Dear Friends,
Early in February I traveled to Sri Lanka as a volunteer under the auspices of
a group called First Aid for Feelings. The mission of this organization is to
do long term grief and loss work with children, and this trip was organized to
complete an initial assessment of the psychosocial needs of children and
families affected by the tsunami. Having just returned from this devastated
nation of Sri Lanka, 9,000 miles away, I want to share my experiences and
observations with you. But first, let me express my deep gratitude to each and
every one of you who donated money, said prayers, kept good thoughts for us, or
spread the word in support of the trip. Now, I must tell you some of
the story.
After days of final preparation and the packing of donated supplies, followed
by more than 20 hours of flight time, eight other volunteers and I arrived in
Sri Lanka to begin eight long days of work and ground travel. We
were afforded the honor and opportunity of being hosted by and traveling with
the Chief Monk and Director of the Sri Subodharama Buddhist Centre (SSBC) and
Monastery. We went to the southern and eastern coast of Sri Lanka,
as he and his fellow monks and monastery friends facilitated our efforts in
working with children affected by the tsunami. Two very special friends of the
monastery traveling with us were practicing physicians from the University of
Peradeniya near Kandy.
On this first trip we traveled to nine different refugee camps, gathering as
much information as we could on the needs of children and families; learning
how children are integrating the trauma of the tsunami and beginning to plan
how we might offer on-going support for children. Each and every one
of us on this journey has been forever changed by the experience, deeply
affected by both the extreme beauty of the landscape and the amazing people of
Sri Lanka, as well as the evidence of the extreme devastation and destruction
that surrounded us in the aftermath, a full six weeks out.
Before leaving America, we had been assured that organized efforts were fully
underway regarding the implementation of assistance in meeting the basic needs
of those affected by the tsunami. What we found instead was
community after community completely lacking in any adequate medical attention,
nutrition, and most strikingly, shelter. Beyond the obvious need for grief
counseling, it was impossible to ignore the compelling need for housing and
other assistance for families to regain their independence and
safety. We encountered thousands of people living in canvas tents,
their homes destroyed, most often having literally disappeared, along with all
their belongings, and too often with the added and horrible loss of family and
loved ones.
A short puppet show was developed with input from grief and loss experts and
the wise advice of the Sri Lankan physicians traveling with
us. Beautiful therapeutic puppets donated by Folkmanis Puppets and
Sunny Puppets were used, all animals indigenous to Sri Lanka, and the show
served as an excellent means of establishing a friendly connection with the
children we met, and a wonderful way to open the discussion of grief and loss
and the tsunami. Without fail, and without prompting, every time we
produced paper and crayons we immediately observed hundreds of little hands
drawing pictures of ocean waves and bodies, of destruction and
loss. And unlike our usual experience with children who so often
want to keep their art work, these children were insisting that we take their
pictures, which serve as their stories, with us. And so we did,
knowing that these children need to be able to tell their stories, and
understanding their need for us to help them.
So while work will be done to establish a grief curriculum in partnership with
the Sri Lankan doctors we had the incredible good fortune to collaborate with,
several of us have returned with the humbling job of spreading the word to as
many as we can about the essential need for housing. We were privileged to
witness first hand the review of the blueprints for well-constructed homes that
are already planned and designed by extremely gifted and experienced volunteers
in Sri Lanka (see the monastery website below for all details). We had the
opportunity to see and walk on the land where a hundred houses are soon to be
built near Hambantota. We were exceptionally humbled to be working with such
compassionate and selfless people who are donating their professional time and
skill to the SSBC effort. The Sri Lanka government has donated the land to
build thousands of houses and will cover 50% of the labor costs for each
house. In addition, the design and plan development for these tracts
of homes have been donated by a well-respected professional engineering and
construction company. Each home, that could cost over $7500 US
dollars to build, will be constructed for less than $4000 due to this
generosity. This $4,000 is needed to pay for the materials and for
the skilled labor necessary to build these sturdy and modest houses (550 square
feet for a family). Any donated money will help with the urgently
needed housing for these people, and there are other benefits, too.
Money for this effort will provide Sri Lankans with jobs (at $5 a day) which
will enable them to care for their families, and when they have jobs they will
purchase food and clothes and school supplies, etc., all which will help in
getting their local and national economies back on track. In
addition, it will also afford the people of Sri Lanka the dignity of rebuilding
their own communities, which they are very willing, and in fact desire, to
do. Any help can lead to a quicker return to independence and to
more normal life for these hard working and hopeful people.
Every dollar can be life-changing, yet the timing of this fund-raising is
critically urgent. There is need for 85-90,000 houses for the 500,000 made
homeless by the tsunami. When the monsoon season begins in late
April, the physicians tell us that the people living in tents will be extremely
vulnerable to the quick spread of disease with the flooding, and as a result,
more death will occur. On behalf of our friends at SSBC, in honor of
their great work and true service to the people of Sri Lanka, and on account of
the hundreds of refugees who challenged us to never forget, I ask all who read
this to consider contributing to this housing effort, in whatever way you find
yourself able -- sending this letter to other friends; considering a fund
raiser of any kind with churches, schools, offices, neighborhoods; talking
about the on-going need, or contacting an agency you may have already
contributed to and asking about how funds are being directed can all
help. If I can be of any help with ideas or actual assistance by
speaking and showing pictures, please call or write me.
For more information on this please visit the website of our friends at the Sri
Subodharama Buddhist Centre (SSBC),
www.subodha.org. Here
you will find complete plans and great detail about this project.
Though you may make a direct contribution to the monastery in Sri Lanka, you
may find it more convenient to contribute to their affiliated monastery here in
America (www.triplegem.org). You can send a
tax-deductible check to:
Triple Gem of the North PO Box 323 St. Peter, MN 56082
Or make a secure on-line payment at www.triplegem.org.
The amazingly gracious people of Sri Lanka that escorted us on our journey
expressed time and again their profound gratitude for our
assistance. On their behalf, I ask for yours. The people
of Sri Lanka, ravaged by the destruction of the tsunami, demonstrate remarkable
resilience and courage, so many still with such great hope, yet with such great
need. In the aftermath of the greatest natural disaster of our time comes the
opportunity to help rebuild and repair, to heal and begin again.
Humbly, Rita Thetford Bostick