Sri Lankan Tsunami Victims

Blog of Disaster Response and Reconstruction

2007-10-07T11:31:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Aceh Indonesia,

I have visited your blog and I want to share mine. Please visit my blog http://www.disaster-response.cc . I write records of my thoughts, activities and events in reconstruction works in disaster area. In this blog I put the lessons learned and best practices. Hopefully you will find something useful for your blog.

Best regards,

Arwin Soelaksono

Disaster Response & Reconstruction

Ratings on volunteer Organizations Serving Sri Lanka

2005-03-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Hey Rasika please feel free to post this if you want. This is just my opinion you don't have to post it if you don't want to or if you feel it will cause a firestorm (Actually like to see some sort of reaction from these organizations).

Thanks Kiran Desilva

Now these are my ratings and not anybody Else's if it draws criticism so be it(Actually I'd like to hear somebody Else's opinion about this).The one thing I learned from this is that sometimes you get lucky if you don't you have to create your own opportunity. I was lucky enough to hook up with the PCAG.

Please keep in mind that these are the only organizations I managed to get through to.I've read a couple of the articles on this site and I think that the University Students are doing a great job keep up the good work.

Ratings on volunteer Organizations Serving Sri Lanka

LEADS U.K (C)

I worked with them for a couple of days very nice people. They've done a considerable amount of relief work but they

lack proper leadership and professionalism.

Example

I was sent to the Matara Dutch Reformed Church in a relief truck. Half of the supplies sent were not what the people at the church asked for.

The important stuff was simply not listed. In this day and age of modern communication there is such a thing as a telephone a simple call before the goods were Transported would've solved the problem.

UNDP (F -for communication)

They apparently have a volunteer hot line I must have spent many a day trying to get through to them, finally when I did the switchboard transferred me over to another dept who said that I had to try the original number.Moral of the story call Koffi Annan maybe he can help you!

i-to-i.com (F for not accepting a genuine offer)

As a Sri Lankan I refuse to pay for a volunteer opportunity, so like the godfather I made them an offer they couldn't refuse.Concrete plus my fathers expertise as a civil engineer and myself as a laborer. They off course flatly refuse and told me I still had to pay. Common sense

Concrete + Civil Engineer + laborer = FREE BUILDING duh?

WorldVision NA

Not taking any volunteers

Action Against Hunger ( C )

Said they'd take me on after I went through two interviews. I had to give them a 6 to 12 month commitment (understandable).Plus I had to pay for my food , plane ticket and other expenses(Does not make sense to me).

PCAG(Peoples Church Assemblies of God Colombo) (A+)

You've got to hand it to these people they're an incredible bunch. I don't know how these volunteers find the strength day in day out to do the impossible everyday.They tell you straight up what to expect when it comes to volunteering.If you call them up and say you want to volunteer and leave your number they will definitely call you back!

I've never met a more efficient and hardworking set of Sri Lankans in my life.

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

Tsunami Volunteering Information

2005-03-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

I hope this helps cause when I went over as a volunteer I found it to be a very frustrating process.

Tsunami Volunteering

If anybody is interested in volunteering in Ampara,Galle or elsewhere please get ahold of the AOG this is their website http://www.peopleschurchsl.org/basecamp_updates.htm.
I know they're a very efficient and organized group cause of the fact that I actually spent two weeks in one of their camps in Thirikovil.If you need more information please feel free to drop me an email at kiran2093@yahoo.com. I have pictures of the actual camp and am willing to share tips on what you should take and what to expect etc.

Kiran Desilva

Kiran Desilva
509 Lenox Ave , Apt #1
Forest Hills
PA 15221

Alt Email: kdesilva@frsoft.com
Cell 412-491-6018

Work Phone: (412)-256-9020 ext 2256

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

e-workshop on the Tsunami

2005-02-27T16:03:00.000-05:00

Will it be possible to publicize this announcement? Thanks

The Human Development Resource Net (HDRNet) has just launched our first e-workshop on the role of local communities and the international response to the Tsunami. What lessons are we learning? How can the international community support local communities in responding to the disaster and in preventing the disastrous consequences of similar phenomena in the future? How can we bring more visibility to the struggles and successes of local communities in confronting this disaster?

Please visit our workshop and participate.

