A big thank you to all of you for making this trip possible. Your encouraging
words and financial help means so much to me.
Today Laura (my daughter) and I went to get a load of medical supplies. One
day when I was at work I heard a co-worker say that he was going to China to
do some volunteer work with a medical team that does heart surgeries on children.
I told him about my plans to go to S.L. He gave me the phone number for Dr.
McDonald who organizes medical supplies donated from hospitals and distributes
them to various charitable groups. A rotary club pays for the storage of the
supplies. When Laura and I got to the warehouse we were surprised at the size
of the operation. It was very organized. Several thousand boxes. He welcomed
us to take whatever we thought we could use. He was very experienced at packing
and we managed to get about 20-30 boxes in the Explorer. Shampoo, ambu bags,
ace bandages, stethoscopes, sutures, crutches and so much more.
We were very touched by the generosity. Laura said, "See the difference one person can make". That is so true. From a small seed comes a whole forest. This venture started with Evan just a little more then 2 months ago. Now there are hundreds of people involved and thousands of life's in Sri Lanka have already been changed.
Last night Group 2 met at Whole Foods in Minneapolis. Group 1 returned on Monday after 30 days in SL. They shared some of their experiences with us. They spent a very stressful first week touring and deciding how they could best use their resources. They decided on a village about 60 miles from the "farm" where they were staying. The village had 112 home destroyed. It also was a place that Evan lived when he was a child. When they first went to the village the people were very depressed and lethargic. They were still grieving, by the 2nd week the villagers were working along side the "yellow shirts" (all Help Sri Lanka volunteers have to wear a yellow shirt). By the 3rd week there was singing and joking. They loved the "yellow shirts". When it was time for the group to leave many houses were rebuilt, a community center was close to completion and the ground work for a play ground was done. Hundreds of children and adults had been treated for medical conditions, lots of wounds, dehydration, diabetes, there were burns and heart problems. Hundreds of children were learning to speak some English, which will always benefit them. The language in SL is Singhalese.
The 1st group paved the way for all future groups. The goal is to rebuild 112 houses and help the community find a way to be self sustaining. There will be new groups leaving every month for a year.
Saturday we will be packing our supplies. The airlines is allowing 2 extra boxes per person. We will fly out on Tuesday at 1:15pm go to Detroit, Frankfurt then SL. It will take about 27 hours.
I look forward to hearing from you!
sue
The long awaited for day is finally here. I've done so much preparing that I have time to sit at the computer this morning. Shouldn't I be running around like a chicken with my head cut off?
Jeff has left for work and Shawn is off for school. It is hard to say good bye.
Laura (my daughter) will be taking me to the airport. We meet at the airport at 10am, there are 35 of us with tons of boxes and luggage. Our flight leaves at 115pm NWA to Detroit, then to Frankfurt. We will get on Sri Lanka airlines in Frankfurt to Columbo (capital of Sri Lanka). We are scheduled to arrive at 430am Thursday morning. That is Wed 430pm in MN. The orphanage that we will be staying in is very close to the airport. We were advised to bring ear plugs for sleeping at night.
I will write when I have a chance. I look forward to hearing from you.
Love, Susie
First of all a few clarifications.
Singhalese is the language spoken here.
Sri Lanka is an island off the eastern tip of India.
The people are divided by religion. Buddhist, Muslim and Christian.
Moratuwa is south of the capitol Columbo, the Village is an area within Moratuwa like uptown is to Minneapolis the village is where the 112 houses are being built.
I am part of the medical team. We will go to different areas because the people in Moratuwa have been cared for by group 1. They are what we call in a maintenance mode.
The village is where we build the houses the farm is where we stay.
OK on with the story.
Sri Lankan time=slow,hurry up and wait and 12 hours ahead of you in Minnesota.
It was amazing to be flying over other countries that I only hear about on the news, right over Baghdad. We fly so high that there is nothing to worry about.
Some of us feared Sri Lanka airlines but we were surprised, nice plane, beautiful flight attendants, beautiful long dresses, dark hair that starts much closer down the forehead and pulled back in tight buns. Pretty emerald earrings and necklaces. Always smiling and ready to assist. Lots of good meals.
When we landed in Columbo it was warm, humid, new smells, maybe bleach used for cleaning. It took 1-2 hours to get through customs. Lots (70+) of boxes. Then outside we all paraded to get on the bus. Horns honking, people everywhere. Lots of beautiful flowers.
Prior to going outside we all gathered. Evan said "What are we here for?" We replied "to spread love". "how do we do that?" "With our smiles." And that has become our mission.
We boarded our bus, traveling on the opposite side of the road. We passed an air force base that was guarded by a men with rifles. It continued for blocks, there were walls made with sand bags that made a little fort for an armed guard. Walls with barb wire fences. Horns honking, no grass in yard, cheap hotels (which we learned had no rooms to rent only some food to sell). Not far from the airport we took a left down a very narrow road. Greenery scraping the sides of the bus. There were cows scattered here and there, stray skinny dogs. Tall palm trees, coconuts, fish ponds, we approached the farm, it is welcoming, smiling faces from the dark skinned men and women.
The structure is mainly cement white with red floor and trim, lots of bougainvillea, pink, white, purple. The cricket, frogs and other creatures are having a concert. The never take a break.
We all eat together, round tables with table clothes. Buffet style, there is hot water for tea, coffee, rice milk, curry sauce, something sweet that resembles brown sugar which was called sweet coconut, good pineapple,... It is all very tasty. After the meal we started sorting out the 70 boxes of donations. It was overwhelming. Big boxes of toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo,... lots of medical supplies, boxes of stuffed animals, clothes, back packs. It was amazing. We got allot done in a couple hours.
