Tucker plans direct aid of food and supplies after meeting with local Serendib members

January 13, 2005

Today I visited Ratnapura from Colombo, departing from the VeAhvta team to take a few days leave and work with the Serendib Sri Lanka team. After speaking with one of the directors of Serendib in Washington we have decided that having the teachers, resource persons, and some of the senior students involved in a direct, hands-on relief effort would be the next logical step.

We held an emergency meeting this afternoon of the core members of the Serendib Sri Lanka members in Ratnapura – in order to decide what the best course of action would be for a potential relief effort. It was decided after considerable discussion that there are some areas in Sri Lanka where the aid (both foreign and government) is not reaching due to both political and transportation difficulties.

We then concluded that purchasing some much needed items – especially clothing and school supplies for children, but food as well included – would be the most efficient and meaningful way for us to make a difference and help those affected by the tsunami. The location we chose is a town slightly to the north of Vavuniya, Kilinochchi. We plan to depart from Ratnapura at 6 a.m. tomorrow, and we should reach our destination by mid day. The journey will be broken into two days.

Tucker

[Webmaster Note: the following pictures accompanied this report; and show local Serendib representatives buying food & supplies for direct delivery in Kilinochchi]