Jake and Maria talk to the people at the Periliya camp. We hope to help them with our back to work program.

Dear Brother Who Writes to Me...

My brother Dave, also known as the only brother that e-mails me, wrote to ask about the torrential rains in India, express his concern and ask if we were being spared in Sri Lanka. Dave is such a sweet guy, he’s the only one that writes you know, I’m sure he won’t mind if I plagiarize myself for the blog.
In Mumbai (Bombay, India) and here we're in the middle of monsoon season. Actually that's not quite correct since "monsoon" is the word for "season", but whatever. It rains. A lot. Real hard! Part of providing aid to a developing country is what I'm starting to call "The D'oh factor".
“Wow, would you look at that! 38 inches of rain in 24 hours! I guess we really should update the sewer and drainage infrastructure somehow...since it did that last year and every year before that too!”
D'oh!
Dammit, why can't we spend some aid money on INFRASTRUCTURE! I guess it's just not sexy to say you donated money to build roads and sewer systems. Most of the time there is help available but it can't get to where it is most needed. How many countless lives have been lost simply because food and supplies never get to the people that need it the most?
Deep breath.....
I know what you're thinking. Yes, there are hurricanes in Florida, but there are also building codes and laws about evacuation in place that almost guarantee no one will ride out a serious storm in a mud hut with a thatched roof. (Okay, my friend Julie might...)
We're fine here in Sri Lanka. The rains can be sudden and intense and if you get caught out in one of the cloudbursts, you're instantly soaked and the raindrops actually hurt. It's such a pleasant way to spend the rest of your day, I call it my drowned rat look with sub-continent hair. One volunteer was heard to say, "Oh great! I'm starting to chafe!"
There was another deep sea earthquake last week just off the Nicobar Islands. It was a 7.2 and rattled us a bit, but no waves. At a camp down south, Periliya, there was a panic as people ran for high ground at the temple. One can hardly blame them, this is the site of the demolished train that killed more than 800 people the day of the tsunami. The train still sits next to the track, a battered, ghostly reminder of all they lost that day.
When it rains, I write. This past week my British friend Daniella and I wrote a proposal to the Rotary Club of Kandy Metropolitan. Kandy is a good sized city in Sri Lanka and is just about dead center on the island. Dani has an uncle that is very involved with the Rotary and they have $25,000 they wish to grant to an aid organization for relief efforts. We wrote a grant request for the orphanage in Thissamaharama, (yes, that’s as hard to pronounce as it looks) the money would allow us to build 4 new dorm like buildings that would house 40-50 more kids total. Dani and I are a good team when it comes to the writing thing, even though as a Brit she has a tendancy to spell a great many words incorrectly. What's with all the gratuitous "u"s? My flat mate Chris got a tremendous amount of money from his old high school and contracted for a well to be drilled at the orphanage. He is down there right now to make sure all goes according to plan. It was almost amusing as he started to tell me all about wells, pumps and the pressure needed to bring water to the surface. I grew up on a farm with well water, so been there, done that, got the tee-shirt!
If you see my nephews and my nieces, give them some noogies from me and ask if they ever got the postcards I sent. I have heard from Dan via e-mail. Please feel free to forward this on to my brothers, what's their names, just in case they think they might ever want to WRITE TO ME YOU DORKS! Tell Doug, James, Jim whatever he's calling himself this week, happy birthday. Hope this finds you and Tammy doing well and enjoying the heat...teehee.
Love you,
Sue

All work and no play…

As a rule, I get behind any and all Judeo-Christian holidays, but the Buddhists here have it going on! Every time there is a full moon, they celebrate Poya. The average Sri Lanka Buddhist visits the pansala (temple) four times a month on poya days, which equate to the phases of the moon. The full-moon day is most important and a monthly national holiday in the Buddhist tradition of Sri Lanka-- a day of reverence for the faithful and a relaxing day away from work, answering e-mails or updating your blog for those of other faiths. A tray of flowers is offered at each of the three places of worship, small oil lamps are lit (to represent wisdom and enlightenment), and incense is burned (to symbolize purity). Poya day (full moon day) ceremonies are conducted from dawn until dusk at all temples. This includes Dharma sermons, meditation classes, pujas (offerings), administration of the precepts, and pirit-chanting of protective suttas (discourses). Merit-making (punya karma) is considered to be the cornerstone of lay Buddhism. Following the Dharma and the precepts, by striving for compassion, equanimity and wisdom, and by performing meritorious deeds -- such as dana (almsgiving), pilgrimage and worship, and paying homage to elders -- one can assure oneself a more advanced rebirth on the spiritual ladder toward nibbana.
On a less cerebral level, what this means for certain hard charging; fun-loving; already booked on a speeding tuk-tuk to hell; segments of Sri Lankan society, is that they know when to plan the most rockin’ parties every month for an entire year ahead. Last night, the Colombo Pride party was at the Taj Hotel. (Don’t these people know this lifestyle is illegal here?) It was by invitation only and is for a good cause. There was a 1,000 rupee ($10) donation and you had to get a ticket from a friend in the pride organization. One delightful lady told me that the party breaks up at dawn so we can all go to temple together, and spend the day in quiet reflection…yeah right! Good thing no one works the next day! Did I mention the part about wearing costumes? I went as Madame Fortuna (accent on the “tuna”) and read palms the whole night. “I see…I see…I see you at the bar buying Madame Fortuna a jello shot in order to hear the rest of your hilarious yet highly personalized fortune…”

Yes, there are pictures.

No, you’re never going to see them.

An unflattering picture of me and Sanath...I don't know what he's smiling about, he's going to lose that toenail!

Blatant Plea for Money Ahead...Run For Your Life!