The Human Development Resource Network (HDRNet) is a specialised information gateway and electronic library on human development and international co-operation. HDRNet is part of an international collaborative effort that brings together United Nations organisations, practitioners and academics, enabling a broad community of participants from many different parts of the world to contribute material they consider relevant to the research and practice of human development.

mysignature Ananya Mukherjee Reed
Associate Professor, Dept of Political Science
Director, International Secretariat for Human Development,
York University, McLaughlin College 131, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto
Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
Phone 416 736 2100 extn 30095

Tsunami Relief Fund

2005-01-28T15:56:00.000-05:00

Dear Rasika:

Please find the following link to the website of TSVP’s Tsunami Relief Fund initiative: www.tsunamirelieffund.ca
For comments, contributing articles or listing fundraising events, please email info@tsunamirelieffund.ca
Make a contribution at the online donation centre: http://www.tsunamirelieffund.ca/donate

The Student Volunteer Program (TSVP) is a Toronto-based sustainable development organisation that participates in rehabilitation and redevelopment activities in various countries. It is exclusively managed by students and recent graduates interested in discovering, learning and participating in international development to effect global change. Its primary sectors of work include Information and Communication Technologies, Health, and Education. To date, the organisation has placed 22 volunteers on international internships most of them in Sri Lanka and has a membership of nearly 350. For more information on its projects and activities, please visit us online at www.tsvp.ca. This group was founded by Canadian students of Sri Lankan origin.

Cheers
Kumaran

---------------------------------------
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost

Urgent request for help from Library of Life and The IFRC

2005-01-15T04:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Rasikaw,

I have been deeply touched by your coverage of the recent tragedy in Asia. The way you have helped to make the outside world aware of the plight of the Sri Lankan people, is highly commendable.

I am contacting you with a request for your kind help from the Library of Life; a website (www.libraryoflife.org) whose aim is to compile the life stories of millions of people around the world, thereby creating the world’s first universal record of life that lasts forever. The website raises funds for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and in this time of need they have asked us to create a living memorial to all the victims of this tragedy. This will be done through photographs, text, film, sound and scanned documents on the site.

The Library of Life, in association with the IFRC, is inviting all those whose lives have been affected by the tragedy to create a free memorial to commemorate their loved ones, or post their own experiences as a record for all future generations. We have also set up an online ‘Tsunami Book of Condolence’, which we are inviting the public to sign and express their feelings on this terrible disaster.

In order for this great humanitarian project to be successful it is essential that we have as much information and reach as many people as possible. We therefore, kindly request that you give us your assistance by contributing to the Library of Life through posting your experiences and opinions directly on our site, or allowing us to put some information from your site on our own. Furthermore, if you would be prepared to put a message on your blog about us and a link from your blog to our website, that would be wonderful. In return we will happily give you a reciprocated link from our own site to yours, as well as a complementary membership.

Please have a look at our site and contact me at henry.hardy@libraryoflife.org and let me know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Henry Hardy

www.libraryoflife.org

Henry Hardy

Library of Life

46 Berkeley Square

London W1J 5AT

Tel: 0207 598 4063

Fax: 0207 598 4071

Thoughts of technology in the wake of a tragedy

2005-01-13T04:48:00.000-05:00

Thoughts of technology in the wake of a tragedy

Sanjana Hattotuwa*

"Public calamity is a mighty leveller" - Edmund Burke

On Boxing Day 2004, a tsunami hit my country. In a matter of hours, over 30,000 were dead, thousands more missing and 1% of the population displaced. We had never seen devastation on this scale – the human cost of the civil war over 25 years was itself made trivial in comparison, a ‘mere’ 65,000 in 25 years of conflict.
Recovering from a late night office party the night before, I was at home when I first heard the news. The full scale of the devastation was only dawned later on in the week, when the body count kept rising by thousands each day, and the dead had to be unceremoniously buried for fear of disease.

Beyond the gaze of the global media, this is a tragedy that hits the soul of a country. Its poorest communities are the majority of the dead or missing. Those who have survived, wish they had not – entire communities, villages, livelihoods have been lost.

It is impossible to articulate fully the scale of the disaster, or the breadth of its destruction. It is, by extension, impossible to map or quantify the toll of the tsunami on the communities it has affected, a toll that will be a heavy burden for many more years to come for those who now have to move on best they can.

Sri Lanka does not need more trauma or grief. We have had more than enough of both. And yet, can a tsunami also be an act of cleansing? Can it, if we creatively imagine ways to grapple with our loss, be a catalyst to engender trust at a time when, in the peace process, there was a severe erosion of it? Can the same water, which took away so much of a nation’s soul, also act as a giver – a giver of a renewed hope to create and nurture links between human beings bound by a tragedy that saw no ethnic or geographic boundaries?

The Japanese word for crisis is kiki and is made up of two parts: Danger and Opportunity. Danger (the left part of the Kanji) pictures a man on the edge of a precipice. Opportunity (the right part) is a reminder of the opportunity that can come out of danger.

