Two Years After the Tsunami: Reconstruction and Reconciliation
Urgent Appeal: Support Emergency Relief Activities
Sarvodaya Organizes Successful Peace Meditation Program
Scholarship Program for Children: Investing in the Future
Peace Is A Process: Shisir Khanal
Visit Sri Lanka Experience Sarvodaya

Sarvodaya Eco-Village, Lagoswatta

It Takes More Than a House to Make a Village 
On Sunday afternoon December 26, 2004, Harith Priyasath, 34, was inside the hotel where he worked. Swept into the sea, he clung to life on a boat that was flipped upside down. Fortunately, the next wave brought him to the shore. He ran to his home, collected his wife and three children and they all escaped to higher ground. Their house was flattened.

After languishing in a temporary shelter for more than a year, they moved to a new house in Lagoswatta, a model eco-village built by Sarvodaya. In Kalutara district of Sri Lanka, Lagoswatta is now home to 55 families who survived the tsunami. It features eco-friendly houses, a multi-purpose community center, and a playground. Each house is equipped with solar panels for electricity and a recycling facility.

Like other Sarvodaya projects, Lagoswatta was built with active community participation. Masons and carpenters shared their skills while others provided labor. New homeowners contributed “sweat equity” for their own homes and the community as a whole. Mr. Priyasath is now a village leader. He says training from Sarvodaya has helped create a more respectful, peaceful society. Sarvodaya continues to be actively engaged in the community. “Other NGOs build houses and go away,” he says. “Sarvodaya stays with us. They bring programs and help us build a better life.”

In Sri Lanka, villages are often segregated along occupational, ethnic and religious lines. This model village brings fishermen, carpenters, masons and teachers; Buddhists, Hindus and Christians; Tamils and Sinhalese into one community. In a country ravaged by decades of ethnic conflict, Lagoswatta is not only a model of sustainable development but also a demonstration of the peaceful co-existence that Sarvodaya advocates for Sri Lanka.
That is why Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, commended Sarvodaya for its achievement while presiding over a ceremony to hand over the village to the community.

Almost two years after the tsunami, Sarvodaya’s work is still heavily concentrated on rehabilitation and reconstruction. Almost 100 different projects in 12 priority areas are still underway. More than 700 houses were built in the past year.   Most of them are near completion. 

But major challenges remain. While a good deal has been achieved in the western and southern provinces of the island, the escalation of violence has made it difficult to work in the East and the North. As workers and their families leave the conflict zones, a shortage of skilled labor has halted home construction in Batticaloa and Jaffna.

“The cost of building a house has more than doubled in some locations,” says Saman Algoda, Finance Director of Sarvodaya. It has increased from $5,000 a house last year to over $10,000. After the windfall of financial support following the tsunami, he worries about finding enough funds to complete the projects already underway.

“The changing security situation slowed down the progress of work in the North and East significantly. When the price of material and labor went up, some projects had to be scaled back,” adds Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director of Sarvodaya.

In early August, 17 aid workers from the French organization, Action Against Hunger (ACT), were murdered in Mutur in eastern Sri Lanka.  As a result, several international organizations reduced their operations and pulled out their international staff. Sarvodaya remains as one of the very few organizations that has a grassroots network and local capacity to operate in such difficult circumstances.

Reconciliation: Not Waiting for Peace

Sarvodaya’s activities are guided by building sustainable and peaceful societies. Through projects like the model eco-village the Movement has demonstrated that a new Sri Lanka of peace and harmony is possible. Thousands of Sarvodaya villages are geared towards establishing a poverty-free society that embodies the supreme human values – metta, karuna, muditha, and uppekkha – Loving Kindness, Compassion, Altruistic Joy and Equanimity.

Learn more about Sarvodaya's tsunami related activities on our website www.sarvodayausa.org
Support our Tsunami projects, you can Donate Online 

Urgent Appeal: Support Emergency Relief Activities
Due to escalating conflict in Eastern part of Sri Lanka, hundreds of people are being displaced. On December 10, we received an urgent appeal from Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director of Sarvodaya Sri Lanka for support. He writes, "as a result of attack by LTTE and the counter attacks by the army a large number of people have fled Seruwila area (Trincomalee)." About 700 people including 48 infants are at a school, where Sarvodaya is setting up a relief camp. They need basic supplies such as infant milk powder, basic medicines, dry ration, tents and sleeping mats.

Read Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne's Letter
Learn More: Sarvodaya's Response to the Present Escalation of Violence
Support our Emergency Relief activities. Donate Online Please note "emergency relief" on comments section.

On October 2, hundreds of thousands of people from throughout Sri Lanka gathered in Maha Mehuna, a sacred ground in Anuradhapura, for a meditation for universal peace. By mid-morning over four square kilometers were completely filled with people. Many had come the night before in buses and trucks, and had camped on the ground.

He urged the multitudes to concentrate on waves of unselfish loving kindness. He said, “with a calm mind, you become aware that you can help other living beings who are troubled, frightened or suffering.”

Rev. Michael Beckwith, Founder of Agape Spiritual Center, Los Angeles, California also addressed the gathering. Events in India, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin and California expressed solidarity with Sarvodaya in its quest to build universal consciousness for peaceful co-existence.

Support our peace building measures in Sri Lanka. Donate Online.

One Child…One Month at a Time…One Easy Way
for Each of Us to Make a Difference

Thousands of children lost their parents to the disaster. Sarvodaya Suwasetha is supporting 60 of them so far with a scholarship program. Every month Suwasetha provides $15 to each child. While $5 goes to a savings account that can be withdrawn when the child reaches the age of 18, the rest of the money supports education. Often families struggling to survive have no choice but to use this money for food and living expenses. It’s all they have.

Every month Suwasetha field staff visit the children. They take time to chat, making sure that the money is being deposited properly and children are receiving good care in their adoptive families. Suwasetha plans to support these children until they reach 18. When university students from the United Kingdom recently committed to provide similar support to more than 50 children in one community, it is said that the entire village wept with gratitude.

The math is simple: $25 per month; $15 to the child and $10 for emergencies, outreach workers and other support. $300 per year. Would you, your family or group be willing to help? Please contact us.   

Learn more about the program and Donate Online

Peace Is A Process
— Shisir Khanal
 

Shanti Sena volunteers

Shanthi Sena has over 80,000 members from all parts of Sri Lanka. Their dedication and discipline had impressed me in Anuradhapura. Over 5,000 youth had come to the October 2 meditation. On a sunny, hot afternoon they stood still and barefoot for hours. They formed several circles around the site, creating a perimeter for protection. Insuring that every participant was registered, they manned the water supply and were ready with first aid treatment. With their dark red sashes on white dress, their identity and roles were quite clear. I was struck by Sarvodaya’s reach to these young people. They were all volunteers and had come from far away villages.

“So, what were you doing in Matara?” I asked Lawrenz.

“Sporting events,” he replied. Why sports? I wondered. What’s the point? Everyone does sports. A stream of thoughts crossed my mind.
 

“What we are trying to do in Shanthi Sena is to bring together youth of different backgrounds and have them play together. We are creating mixed teams. Not against each other but with each other.”