3 people stayed here from group 1. A leader from each area. We were able to spend a little time talking with them.
I got some good advice from another team member. She says don't look at the whole month, it will make you home sick. Just go day by day so you can get the most out of the experience. That will be a goal for me.
It rained last night. I slept so good, when I awoke it was to the sounds of the jungle, frogs, birds and a frog that sounds just like a goat. In the morning we met for breakfast, hard boiled eggs, rice,curry sauce, yummy papaya and mango, lefse type bread, baked bread. Just way too much and very tasty. I continue to try not to eat the sugars and not too much bread. But that's not easy. Plenty of bottled water and hot tea.
We had another meeting after breakfast, we tried to learn some Singhalese. I didn't do too bad in the classroom, but by the time I needed it I couldn't remember a word.
We had to hurry and make gift bags for the village families. Then we piled in the very crowded bus and took off for the CSR office in Columbo. (CSR is the organization that owns the farm)
The driving is absolutely crazy. Three wheelers, motorcycles, cars, vans, buses all weaving in and out horns honking. There are open market type shops lining street after street lots of people milling around. Not a lot of people buying. Each time we go somewhere we get to know a few more people. Because we spend so much time sitting next to them on the bus.
We had lunch at CSR, cheese sandwich, fish balls and veggie pocket. Father Tessa spoke to us and encouraged us to reflect on a few things and another man talked about the needs of a village in N Columbo. Then it was back in the bus. The village is about 30 miles from the farm but it takes 2+ hours to get there.
As we approach the village rubble is everywhere from the tsunami. People greet us as we exit the bus. They have flowers and leis for us. We sit in chairs as a group and the villagers are across from us. Some young girls sing and dance for us. A young boy plays the drum. It is very sweet. The girls are dressed in colorful outfits, they wear a little make up and they have big smiles. They serve us cake, pop and bananas. Then it is time for gift giving. They are called up by family and we hand them bags with 6 or 7 items. Tooth brushes and paste, combs, small toys, stuffed animals, frisbees.
People from the surrounding villages are coming also. We have no gifts for them. Things start to get ugly. The army is there. They also carry guns. I walked out of the community center as the crowd started closing in.
I was more interested in the people who were not being helped. They were circling around wanting to touch and talk to a yellow shirt(that's us we always wear our help sri lanka.us when we go out). I held a baby then I was reminded they wear no diapers. Boys and girls approached me, "nama?"they say, Sue i say and they giggle. A young man was touching me a little too much and I quickly walked away. There were many faces and names, I remember not even one name.
We walked down recently named minnesota street, very narrow dirt path, cement block homes closely lined the streets. the block was being made for the homes right there in someone's house.
I didn't enjoy the gift giving time, what we gave them wasn't enough to make a difference and so many were left out. I think we could have used the gifts as rewards for work done.
It was dark when we headed back. You couldn't see out of the darkened window, the traffic was atrocious, it took 3+ hours to get back to the farm. The bus driver got a ticket for weaving in and out of traffic.
Just as we finally approached the farm we went in the ditch, fortunately he backed the bus up and drove right out. It was late, I decided to skip dinner and just have some apricots and nuts that I had brought with me from home.
"Great men plant seeds that they know they will never see the shade
of."
- Greek saying
We didn't take a bus on Sat. at all it was a time for planning and reflection. We did some group stuff, I was assigned to the medical team.
Father Tessa spoke of the difference between religion (structure) and spirituality (within).
We decided to plant trees in the village. 35 one for each of us. I love this idea.
We had a worship service. some folks from the east coast of SL who experienced total destruction came to speak to us it was heart breaking, their area was accessible by bridge, the bridge was washed out, many orphans and childless parents.
We offered something from nature, during our service I offered a rock and a prayer for a solid foundation for these devastated people. Many beautiful prayers and offerings. We were on the roof top of the farm.
Then we went to the orphanage at the farm, the children sang, danced and we did the same.
Yesterday we had a great time in Kandy, which is several hours east of here. We went to an elephant orphanage, fun to see elephants bathing in the river. Many had been hurt, shot by hunters. missing a leg, blind, not too pretty. They make pachyderm paper at the orphanage. It is recycled elephant dung. ick
Then to the spice farm, some massages, and oils. I bought some saffron, curry and some other items. We also went to a very old Buddhist temple.
Got back to the farm late and dinner was waiting for us.
The next day we started to work. Went to a little preschool north of the village and I learned to be a wound care nurse. The wounds weren't deep, just dirty, lots of flies. The room we worked in was small.
Some of the children are in school, a uniform, shoes and backpack is required. Someone in our group is going to sponsor that for many children. it costs about $10 each. In the afternoon the med team and teachers went to a school that was housing 275 people that totally lost their homes. We handed out stickers and played balls with the kids. Many families lived in one room. There were lots of flies. They did the best they could for what they had to work with. 3/4 of the people were at work. Some government workers were there handing out a monthly allotment to tsunami victims. 5000 rupees $50 month. The workers make $1-3 a day.
We went back to the village and played with children. A circle game counting to ten. Then to the ocean, across the tracks, there is rubble and total destruction. The government says no building allowed, too close to the water. The people stay and live where they can, lean-to's. The children are beautiful. The ocean is beautiful. I look out at the Indian ocean and I think how can something so beautiful be so very harsh?
A child approaches me and gives me a shell another girl with long dark hair shows me her hair is messy I give her my hair tie. She is happy. It doesn't take much.
