Sri Lanka Journal- Andew and Annette Dey- 1/24/2005
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Links from Andrew and Annette:
Pro Photographer Dixie's web site
Mondo Challenge set up Andrew and Annette's trip.
Unawatuna is the village where they're staying and working
In the north, Andrew and Annette are working with Norwegian People's Aid. NPAID is partnered with the German organization called Arbeiter Samariter Bund.
Bensonwood.com
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Andrew
This morning we meet with Oliver to let him know that we are willing to commit to working more fully with Project Galle 2005. Annette and I have debated how best to make use of our final two months. While signing on with an organization may in some ways limit our opportunities, it will also give us access to resources and connections.
We ask a tuc-tuc driver about buying a wheelbarrow, and he brings us to a hardware store several kilometers inland. “You pay less here than in Galle.” We find a better quality wheelbarrow than we have seen in general use, and purchase it for our host Mally. Much discussion follows about how best to transport two passengers and a wheelbarrow by tuc-tuc. We end up standing the wheelbarrow on its nose on the side of the tuc-tuc, and lashing it on.
Driving through the area, we occasionally see tuc-tucs with no tops—convertible tuc-tucs. These tuc-tucs are not rag-tops by design; the locals call them “tsunami tuc-tucs.” They say that a number of tuc-tucs were sucked into the receding waters into the ocean, and may be lodged against the reef. We have driven by yards that look like tuc-tuc chop shops: tsunami-damaged machines stripped down to their chassis, parts spread over the yard for cleaning and repainting.
At noon we meet with the monk who was supposed to have cost estimates for rebuilding the play area at his temple. No estimates, but we do learn that he is interested in having us build an entirely new building for the preschool. As far as we can gather, he thinks that it is inconvenient to have the preschool (during the week) and the Sunday school share the same space. We refocus the monk on the play area and the wall that surrounds it. He says he will have estimates in a few days.
At lunch, more good discussion about how to clean up the debris in Unawatuna. Annie has started with “her” JCBs, and Francesca is in touch with a Czech organization that apparently wants to fund the entire clean-up. Several local leaders are pursuing a cash-for-work program that would involve the locals in the hand labor of cleaning and sorting debris.
In the afternoon, a van carrying 500 mosquito nets arrives from Kandy. We ordered the nets for Project Galle through our friend Nithila. The van also delivers several bags of toys for the community kitchen that our host Mally is setting up.
We deliver the mosquito nets to Project Galle, and then head toward Colombo on the coast road. We are taking advantage of the van’s return trip to Kandy to pick up several bags that we left there two weeks before.
The scenes we see along the coast are in some areas quite different from those we saw when we first arrived, but in other areas, not much seems to have changed. Some towns have made a good start on cleaning the rubble, while others look just as devastated as the day after the tsunami. We see some heavy equipment at work, and there are still individuals picking at piles of rubble with hammers and hoes. Many tents have been set up—our sense is that most of the people in this area have at least that minimal temporary shelter. Small shacks built of small timbers, boards, corrugated metal, and tarps have sprung up. We see boys playing cricket in fields that have been cleared. As this is a holiday—every full moon day is a holiday in Sri Lanka—some families have chosen to return to the beach. The tsunami came on the previous full moon holiday, and many families were visiting the beach that day as well. The traffic all the way to Colombo is stop-and-go. When we finally arrive at the guest house in Kandy, it’s after midnight.