27 December 2004

Surangani Newsletter #1

by Shigeko Baba

To all Surangani donors and the many others who contacted the SVS office after the 26th December tsunami- I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your grave concern and many kind words in this time of tragedy.

I am relieved to report that all the Staff at the Colombo office are safe and accounted for. We are sorry to hear that one of our staff members, Chinthani (Alipencha Coordinator) has lost relatives who were living along the Matara coastline.

Our Volunteer Center and Kindergarten in the Ampara district were undamaged and thankfully all our teachers and students living near the coast in Sanmantore are safe as well. All our other centers are located inland from the coast and so did not sustain any damages from the tsunami.

Sadly, Batticaloa town, where we started working earlier this year, has been heavily damaged.

Many of you will remember the Peace Powwow that we held in Colombo in November this year for children of the village of Vadduwan in Batticaloa. This small village of 150 families, located on a spit of land between a lagoon and the sea, suffered the loss of 15 children and 45 adults. A large proportion for a very small village. Those who survived are now lodged at the emergency evacuation area set up in the local school grounds.

Two of our volunteers, Anton and Nimalraj, who were stationed with families in Vadduwan are currently reported as missing. Another volunteer, Kobu, has lost her younger sister and her sister’s family. Sadly, we have lost David, one of our volunteers from Malaysia, who was found amongst the rubble of the house in which he was staying.

The Army Camp, and the neighboring villages of Karukanda and Pashikuda have also sustained immense damages.

With each day the extent of the destruction shocks and dismays us all. All the staff at Surangani are working hard to establish the whereabouts of all our members and children in the affected areas.

Although I had intended to be in Japan from the 24th of December to the 9th of January, I returned to Sri Lanka immediately in order to find out fully the extent of the loss of life and to see to the welfare of our children. Please pray for those who are still missing and for those who must survive in the wake of this terrible event.