We have translators with us most of the time when we are working with the people.
A few words.
Thoos tiy= thank you
Nama= name
Gama= home
It is total chaos trying to get in to the vans in the morning. There are 35 of us and supplies. It is so funny to me how something so simple can be so difficult. Who should ride with who, who will we pick up. So far I have just gone with the flow. What else can you do?
My medical team went across the tracks from the village and set up a little work area. I saw a few patients. an old man who smoked had crackly lung sounds and wheezes, I gave him a few puffs of an albuterol inhaler. A young man with bad cracked dry skin open sores with flies, I washed and applied ointment and bandage. We walked around looking for other possible medical sites. Arafat Muslim school north of the village is where we will go in a few days. Everything is so dirty.
On the long ride back to the farm this pm the van over heated in a heavy populated area, banks, stores, traffic. We pulled over all 12 of us got out it was very busy street, bumper to bumper, window to window, tight. We all had on our yellow t shirts. People passing by smiling, waving and laughing we were such a sight. Our shirts say Help Sri Lanka.us, we pulled the sides together so the shirt just said Help.us, we took photos, there was a bull cow grazing in the small patch of grass next to the bank. An old skinny dark dirty cracked barefoot man had the bull on a leash, right next to the busy paved road. An ice cream man came by and one of the gals bought us all ice cream. The van driver used our bottled water to fill the radiator, and then he dropped the radiator cap in the engine and took a long time to find it. But alls well that ends well. We made it back safely with another story to tell.
I'll sign off for now. I had to come to the computer lab at 330am to get a chance to use the computer for this long. I'll try again next week. The availability is sporadic.
Love sue
We went to the Negombo Hospital today, so interesting, it's a government hospital. 450 occupied beds, 1000 people seen in the clinic by 14 docs per day. Nurses earn 16000R ($160/month). In the NICU there were servo 300 ventilators, that is high tech, i assume they were donated maybe by siemens. 6 babies were born within the last few hours, all in 1 crib with a heat lamp hanging over them and it was already very hot in there I can’t imagine why they would need a heat lamp. They were so cute, they looked like a litter of puppies. Laboring mothers lined up on gurneys right next to each other, they had their street clothes on. Maybe that's why all the women wear dresses. Easier to give birth. The babies had strings with paper circles on them with a number that matched their mothers, that was the only identification.
So many people and this hospital was big and old.
We drove by the ocean, 50+ fishing boats at sea, rectangular sails for power. There were skinny silver fish laid out all over the beach on tarps. They looked like they were drying them in the sun.
I was green.
I woke up in the am feeling queasy and I ate a light breakfast, coffee, a little banana and peanut butter on a crepe. Hopped in the van and headed for the village.
On the way we saw the funniest site in the midst of all the traffic, right in the middle of the road 2 dogs were aggressively mating and one dog watching them/or maybe waiting for his turn. ha ha
Remember that the ride is very bumpy and congested, 2 hours later we stopped at the hotel close to the village so i could use the bathroom, where I proceeded to throw up (i won't be descriptive). I felt better so I went along to the village, when we arrived we went to a Muslim school where we were told a few days ago that they needed care. The buildings are set up around a courtyard and there are classes in session. The class rooms are open and the children are all looking at us. They are dressed in uniforms, mostly white shirts and blue shorts. A teacher comes out and tells us she is sorry but the principal is not here and we need to get permission from him to set up camp. So we get back in the van and head back to the village. In the village in addition to the houses that are being constructed is a community center. It is a large, structure with metal beams holding up a tin roof. There is a stage and seating area. The building crew is working on the cement wall around the perimeter it will go up a few feet. They are using this beautiful dark granite, that is broken up into basket ball size chunks, by workers swinging mallets. But then they cover that up with cement and paint it, what a pity.
Anyway now that we are back at the village I am feeling sick again, weak, light headed, I feel like i might pass out. Our van driver takes me to a hotel it is where the builders stay, only about 10 min. from the village. A few of the ladies from the group have a room there, so I go to sleep for an hour or so and i feel a little better. i spent the rest of the afternoon reading The O'Reilly Factor. i sat on the balcony over looking the ocean. nice. i felt a little better as the day went on. When I got back to the farm that eve i had an english muffin with peanut butter and felt sick again so i went to bed. Sweaty and achy not fun. Slept thru the night.
Not quite myself yet, still weak and foggy headed (ok so what else is new) but i decided to join the medical team. I had arranged for a doc from Negombo hospital to take us to a refuge camp.
The camp was set up by the Red Cross, it's very organized, most of the tsunami victims here are educated. It is in an enclosed area, cement wall around it. There are armed guards at the gate. The doc talks to the guards and they let us in. There are canvas tents everywhere, but in a very organized fashion. A first aid area is avail. We treat wounds, hand out medication, tooth brushes, stickers, whatever we have.
It is a very interesting experience. The children love the attention, we practice counting and doing our colors. They try to teach me new words and laugh at my feeble attempts. i laugh too. After we saw maybe 100 people. We closed up shop and plan to return again next fri. We will go to another camp with the doc also.
Off to Mother Teresa's orphanage in Columbo. There are many locations throughout the world.