Many of you have asked if you could help, if you wish to donate or raise some funds or both, it can be sent to one of two places. I maintained an account with M&T Bank for years and can access the funds for our use over here from ATM’s. My mom, Mary Miller and best friend, Sue Mayne have agreed to serve as record keepers and bankers for me so I can send out receipts for all donations received. I’m not posting their addresses here; and I was premature with my comment about frontiernet straightening out my internet issues. I can now receive e-mails there, but can’t send from that address. Typical! If you would like to know where to send a check, please e-mail me and I will forward you the snail mail address.
suem2255@frontiernet.net
or
avid_reader2@yahoo.com

I would like to thank you in advance. I’m astounded at how far an American dollar can actually go over here. A great deal of the aid money is not getting through to the Sri Lankans that really need it for largely political reasons. I wrote to my friend, Carol Knapp, a fairly concise reader’s digest version of “Where is all the money?” I would be happy to forward that on to you upon request as well. Putting it here would only irritate the people that order around all the soldiers with automatic weapons. I have a nodding acquaintance with all the ones I see on the way to work and don’t want to meet any new, extra ones, thank you very much.
I’m still working on the Pastor’s story and will let you know when it’s finished, meanwhile pass a coffee can at work, hold a car wash or have a bake sale. We’ll take
it! Till next time…

Highly modified Native American head gear
My new friend Sunil, who didn't understand this was a dog until I showed him a picture of Beau.

This little girl was very shy and we finally figured out that she wanted a blue flower!

I’m just getting over a stomach bug of some kind.

I haven’t been that sick in a while! I imagine it’s inevitable; ice in a drink made from unboiled water; fruit that wasn’t washed properly; everyone has an opinion about the cause. I’d just like to avoid it for the foreseeable future.

This past weekend we all took a road trip to Thissamaharama. We’d gotten word that an orphanage there was about to take in 100 more tsunami orphans from various refugee camps. A pastor and his wife run the orphanage, and couldn’t say no when they were asked to take the additional children. They already have three kids of their own and 33 other children living with them. The property is laid out like a college quad; four buildings each housing about 8-10 kids facing a central play area with a volleyball net, swings and jungle gyms. Ironically, these are some of the happiest kids I’ve seen in Sri Lanka. The story of this extraordinary couple and how they came to start an orphanage five years ago is incredibly moving and inspirational. I’m writing it all down in detail, and when I’m done with it, I’d be happy to send it along to those of you that might be interested. When we asked him how in the world they manage to feed this many kids, he just looked to the heavens and said, “The Lord always provides.” One of us expressed awe at his faith and he just smiled at us and said, “The Lord brought you to us today!” I was pretty sure we came by van, but I know when to keep my mouth shut… besides, he’s right. We are currently working on getting a contractor to dig a well and getting them a pump. They can’t take in the extra kids until they build the additional homes and improve the water situation. They currently have access to a public water tap for about three hours a day and you can imagine what a chore it is to get all those kids bathed in that amount of time.

The name of the orphanage is Our House. The pastor didn’t want the children to interact and identify as orphans out in the community, so instead of saying, “I live at the Assembly of God Orphanage,” they say, “I live at Our House.” I’m attaching a bunch of pictures of the kids. By way of explanation, I purchased a slew of those long balloons that you use to make sculptures and animals. During the loooooong van ride, I taught all my fellow volunteers how to make hats; dogs and flowers (as well as some yet to be identified critters). Suffice it to say, they were a big hit with the kids.

The Kate Lynch Flora & Fauna Corner: Kate I saw this tree at dusk and thought of you...those are bats...REALLY BIG ONES!

Aussie and fellow volunteer Simone trying not to get clocked with the cricket bat. 

Sue’s brilliant idea for an activity.

Remember the piñata from the first post? Well, I finally finished it and incorporated it into a camp visit. We try to get things accomplished during the morning and early afternoon, so we can play with the kids when the heat of the day is really upon us. As a rule, my colleagues try to keep an overall educational tone to these play times. I was forced to explain that I am a professional aunt and as such, my professional status would be endangered if I ever actually organized anything remotely educational for the children of any nation.

Thus was born the idea for the piñata. Not only is it mindless fun, but there are toys and candy at the end of it all. In a typical brain cramp moment, I fashioned the piñata in the shape of an elephant, regrettably, an animal sacred to the people of Sri Lanka. Doh! All of a sudden, it became educational:

“You see, there’s this country called Mexico? Where they don’t have elephants at all see? And they smack open a piñata on birthdays because elephants aren’t special to them? Nobody gets offended, because they aren’t sacred there or anything? So you see, it’s okay to take the cricket bat and destroy one of the most revered symbols of your country because the white people said it was acceptable…”
Suffice it to say the next one is being fashioned as a donkey or something…haven’t seen one of those around here. I know that Kate, Kara, Joel, Jill, Jenna, Erik, Jonathan, Danny-boy and Biddie-Boo will give me a pass on the educational thing. (As long as I don’t get all didactic with them, they can be very forgiving)
My plans for the 4th of July include standing in line to renew my visa for another month. Then we plan to purchase some cook stoves for a camp that has been cooking over open fires for the past 6 months. Soyasupora refugee camp is under a basic structure, like a huge pavilion with sheets suspended to section off each family from the others. As far as temporary housing goes, these folks are in the worst shape of all the camps we’ve seen in Moratuwa. Because they are squatting on the land, the NGO’s can’t really help them out. It’s going to have to be a small independently funded group like us that comes in and just starts building. Then when we get called on it by some official, we just shrug our shoulders and say, “Sorry, we didn’t know, but as long as we’re almost done…”
I hope this finds everyone well and remember, I’d kill for a hot dog on a potato roll right about now…