Opportunity must not be confused with opportunism, of which, even in a time of national crisis, we have seen aplenty. Opportunism is the re-branding of self-interested and partisan politics, a bloodied sceptre that uses every opportunity to raise its head in Sri Lanka. The present crisis, however, hold within it a unique historical opportunity that can, in ways hitherto unimaginable, bring communities together and create inclusive, holistic and sustainable processes by which we can re-shape our collective destiny as a nation. In this rubric, the tsunami is symbolical of more than a destructive force, but one that binds communities who experience its power and live through it, to a greater humanity that resides within all of us – a humanity that crosses identity groups of ethnicity, colour, race or religion.

What then is the role of technology at this time?

To many, it is a simple question to answer. There is no role, because the needs on the ground require physical interventions, not virtual promises. Because PC’s and modems can’t help those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or, worse, gangrene. Because the internet is useless as a purveyor of information to places which are no longer on the map, let alone in the umbrella of mobile telephony.

I question the validity of these assumptions and in place of scepticism, submit that without technology, it will never be possible to mould aid and relief interventions that resonate with the real needs on the ground, in a timely and more importantly, sustainable manner.

On a personal note, from the night of Boxing Day to date, I have spent more hours in front of an overworked and underpowered laptop than I ever have before, trying to provide information to organisations, local and international, based in Colombo, to help them with the immediate needs of aid and relief coordination.

But more importantly, we need to think beyond the immediate needs. When the global media attention reaches its zenith in the immediate aftermath of human suffering on a grand scale and the leaders of the Global North are awakened to a moral duty to help those less fortunate, the money that flows in are more than adequate to meet the needs of the field operations in the immediate future.

Medium to long term needs are another matter, but critically, also where the long term impact of the tsunami will be most keenly felt. To not think about medium to long term needs is dangerous, because an over emphasis on the immediate needs can lead to the creation of ineffective mechanisms for, inter alia, aid delivery and relief operations that inadvertently sow the seeds for future conflict and structural inequality.

The sensitive and creative use of technology can help nurture change processes that can lead to more peaceful and sustainable futures and avoid the pitfalls of partisan aid and relief operations. Providing for mobile telephony that give remote communities access to constantly updated weather and geological information and helping create endogenous early warning systems using local knowledge, using tele-centres to serve as repositories of information on emergency procedures and evacuation guidelines, coordinating the work of aid agencies on the ground ensuring the delivery of aid and relief to all communities, monitoring aid flows and evaluating delivery, creating effective mechanisms for the coordination of reconstruction and relief efforts, creating avenues for effective communication between field operations and warehouses based in urban centres, creating secure virtual collaboration workspaces that bring in individuals and organisations sans ethnic, geographic or religious boundaries, enabling centralised data collection centres that collect information from the field and distribute it to relevant stakeholders are just some of the immediate uses for technology.

In the longer term, it is imperative to use trust relationships nurtured in virtual domains at present (for example, in state and non-state actors coming together in virtual spaces for aid and relief coordination) to nourish the larger dialogues in the peace process – on land, resource utilisation and fiscal structures. The effective cooperation on secure and reliable virtual communities can lead to the creation of champions within identity groups who, in liaison with like minded individuals and organisations from elsewhere, create bulwarks against future regression into parochial and zero-sum negotiations, that don’t fully acknowledge the shared trauma and suffering of communities. Technology can help knowledge flows from the diaspora to directly influence developmental processes on the ground, by-passing, if necessary, third parties to directly empower communities. Tele-centres can be repositories of alternative livelihoods in areas that it is now impossible to carry on traditional modes of living. Using cheaply available self-powered digital radios with broadband downlinks, it is possible to empower even the remotest communities with information that they can translate into knowledge to help them rebuild lives and create connections with others who have suffered the same plight. Online dispute resolution can use organic and local knowledge frameworks with creative and modern dispute resolution mechanisms to effectively address the problems that individuals and communities will face on the ground with limited access to resources. Beyond the mere provision of computers, and eschewing the notion that ICT can by itself effectively address the myriad of problems that the tsunami has left in its wake, a pragmatic approach to the use of technology in post-disaster situations can nourish and empower those who have been working for peace in Sri Lanka.

It is unlikely that a single tsunami will wipe out identities that many have died to protect and generations have fought to keep alive. However, we are confronted now with a unique historical event that can change the contours of what was a floundering peace process and re-energise it with dialogue that crosses parochial and partisan boundaries and explores, through suffering common to all communities, ways in which sustainable futures for all can be built.