As the bus pulled in there were about 10 children playing at a small playground that was enclosed by a chain link fence. They ranged in age from 4-7 yr old. the children ran to the fence and waved and yelled to us. The facility is old, it looks like the 50s. A lot of small rooms surrounding courtyards. Statues of Mother Teresa, Jesus and Mary were placed throughout. There were about 100 children there we saw only 25. Most of the children had short hair, but they still had a problem with head lice. Laughing, crying, runny noses, just like our children. There was an area for children with medical needs. A few babies with hydrocephalic heads, cleft palates and other anomalies. I was drawn to this poor child laying on a baby blanket under a screen shield. It's a net on a small collapsible frame that opens up like a small umbrella. it was pink with a few ruffles. Used to keep the flies off.
This baby was hydrocephalic, blind, cleft palate, deformed hand and foot. And those were just the obvious. She was about 6 months old. I just can't imagine how that baby could still be alive. Anyway I thought the baby needed to be touched, and because I see children like this at work I am comfortable to do that. So i spent most of my time talking to and touching that baby. On the way out I noticed that the little bikes and trikes had a lot of rough edges and broken metal. We are so safety conscious in our society that all of theses things seem so dangerous to me.
A dirty long gray haired man approached me. He was trying to get a comb or brush from me, motioning with his fingers thru his hair. I was digging through my back pack to get my hair brush to give him and a nun approached, when he saw her he acted like he didn't want it, so I assume he was not suppose to be there begging, a few moments later the nun brought some bread and water to him.
In the bus again, I felt sad as we pulled away from the orphanage. We drove down the coast to the more affected tsunami disaster areas. The further south we went the greater the destruction. There were red cross tents scattered around. so much clean up work had been done, some houses were being rebuilt. Red Cross tents are light colored canvas with the Red Cross on them. They look like 8 man tents, thick ropes and wooden stakes anchoring them down.
There were still some broken fishing boats scattered around maybe 100 meters from the shore line. The boats are colorful here, blues, reds, yellow wooden deep hulled fishing boats. Old nets scattered around.
Every time we get out of the bus people come to us young, old, weak, strong, children with smiles, adults with vacant eyes.
We stop at a Red Cross camp in Hicadu, I am told by one of the women in this village that 700 people from this area perished. Leaving many children and parents, friends and neighbors totally broken hearted. We had planned on administering medical care and giving out supplies, that is what group 1 had done. But now the camp is more organized and all supplies are being handled by the Buddhist monks at the temple. so we give them some supplies, and walk around that village. a woman gets my attention she is very friendly, and speaks a little English. She takes a few of us to her new home. There are many of temporary structures. Small cabin like, 5x5 meters, an entry way, no door and no windows, there are made out of rough cut 2x4s. This lady Priada, has a son and daughter. Her and her husband had a small grocery store. Now they have a wooden table with a few items for sale, lemon puff cookies (one of my new down falls), coca cola, small containers of laundry soap, hand soap, something that looks like beef jerky(scary) and a few brooms. She shows us her destroyed home, water completely engulfed it, the roof has collapsed in many areas as did the cement walls, she is so grateful not to have lost any of her family. She tells me they had a warning, the police came through with bull horn saying to run to the temple, which is on higher ground. So she grabbed her children and ran, just in time.
Out of no where a young boy shows up with ice cream cones for sale and Evan buys some for 100+ people.
A truck was there at the temple delivering food rations. They were in plastic
grocery bag, white with Singhalese writing on it. There was a big bag of rice,
a few canned goods, spaghetti noodles just to name a few. Apparently there items
were donated by foreign aid agencies, Australians, Japanese and others. This
truck was packed full, maybe 2000 bags, we formed 2 lines, yellow shirts and
Sri Lankans, more women and a few men. We very quickly passed the bags
from one another and emptied the truck in 20 minutes. It was a very rewarding
experience, working side by side with everyone, laughing and cheering. Moments
like these just don't come easily, it made me feel unity and commonness with
people that are so far away and so different from us, but still so much the
same.
Back in the bus, down the road just a short way, police cars and a line of new
vehicles pass us, it was a group of officials from Vietnam. We are approaching
the area where 2000 people were killed on the train. Somberness is heavy in
the air, people are quiet, the rail tracks have been replaced and 3 cars of
the train are back on the track. I believe as a memorial, faded red cars, dented,
smashed, very eery, the train was old it reminded me of a train I saw on the
movie Shawshank Redemption. I wondered where all the people were going so early
on a Sun. morning. Who were they?
We talked to some Sri Lankans, people who had lost family on the train 4 ladies each had lost several fathers, husbands, sisters and children. I talked to an 11 yr old boy who lost his 4 and 7 yr old sisters. What they said was as the warnings came they ran to the train thinking it was higher ground.
Back to the bus for a long ride to the farm.
A group of us walked to a catholic church this morning, we got there a little
late because we couldn't figure out what time it started. It must have been
730am because we got there before 8am. The mass was in Singhalese. Palm Sunday,
the church was overflowing 100 + people outside in addition to the several hundred
inside. We were in the shade, outside and sweat was already dripping off our
faces. The building was beautiful, statues and crucifixes. Once again back to
the 1950s. The women had lace doilies on their heads.
Sunday is our day off, so we went to a very nice beach not too far from the
farm in the city of Negombo. We pd 800 rupees for the use of the pool, beach,
towels and lunch buffet. Not a bad deal seeing the buffet was fit for a king.
They really go all out on the food around here. Various rice, curries, veggies,
salads, fruits, breads, soup and deserts. Upscale old country buffet.
I applied sun screen that the girls from work gave me, but I didn't reapply after swimming. I bought a green sundress from a beach vendor, later on that evening when I put the dress on they said all I needed was a star on my head and I would look like a Christmas tree all red and green.
