T-21
I have decided that at the pace I am going, I will never tell the whole story, so I am going to pick out what I consider the more interesting days, and post those so that you (the reader) has something to read!
Today was an awesome day! I finally got to go out into the field. Till now I have been working almost exclusively with VolunteerSriLanka.org (VSL), primarily as their webdeveloper, though I have no real previous webdesign experience. So I have been in Colombo since I arrived, spending my time at the World Trade Centre in Microsoft’s office, which is hosting VSL.
But today was different. Hugh Turral from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), had followed up on my lead for the 4x4 Club and had got them in touch with the MapAction group. Yesterday, Saturday, one of the 4x4 Club members had gone down south on a trip, and had agreed to map out as many IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps as possible, and do a quick survey to find out how many people are in them, what they have and need, etc.
Today, two other members of the 4x4 Club offered to do the same, but closer to Colombo, only about an hour south, and they had invited me along for the ride, so I went with them.
I went in a Landrover owned by Indika Perera. His father-in-law, a former Sri Lankan diplomat, also came along. It was an awesome trip.
In total, we visited about a dozen camps in one District, a Sri Lankan administrative unit. Some of the photos I took are on the blog.
We first visited the District Secretary’s office, the local government official. He was quite glad for our assistance and quickly gave us the details they had for the camps that were existing in the District, including a map they had drawn by hand.
The first camp we went to, I was very much the white guy in a Land Rover. Everyone rushed over to see what was going on, what we were bringing, etc. But Indika and his father-in-law quickly took over and did an excellent job of getting the data.
At the second camp, quite a crowd also showed up, but about half of them dispersed once they found out we were not handing anything out. We then told that most of those who had gone were not actually tsunami affected people living in the camps, but had just come to get free handouts!
Some of the camps were in fairly good condition, with regular visits and assistance from NGOs, the government, etc., but others were not. Many of the camps are located in Buddhist Temples, while a few are located in government facilities, like schools. The people staying in schools are in the process of being relocated because the schools need to reopen. Luckily the tsunami struck during the Christmas break so schools were not being used, but the semester has already started and they need to get the kids back in school so they don’t lose anymore time.
I was struck by the devastion we saw. I think when I go to Trincomalee, I will be affected even more because I have something to compare it too, while here I just see the devastion but don’t know what it looked like before.
It was very strange – many of the areas we visited the destruction seemed almost whimisical – one housed would be a pile of rubble, and the one next to it would be fine. This area was actually only affected compared to further south. I can’t even begin to imagine what that is like.
After we got back, I had dinner with the MapAction people still here. It was a nice little seafood restaurant that I had eaten at when I was here before. And at dinner I had my first discussion on why I don’t drink alchohol, coffee or tea, or smoke.
Today was an awesome day! I finally got to go out into the field. Till now I have been working almost exclusively with VolunteerSriLanka.org (VSL), primarily as their webdeveloper, though I have no real previous webdesign experience. So I have been in Colombo since I arrived, spending my time at the World Trade Centre in Microsoft’s office, which is hosting VSL.
But today was different. Hugh Turral from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), had followed up on my lead for the 4x4 Club and had got them in touch with the MapAction group. Yesterday, Saturday, one of the 4x4 Club members had gone down south on a trip, and had agreed to map out as many IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps as possible, and do a quick survey to find out how many people are in them, what they have and need, etc.
Today, two other members of the 4x4 Club offered to do the same, but closer to Colombo, only about an hour south, and they had invited me along for the ride, so I went with them.
I went in a Landrover owned by Indika Perera. His father-in-law, a former Sri Lankan diplomat, also came along. It was an awesome trip.
In total, we visited about a dozen camps in one District, a Sri Lankan administrative unit. Some of the photos I took are on the blog.
We first visited the District Secretary’s office, the local government official. He was quite glad for our assistance and quickly gave us the details they had for the camps that were existing in the District, including a map they had drawn by hand.
The first camp we went to, I was very much the white guy in a Land Rover. Everyone rushed over to see what was going on, what we were bringing, etc. But Indika and his father-in-law quickly took over and did an excellent job of getting the data.
At the second camp, quite a crowd also showed up, but about half of them dispersed once they found out we were not handing anything out. We then told that most of those who had gone were not actually tsunami affected people living in the camps, but had just come to get free handouts!
Some of the camps were in fairly good condition, with regular visits and assistance from NGOs, the government, etc., but others were not. Many of the camps are located in Buddhist Temples, while a few are located in government facilities, like schools. The people staying in schools are in the process of being relocated because the schools need to reopen. Luckily the tsunami struck during the Christmas break so schools were not being used, but the semester has already started and they need to get the kids back in school so they don’t lose anymore time.
I was struck by the devastion we saw. I think when I go to Trincomalee, I will be affected even more because I have something to compare it too, while here I just see the devastion but don’t know what it looked like before.
It was very strange – many of the areas we visited the destruction seemed almost whimisical – one housed would be a pile of rubble, and the one next to it would be fine. This area was actually only affected compared to further south. I can’t even begin to imagine what that is like.
After we got back, I had dinner with the MapAction people still here. It was a nice little seafood restaurant that I had eaten at when I was here before. And at dinner I had my first discussion on why I don’t drink alchohol, coffee or tea, or smoke.
posted by Jason A. Smith at 10:32 PM
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