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