The really cool thing we did was rent a catamaran. The boat was hand made with unfinished huge logs with such a simple design it was amazing, big rectangle sails that the Sri Lankan men handled so gracefully. The water was perfect, a nice wind and we were off. We were out about 45 min. 5 of us on each boat. 550rs not bad.
The beach vendors had various things, lots of fabrics, most unusual was a small trained monkey. He climbed on top of one of the gal’s heads, and just sat up there and played with her hair.
It was a good day, until I got back to the farm and there were a couple of big guys in my bathroom, big brown spider and big cockroach. I just worked around them.
Back to work, we run into road blocks occasionally as a medical group. As you probably have figured out there really isn't much critical care for us to work on. We do a lot of washing of wounds, applying antibiotic ointment and bandaging.
We had plans to work in one village but they didn't need our services at this time, so back in the van to peddle our wares to another village. We ended up at a refuge camp in north Colombo. These people lived along a canal that runs into the Indian Ocean. As the giant waves came, water rushed up the canal and flooded out 100s of homes. The homes were very closely spaced and didn't look too good in the first place. The place was a mess. So all the people were housed in the tents and temporary shelters were being built. They had a decent place for us to work in the shade, a few old tables, a few young men grabbed a 2x4 and repaired a bench. The people started lining up while we wait, we sing songs with the kids. Row row row your boat is starting to get old. ha ha
We’re going to have to come up with something better. Anyway the kids are happy singing and clapping, next they are singing jingle bells, I enjoy this time. We spend a few hours doing medical work and we're off. The driving is very time consuming. We are really getting to know one another.
Wow I can't believe it's the start of week 3. Time goes by so quickly. We are always busy in some way. I love being a part of a team.
Today we painted the orphanage at the farm. The building is made of cement, there is next to no furniture, cement ledges used as benches are for seating. The kitchen stove is a large fireplace a few feet off the ground, small pieces of wood burn under cast iron pots that hang from chains. The walls are very dirty, group1 painted the entry way room yellow. We painted 2 large bedrooms blue. They are used for the 7 girls. All that is in the room are the beds, wood frame, single mattress. It was very rewarding to see the smiles on the girls’ faces when they came home from school to see their new blue room.
We also put together some gift bags for the children in addition to the girls there are 11 boys. 1 of the new boys lost both of his parents in the tsunami. These children are available to be sponsored for $30 month. It’s a 3 yr commitment. That was a program started by group 1. Once they are all sponsored then the orphanage can take in more children.
It just amazes me, they have basically no toys, they share clothes if something fits wear it. Such a simple and basic lifestyle. I see beauty in that.
We also put together basic 1st aid kits for the 112 families in the village.
I have emailed Red Cross and world health organization trying to set up medical work for us and the future groups.
I have never sweat so much in my life. It feels good.
I worked with the building crew today. I carried block, buckets of cement
and rock. We are still working on the community center.
We also picked up trash on the beach. There is so much garbage that it seems
hopeless. There is a river that runs into the ocean. The people just dump all
kinds of garbage in it. In addition to all the tons of refuse being washed in
and out due to the tsunami. Not environmentally friendly here. Hopefully our
examples will plant a seed.
On the road again. To the village. We stopped at a hospital in Colombo, a private hospital, very nice and clean. A few of the nurses were accompanying one of the Sri Lankans for a minor surgical procedure. I stopped at the pharmacy and picked up some prescription drugs, they are dirt cheap here. Fosamax which is used to promote bone growth, usually costs about $80/month, in the U.S. that's 4 pills. Here it is $32/year. Hopefully I wont' have a problem getting it through customs. If I don't show up at home in a few weeks you'll know where to find me. In a Sri Lankan jail. (just kidding).
Then we went to the village. We wake up at 6am, try to leave the farm by 7(which is usually)730 stop at the hospital and get to the village at 10. Once again, it's a lot of sitting, in vans and buses. But the ride is always entertaining.
Anyway at the village we took some children to the beach. We are continuing to clean up garbage. My thought is to do what I can to show the children about caring for the precious earth. A few helped. Then we played in the water, of course the children and adults are fearful of another tsunami. We are trying to reintroduce them to the beauty of the ocean. We had water fights, splashing and laughing. It was just one other yellow shirt and myself, we had 8 children. They just love the attention we give them. It was a blast. 2 little girls really tugged at my heart today. One called me her American mommy. Her name is Donica she is about 10 yr old. She wears an old tattered dress, and a beautiful smile. Her house was completely destroyed, she told me her sister needs a backpack, she can’t go to school without one. The next time I to the village, I will bring her one. It’s very touchy bringing gifts. People are very jealous creatures. We have to be discreet or they mob us. But I will fill up a backpack for her and her family.
The other little girl was 2 yr old. Absolutely lasani (beautiful). With curly black hair and big brown eyes. She has the dark circle on her forehead that is a cultural thing done in India. I was holding her and it was time to leave and I starting walking away with her. For a moment I forgot she couldn’t come with me.
In the afternoon I worked hauling rock at the community center. It’s such a slow process. The equipment is of poor quality and there are no bobcats or other machinery. Everything is done by hand. The cement is mixed with crushed rock and water, or sand and water depending on what it is being used for. It is mixed on the street with shovels, no mixer, just small batches constantly mixed with a shovel. Then put in old holey buckets and carried to the site. you put a piece of wood, like a broom handle through the handle of the bucket, one person on each end of the stick and lift the bucket and try to walk in unison. It’s a challenge.
The van broke down again on the way back to the farm. We gave the driver water to cool it off, waited about 15 minutes and we were on the road again. People just stare at us. Laughing, smiling, and waving. We must be such an oddity to them.