This then is our burden – to remember Boxing Day 2004 not only as a tragedy, but as an opportunity that allowed leaders and communities to come together to address the need to rebuild lives and shattered dreams.

Through the cacophony of voices vying for attention in Sri Lanka today lies dormant the silence of a larger dream – the aspiration of communities to live in peace.

Let us, in 2005, give life to this silent prayer.

* The author is a Rotary World Peace Scholar at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and the Strategic Manager of Info Share (www.info-share.org), Colombo, Sri Lanka. The views expressed here are his own

tsunami relief

2005-01-13T02:41:00.000-05:00

This is an effort to speak with someone on the ground in Sri-Lanka.
I am a 39 year old male living in US I have applied for my passport and am planning on volunteering to help in the rebuilding of the devastated areas in sri-lanka. I feel that I should help and my experience and skills in construction and engineering and operation of heavy equipment among many others seem to be needed. I would like to get the opinion of those there about this I don't wish to be a "missionary" of any sort. I just want to help those who need it. I feel that our country has sent many troops to war in other countries and i too a a veteran of the military but I feel very strongly that this need is great and requires a great response. If anyone has any information of others groups that I can contact once I am on the ground in Sri-Lanka I would greatly appreciate it. I have contact many relief organizations concerning this matter and it seems as though the bueracracy is a stumbling block to some humanitarian efforts as common. My email address is Drdknoughtt@netzero.net I invite anyone to respond with comments or questions or information.
With Hope,
Dan

SLIC breaks record after tsunami-

2005-01-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

Dear All;

Please read the following news article. Don't you think it is a bit too quick to response to an insurance claim in SriLanka. Infact I think it is the 'Fastest payment' in SLIC history.

What they don't say is the owner of the vehicle is a close friend/relative of one of the Directors of SLIC. No other damage has occurred to any of his other properties. Person who owned the vehicle just wanted to get the money before any special policy will be applied to tsunami victims.

there are other questions arise from this-

* how many other vehicle damage claims have been honoured so far by SLIC

* If they have, how many of them below Rs. 1.5 million, and how many of them above that margin ()

* Has SLIC honoured any other claims (lost of life, damaged houses, damaged boats etc) up to now( and how many)

* Has the board of directors of SLIC taken a policy decision to honour motor insurance claims that does not carry comprehensive coverage but occurred damages as a result of tsunami. (Even a regular Comprehensive Coverage would not cover natural disasters of this scale)

* was it possible to utilise those motor engineers who were sent out as assessment teams to Yala in more useful manner for relif work.

Will we get answers for these questins ever?

Thanks

=====================================================

http://www.colombopage.com/archive/January524423SL.html

* SLIC begins paying motor claims

Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 2:44 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Jan 04, Colombo: The Sri Lanka Insurance Company (SLIC) has honoured the first motor claim from the recent tsunami disaster. The company paid Rs. 2,675,000 today for a vehicle found damaged at the Yala Wild Life Sanctuary.

The company, which was the first to send out assessment teams, had motor engineers cover affected areas from Dehiwala up to Yala, building information databases on damaged vehicles.

SLIC has decided to waive conditions that restrict payments on claims made on damaged motor vehicles, consultant Suren Galagedera said.

He said that although motor insurance does not carry comprehensive coverage for floods and other natural disasters and there are no insurance institutions that pay for such claims, SLIC has decided to settle these claims as ex gratia payment to help customers in distress.

brazilian journalist

2005-01-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Hi Rasikaw!

IÂ´m FlÃ¡via Mantovani, a journalist from Brazil. I saw your blog in internet.

I write for a newspaper directed to young people (adolescents) of my country and IÂ´d like to talk with someone that has survived from the tsunamis. It has to be a person that have less than 21 years and that talks english or spanish. It would be kind if itÂ´s someone who writes a blog about the happenings.

Are you in that conditions? How old are you?

Do you know someone that can talk to me?

Thank you very much!

With my best wishes for 2005,

FlÃ¡via Mantovani
Folha de S.Paulo
tel. + 55 11 3224-3210
cel. + 55 11 8359-7815
about Folha/sobre a Folha: www.folha.com.br/conheca

Sanitation and Well Protection/Decontamination Project

2005-01-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

LacNet has started a Sanitation and Well Protection/Decontamination Project. Details can be found at

http://www.theacademic.org/tsunami/Well/

How it happened

2005-01-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

BBC has an animation of what heppened

Sri Lankan Tsunami Victims

2004-12-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

This is undoubtedly the worst human tragedy the Sri Lankans had to face. Hope this becomes a place where we can share information about the ways we can help victims and also as a place to exchange information.