Post Tsunami Sri Lanka - article

The Vibrant Village of Seenigama and the Foundation of Goodness

It’s almost a year on since last year’s devastating tsunami and questions continue to be asked. If you have ever wondered what happened to the money you donated after the tsunami, a large majority of Sri Lankans are wondering the same thing. Many of the villages devastated by last December’s disaster are still waiting to be noticed by the big NGOs, and do not believe there will ever be any financial aid from their government. So much is being done here but there is still so much to be done, and stories of villages not yet reached can be disturbing. Many villagers are still living in camps with no temporary, let alone permanent housing. This is all too evident once you leave behind you the hustle and bustle of Colombo. Travelling south down the main Galle Road you pass from city suburbs to rural landscapes - the beautiful rivers and beaches of the South West coast, but also through the tsunami zone.

Bits of boats on beaches, abandoned collapsed houses, alleys of temporary wooden housing, vats of drinking water, and building work everywhere. You can only wonder at how the Sri Lankan people are dealing with the aftermath of the devastations last December.

However, something positive can be seen when you come across the village of Seenigama, 96km south of Colombo - here you realise there is tremendous hope. As you drive down the small road leading to Seenigama’s temple you see the permanent new houses either side of the road, permanent houses, painted different colours revealing the vibrancy of a village being re-built. At the core of the village is a locally set up organisation called the Foundation of Goodness, literally founded on the goodness of human kindness and that is what has helped this village and its surrounding area to rebuild both physically and spiritually.

Foundation of Goodness

Set up six years ago the Foundation of Goodness is a small charitable organisation aiming to assist the less fortunate people of Seenigama. Its commitment was, and is, to improve the lives of people in desperate circumstances and empower the rural community by enhancing its facilities. The organisation was based in the holiday bungalow of its founder – Kushil Gunasekera, with 3 permanent members of staff employed from the village to run its ‘Lahiru Community Centre’. The Centre has always been financed through individual, group and corporate donations – over 15 million Rupees spent on the village before the tsunami, with administration costs paid for by Kushil. In a way it is no surprise that the Foundation has gone from strength to strength since last Boxing Day. Kushil’s bungalow and the Lahiru Centre, along with so many houses and livelihoods in Seenigama, were totally devastated by the tsunami. The waves travelled in land as far as 2 km causing chaos in their wake. But rather than letting this be a setback, the positive action by the Foundation has been overwhelming. Kushil felt unable to keep his holiday bungalow and donated it to the village, what remains of the bungalow has become a Relief Centre Secretariat and will eventually be a Centre of Excellence for the village, particularly aimed at the young people living here. The secretariat has become a core hub of the village employing approximately 20 members of staff locally.

Although the Centre of Excellence will take time to build physically that has not stopped activities getting underway. Classes and activities that were run before the tsunami continue – English classes, computer classes, donations of needy school items for kids, upgrades of village dwellings, modernisation of schools, community welfare programmes, self-employment opportunities, sports activities, health care and nutrition awareness raising, and voluntary opportunities for local young people. On top of that the Centre is continually growing – there is a paediatric clinic, maternity clinic, children’s library, water purification plant, handicrafts centre and each day more ideas are being realised.

It takes a special person to give up their house to the local people, and Kushil is very special to all the people in Seenigama and an incredible role model to anyone really wanting to help. His complete belief in humanity and unconditional compassion is reflected throughout the Foundation and all those he and it touches. The Foundation’s immediate response to the tsunami was astonishing – from setting up a tsunami camp, to distributing emergency food packs, to purchasing land for new houses, to starting new industries for the villagers, helping them to recover from the tsunami. The Foundation acted quickly to distribute aid sent, and has continued to put to use the overwhelming amount of financial donations from around the world to remarkable affect.

New Livelihoods

To add to the culture of learning and rebuilding there is also a lot of encouragement for the villagers to get involved in new enterprises. This is not only to help them rebuild their livelihoods but also to offer them a legitimate alternative to the dangerous and now illegal coral mining practices of the past, which is how 90% of the villagers used to earn their keep. The first industry to be set up was a cement block factory - immediately after the tsunami Kushil and the Foundation helped to train local villagers to make cement blocks for rebuilding houses. Once trained they were able to buy equipment with the money they earned and they now make approximately 2,500 bricks a day. Several villagers own one machine, working as a co-operative, and they earn new livelihoods from it. The village as a result has moved quickly to rebuild. Other industries set up include a brush handle factory manufacturing handles using rubber timber, and a coir yarn business where fibre is spun into rope and sold to make mats. These three new industries employ over 50 men and women locally. The Foundation has also set up a handicrafts centre where the local men and women can display and sell their crafts such as wood carvings, woven baskets, batiks, and hand painted cards. There are many more ideas in the pipeline including a garment factory, all set up to give the villagers something they can take on, have ownership of and earn money from.

Every day villagers come to the Foundation with different requests – sports kits for kids, financial aid for 3-wheelers or fishing boats, sponsorship for their child’s education, help with medical costs, to name a few. All requests are listed and put up on the Foundation’s website: www.unconditionalcompassion.com. Each day you see these requests becoming reality.

Projects here are inspiring, motivating and most importantly, ongoing. Despite the poverty and the added devastations of the tsunami, the village is vibrant and the people here are rebuilding their future. Kushil’s dream is that this becomes a model for other villages to follow and has already extended the Foundation’s help to the villages surrounding Seenigama. What is being achieved here is incredible and if villages across Sri Lanka can even begin to rebuild on similar levels then hope will have spread a little further.

Volunteering and Donating

There are many volunteers who come and go from the Foundation each contributing in their own unique way, and it is through individuals and their compassion that this Foundation has always functioned. If you are interested in working as a volunteer you need to be flexible and creative, coming up with your own ideas of how to help the people. Don’t expect to have everything done for you – but they will help you in every way they can in looking for accommodation, supporting your ideas and making them happen. Every little bit helps and you will be wholeheartedly welcomed, which in itself is quite humbling.

Donations are also key to rebuilding the village – this way you can see directly where your money is being donated. The website lists the villagers’ requests which your money will go towards, or you can sponsor a child to help with their education - for as little as 11 pounds a month you can make a huge difference. There’s an easy form which enables you to donate online, avoiding any bank transfers or hidden fees – just click the ‘Donate Now’ button on the home page.

Go to the website, see what they are doing, and help in any way you can:

www.unconditionalcompassion.com.

Written by Faye Ruck-Nightingale who was a volunteer at the Foundation of Goodness from August to December this year working on a variety of projects.