The medical team had a doc with today, so we could get some work done. We met the doc at Negombo hospital and then went to a Red Cross refuge camp that we had been to previously. It was a good set up and we saw lots of patients. I did wound care and blood pressures, I sing while I work. It brings happiness to me and others around me. (sometimes they may be laughing at me, but hey at least thy are laughing). A very thin woman with bad teeth (lots of bad teeth here) came for a dressing change. She has a cut on her little finger that is 1" long and very deep, through the skin. It had to be soaked to get the bandage off. It was infected and gross. I took her to see the doc, he says they frown on stitches here, just clean and redress it. I took many blood pressures. One man with an un repaired cleft palate had a bp of 190/130. He was referred to the hospital. I’m not not too too sure he will go.
I’m the happiest when I’m busy. This afternoon I have no work to do. I’m homesick, I miss Jeff, my family, my home and even George the cat. I was just about in tears, so I thought I would go for a walk that usually helps. I got a few hundred yards and came upon father Tessa and Heidi. Heidi is a woman who is giving 3-12 months of her life staying with the orphans. She is from Belgium. They invited me on their walk. We walked through the boys sleeping quarters. They have several rooms. Then the bathrooms which smelt so badly of urine. Hygiene is just not valued here.
After that we went to the real pigpen where they raise pigs. Many little piglets, very cute. Then to the batik ladies. I ordered a shirt for Jeff.
We had a discussion later in the evening. Trying to find someway we could pray
together, people of different faiths. We ended with the Our Father. 6-7 of us.
our group was made up of a Native American who still feels the pain of her ancestors
murdered by Christians, an older devote Catholic who seemed shocked by the lack
of belief, a student of Christianity, a Catholic that appeared to have had one
too many beers, a Buddhist very knowledgeable on all faiths, a Lutheran open
to learn, and someone openly critical of following the herd mentality. Father
Tessa is difficult for many of us to understand. He speaks good English but
is very soft spoken.
I had a difficult time going to sleep; I listen to music and read.
I worked with the building team today. We’re still working on the community center in the village. I helped build forms to pour cement into for walls and shoveled fill.
The lines at gas stations are very long. People are preparing for a gas strike.
I was awoken at midnight by Vicki who is Evan’s assistant. She said there
was an 8.2 earthquake in Sumatra. Tsunami warnings are out. A group of us prepared
to go to the coast if needed. We gathered around computer and the television,
it has been 2 hours and no tsunami yet. The village has been evacuated. We have
builders staying at a hotel on the beach. Evan has sent some one on a 3 wheeler
to go warn them. My roommate Janet is at the hotel tonight, I am worried about
her. There must be chaos on the coast.
If I haven't mentioned earlier we are right next to the airport, there has been
many more planes then usual. After 3 hours no tsunami and I went to bed. Thank
God.
I went to the village in the morning and worked with the builders. This also enables me to spend more time with the children because they just hang around the construction sites.
I don't think I’ve mentioned the armed military soldiers that watch over us. Whenever we are at the village or refugee camps they are there. A few of us walked over the railroad tracks to the beach today, the soldiers followed us, they carry loaded rifles. Sometimes I will be in the van that picks them up in the morning and they are armed, I just don't feel safe, it seems friendly fire (if there is such a thing) kills way too many people. Besides I’ve seen gunshot wounds when I worked at Regions hospital, not a pretty site.
The area of the beach that we had started cleaning is now history, the tide is high and the water is rough there is trash every where, from toothpaste, toothbrushes, clothing, plastic, glass, styrofoam just about anything you can think of. Broken dolls, balls, just way too much to deal with today. It appalls me how the people just dump their garbage in the rivers and oceans. I must remind myself that this is all they have ever known. I have mixed emotions today, a strong sadness for the children their poverty and fear of tsunami. It really is sad.
The soup kitchen that our organization built for the people is full of flies and filth there is no value placed on cleanliness.
Today 4 of us went to the Negombo hospital. I did some breathing exercises and hand holding in the labor and delivery with a 1st time mom. I supported the head of a woman and she pulled her own legs and feet up, there is no family or dads to help the moms. The nurse did an episiotomy (it was not pretty). A baby girl was born. They have no bed sheets just a piece of plastic to deliver on. The mother has her street clothes on, a skirt and blouse. Her skirt is pulled up around her waist. No drugs are given. Baby appears to be healthy, wiped off with a cloth and put in the crib with the 5 other babies.
The staff is so very appreciative and accommodating to us. They serve us tea, just a half cup each. They are poor. But the nurses find great satisfaction in their jobs. They really enjoy what they do for others. They asked if we could help them. I said what exactly can we do? They asked if we could get them a washing machine. We discussed it among ourselves and decided we would like to do that for them. So our van driver took us to an appliance store, Abans and we bought a semi automatic washer. Just like the one they showed us the operating theater had. We are very gratified for having the opportunity to do that. 4 of us bought it with our own money. When they brought me to the OR to show me the washer I had to put sterile(?) clothes on,the flip flops I had to wear were broken and didn't match.
So this was another good day.
I also did some haircuts for 3 of the boys in the orphanage. I only had a scissor to work with, no clipper, they didn't turn out too bad. Hopefully this helps get rid of some of the head lice.
Did I ever mention that we only have cold water at the farm. But I still stayed in the shower for a long time this evening. I washed my clothes in the sink and hung them out to dry. Nothing seems clean.
We had a major downpour last night. I dreamt I was riding in an amphibious
vehicle. Hopefully we won't need one before we leave.
