be a suitable stopping point for our activities – we were somewhat worried about locating additional places where we could both work with the children and distribute goods to the neediest areas.

Our fears were confirmed upon reaching Matara, where most of the refugee camps were disbanded and the biggest problem facing humanitarian teams is identifying those who are truly in need. This stem from the fact that (in these areas of the Southern Province, at least) many people have been resettled into neighbor’s and friends’ homes. They only return to the camps when aid is distributed or at mealtimes. The rest of the day the children are at school and the parents are busy rebuilding the remains of their homes. As mentioned, we took a decision as a team not to inform camp authorities in advance of our intent to distribute school bags. This helps us to cut down on confusion and ensure that the goods are given to the truly deserving kids, and not those who may be coming from outside the Camp.

We arrived in Dikwella and began our program at about 3 p.m., and everything was going well. We were teaching the children songs and games, and had finished our arts and crafts session and started the balloon toss when another Swiss aid team arrived with a distribution of school bags. This confirmed the preliminary findings of the reconnaissance team yesterday which showed that most of the children in the Southern provincial areas from Hambantota to Matara are having their needs met by a coordination of efforts from the public, private and international sector.

After a brief discussion among the members of the Serendib Sri Lanka team, we decided it meet to continue along the coastline to the eastern shores of Sri Lanka – specifically Pottuvil, and Panama, where some of the greatest devastation had been wrought and the fewest number of humanitarian relief teams had been able to visit. As a result, we concluded, the school supplies would be delivered to the hands of the children in Sri Lanka who most needed them, yet who were least likely to receive them from any donor source.

We are presently dining in Tissamaharama, and will most likely stop for the night in Kataragama, one of the religious sites in Sri Lanka, before beginning our journey anew at 3 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Tucker

[Webmaster's Note: The following pictures relate to this Report]