A Charitable Plea!

Please take a little time to read this one - it’s far more important than my rambling travelogues.

Have you ever wondered where the money you donated for the tsunami went to? Well, the Sri Lankans are wondering the same thing. The NGOs have done some basic work but I think the bureaucracy and the sheer amount of money they are dealing with is slowing them down so nothing seems to be getting through. The Sri Lankan government is a bug bear to EVERYONE I come across – they seem to be giving their people no money although there is plenty sitting there to be spent. It seems to be up to the people to get on with their lives as best they can.

The charity I am working for is purely Sri Lankan led. The guy who founded it had his beautiful house completed devastated by the tsunami but his village was totally wiped out so he has decided that he will not rebuild his house but will turn it into a centre of excellence for the young people in the village. I have never come across someone so motivated and someone who has touched so many people’s lives. Kushil has already done an amazing job at rebuilding his village without government help but with hard work, generous sponsors and a good heart.

..and it shows in the people. Today I was chatting to 10 year old Samanmali who lost 4 members of her family last December, but she was smiling and happy and wanting to play games. The older kids are finding it harder – Dilan who lost his brother finds it hard to talk about but they are starting to open up and they need help to get their lives together again.

If you would like to help and see exactly where your money is being spent, this is a great place to donate to. The best thing you could do is sponsor a child so that they get a chance of an education and maybe some kind of a life. Check out the website if you would like to help, and let me know if you do as they usually send photos, updates, etc and I can take photos of any kids sponsored too. Go to www.unconditionalcompassion.com, click on ‘how you can help’ and scroll down to ‘children’s needs’. (in monetary terms 1000 Rupees is 5.5 pounds, 1500 Rs is 8.25 pounds and 2000 Rs is 11 pounds)

If you can’t afford to donate but can send some stuff to me here that would be helpful too. We are organising a competition for Universal Children’s Day on 1st October and will be giving prizes out, so anything branded that they will recognise could be fun to give to them – BBC pens, etc., etc.. If you can send anything let me know and I’ll send an address to send things to.

Thanks for listening.