We went to 3 refuge camps today. Nobody needed any medical attention. I guess
our work here as a medical team is about done. So we rode around taking pictures
of churches and temples.
It started raining again. We went to a book store where I used a squat toilet for the 1st time. Aim is everything.
We did more shopping. Prices are so cheap.
We stopped to take a picture of a tall buddha statue. Crossing the street is always a challenge due to the traffic. The cars drive on the opposite side of the road. I looked the wrong way and stepped out in traffic. The cars honked and stopped, my heart dropped. I can not allow myself to get hit by a car! Later on I was talking to one of my yellow shirt friends about that and she told me about a time in Nassau Bahamas that she did the same thing. A light went on for me. As most of you know my mother was hit by a car and killed in Nassau. I never knew that cars drive on the opposite side of the road there. I think there is a strong possibility that she did look before she stepped off of the curb and she saw no cars coming because she looked the wrong direction. 33 years later I have some new understanding.
This is our last work day in Sri Lanka. It’s a bittersweet day. Today
I went with the teachers, they had 100+ bags of gifts to deliver to families
outside of the village, tsunami victims that we haven't been able to assist
and nobody else has either. Because this area wasn't hit as hard as the east
and south coasts there has not been other NGO (non government organizations)
assisting. We only had blankets, toothbrushes and paste, a few toys, nothing
big, but we had to find a way to deliver without causing a riot. For those of
you that are familiar with mardi gras, people just go crazy for free stuff.
Mauling and mobbing, pushing and grabbing. The 1st village we went to wasn't
too bad, we had a list of names and called them out and people came up to get
their bags. Of course their were families from other areas who received nothing.
That is a very hard situation to handle. We had three armed guards assisting
us. Then we went to another area across the tracks from "the village",
that was chaos, people grabbing, no thank you's totally disorganized.
In retrospect we would not collect material objects at home to bring here. We
would just bring money, assess needs and buy what is needed. But this is a grassroots
organization learning from experiences.
The later afternoon was better, in fact it was great. We went to a refugee camp, all 72 families lost their homes and are living in an old school we visited these earlier. They have lost all of their families photos to the tsunami. Today we came with our polaroid cameras, to take family photos. When we got there the families had cleaned up and were waiting for us. 3 of us took pictures. They were organized and grateful. Now that was rewarding. There were old toothless couples, children alone, big families, men in sarees, just a lot of different families. Very special.
When we got back to the farm it was time for a birthday party, one of the yellow shirts turned 58 years old today (that is about the average age of this group). We had a local singer come and all the children from the orphanage and farm workers, the cooks, drivers and orphanage workers. It was so very special to see the children having fun. We all dance with them. All of the children are 7+yrs. Prior to our arrival they had very, very simple lives. They just love us. I fear how it will be for them when we aren't here.
It’s about 11:30pm the music is still playing but I’ve had enough for today. I’m sitting outside my room in my nightgown writing this. I’ve had a great room. More private then most.
4 people have decided to stay for 2 more weeks. The trees still need to be planted, the orphanage needs painting, the emergency evacuation system for the village needs to be developed and implemented.
A bunch of us went to the beach. We did some more shopping. I never thought that I would shop so much here, but the prices are so inexpensive.
I had the beach pool to myself for a while, totally relaxing. My new friend Sonny and I went walking and shopping. We stopped at a place I had been in last week. Kind of an odd assortment of things. Old jewelry, silver, various trinkets. The man Hassem is very talkative, he invites us for tea and conversation. He was a world minded kind of man. He is Muslim. Actually he sang a song to us;
although we are from different lands
we share one earth and sky and sun
remember friends the world is one.
It was dark when we left, the 2 of us had to take a tut tut back to the farm and it was raining. It is very difficult to give directions when we aren't really sure ourselves and we speak different languages. We got within a block of the farm and we missed a turn. These are not normal roads, they are narrow curvy muddy wide paths. We realized we were not heading in the right direction so we started asking people we would pass by do you know English, eventually we were able to say enough words that someone understood and we got safely back to the farm. It’s just one adventure after another.
Check complete
We went to a beautiful old hotel on the ocean in Colombo. Mount Lavina, it was originally built in 1802 as someone's house. It’s very regal. It reminds me of the Titanic. The wood, brass and finery. We arrive in 4 vans and enter the hotel together. The doormen wear white suits with short pants,white knee high socks and a round bowl type hat with a thing that look like a dart sticking up on top of it. The women greeters dressed in beautiful sarees placed leis made from sweet smelling pink magnolias around our necks. Once we all gather in a lobby with big windows that overlook the ocean, 2 drummers and 2 male dancers begin to entertain us. They were dressed in red costumes with silver coin type ornamentations. This is the third time we have seen this type of dancer, it is a national tradition.
We checked into our rooms and they also were nice. Very western, TV and hot water. Then we met by the pool for the governor’s high tea. This is a British establishment. The high tea included various sandwiches cut small without crusts, cakes and pastries, num, num. We laughed a lot. Then to my room for my hot, clean shower, heavenly, I sat on the balcony overlooking the ocean to dry my hair.
I borrowed a saree from one of the other gals. We had someone to help us dress. Pleating the cloth and wrapping it around my waist then a long drape of fabric over the shoulder. I bought a small short sleeve saree top to wear under it. There were about 10 of us ladies that wore them. 2 of the men wore sarongs, skirts. We had lots of photos taken. We were all standing around the pool area when someone spotted a water funnel in the distance, it came closer as it grew in size high to the sky and down to the water. It was several miles from us. But I started edging my way closer to the building. Then all of a sudden it disappeared.
We were served some orange drinks, and then all 32 of us proceeded to the beach.(2 people left the group for the weekend, a rendezvous without permission) it looked like a survivor episode, it was dark outside, a brick path lined with sticks that held coconuts with fire coming out of the top, that lit the way. Palm trees, and plants all along a path, about 1 city block. We were greeted by the girls from the orphanage and the village, they formed a reception line on both sides, they were dressed in orange outfits, short tops and long skirts, the long arbor was draped with little lights, the girls had their hands together, like they are praying, elbows up and and greeted us with the native "i u boyne" it was very touching.
This was also a fund raising event. Many local high class people attended.
They purchased tickets and there was a donation box.
Tables were set with large clay pots of water and silverware wrapped in white
linen napkins. A local band was playing. Members of the band were from Evan’s
original band 30+ years ago, the Savages. We were treated like royalty. Entertainment
by local village dancers. The girls from the village danced for us. And the
children from the orphanage. They were not dressed in finery they acted out
their current life conditions, shabby clothes, messy hair and a poem was read,
the orphanage boys dressed in native costume and also did some kind of a dance.
Sometimes things are lost in translation, but it was all so touching.
I took polaroid pictures of all the children for them to keep. I would have to stop taking pictures at times because they would become so distracted wanting their photos. They would began orderly and that would last about 1 minute, soon they were all firmly tapping my arms saying Sue, Sue, photo, photo. Making sad faces pretending to cry. I would have to stop and try again later. But I managed to get the job done with help from others.
A big barbeque buffet was set up, cooks at various stations, the menu, toasted brown egg nest, spicy steaks, chicken drumsticks, ribs, spicy hash brown, sautéed green beans and carrots, various rice's and curries. Then desserts, chocolate mousse, fruit cakes, carmel sauce. Most of the children had never experienced this finery. They did not understand waiting in lines, or even how to move through a buffet.
After the dinner all the volunteers were called up to receive an award plaque. It was so very nice.
The band played and there was dancing with the children. Evan played the bass guitar and sang a few songs. We were surprised at how good they sounded. American music from the 70's. The group song is Imagine by John Lennon.
Here's the words of the song:
Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try,
no hell below us, above us only sky, imagine all the people living for today...
Imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do,
nothing to kill or die for, no religion too, imagine all the people living life
in peace...
Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can,
no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man, imagine all the people sharing
all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will live as one.
I woke up and went right to the poolside. About 7am, I wanted to have some quiet time and go for a swim. It was so beautiful, the pool is very nice and clean. The bottom of the pool is tile, it feels good on your feet. Not like the grainy pool bottoms we have. The pool area sits on high ground and juts out a bit into the ocean. The view is spectacular. I had been sitting only a few minutes and I was joined by a few more fellow yellow shirts. So much for the quiet time. Just teasing, it's also nice to have company. We ordered some coffee and chatted. A little while later more people joined us, we had moved a few feet from our original table where we had coffee. There are big crows every where. At home and in Sri Lanka. I think they could be the world bird. Like the eagle is the national bird.
Just a few yards away from us, someone spots a crow and says, does that crow have someone's money? I look up and he has what appears to be a neatly folded piece of paper in his beak. And he just stands there. We are trying to figure it out, when another crow walks by he also has a rectangular piece of paper in his beak. I say it looks like they have business cards. Now you must know that Sri Lankans are always trying to exchange addresses with us. Anyway someone else says well if the next crow approaches us with a pen, we're out of here. Soon there were a few more and we realized they were getting sugar packets out of the little ceramic box on the table where we had our morning coffee. They proceeded to very neatly open the sugar packets and feed each other sugar.
What a hoot! I spent the morning swimming and sunning.
Some of the girls from the village stayed at the hotel and I played with them in the water just a little bit. I tried to teach some to swim. But mostly I relaxed and soaked up the sun. It was time to leave and say good bye to the rest of the village and one of the ladies from our group, actually our eldest member 75 yr old wasn't feeling well so I stayed back at the hotel with her. Which is fine with me, I don't like good byes anyway.
I went to the bar and got her a ginger beer. That’s what the locals drink for indigestion. Hopefully she feels better soon. It's such a pain to be sick when you are not at home.
I don't think that I ever mentioned beetle nut. It’s something the men and some women chew here, it makes them high. They actually wrap this nut in some green leaf and chew on it. You can easily tell the beetle nut chewers, they have red stained teeth. Not too cute.
Parting is such sweet sorrow. The children from the orphanage walk by our dining area every morning as we are having breakfast. They are wearing their school uniforms, white shirts and blue skirts for the girls and blue shorts for the boys. It really choked me up to know that I would never see them again, they gave me so much joy. Their beautiful dark faces, shy smiles, joyful dancing. Inside I know they must hurt, no mommies or daddies.
Then it was time to say goodbye to my new friends, I will see some of them again. We will continue our friendships.
Driving away in the van the farm becomes a thing of my past, an experience I will cherish all the days of my life.
We have also formed relationships with our van driver. We have spent a lot of time with him. Mahinda, he took us to many places. He was always accommodating our desires, coca cola, king coconut, shops, refuge camps, interpreting at medical sites, counting to ensure that nobody got lost or left behind. Getting the best prices for us.
I’m at the airport now, on the way to Paris. Unfortunately there will be no time to get out of the airport, from there to London were we will spend the night.
I am home now. I am safe. My life is richer for the people I have met.
Thanks for sharing my journey with me.
love, sue