Friends of Sewalanka Foundation
The generosity and help of the Sri
Lankan people has compelled us to act.
 |
Maurice
and Mayor of Panama Village |
Victoria and Maurice from the United Kingdom were on holidays in Arugam Bay, a sleepy Eastern coastal tourist village on the 26th December 2004 when the deadly tsunami hit Sri Lankan shores. What they experienced on that day and in the aftermath will stay with them forever, “…we looked but could not quite believe our eyes... Buildings flattened, bodies being collected, cars and boats tossed great distances into improbable places, roads dissolved while the basics of everyday life; clothes, pots, pans, littered the village like ticker tape. The looks of sorrow and bewilderment on the faces of the locals churned the pit of your stomach."
“What we want to do now is to establish a group, which strives to assist the area beyond the immediate consequences of the disaster, and looks long term to repay the kindness shown to us by local people... In our experience people who had lost so much were willing to show enormous generosity towards strangers without wanting anything in return....The idea is not to collect money ourselves but rather to direct aid towards an existing Sri Lankan professional NGO." For more information about their fundraising in the UK or to read their story contact Maurice and Victoria at Future Sri Lanka.
Former Volunteers form Melbourne Friends of Sewalanka
 |
Melbourne
Friends of Sewalanka Foundation organised a movie night as a fundraisier
for tsunmai relief projects |
While Kellie Watson and Lee Ward were in Sri Lanka from February 2002 to April 2003, with Australian Volunteers International, they worked on a mangrove replanting program on Sri Lanka's East Coast. "We worked with local communities in Pottuvil and Thirrukovil on a mangrove conservation and program and developed an ecotour as part of an income generation project for the Hidayapuram Fisheries Cooperative Society; a community society of local fishermen and their families. At last reports, in December, they had conducted 200 tours in the past 12 months. The region has now been completly devastated, many of the fisherman we worked with have died, are living in temporary camps, and have lost their houses and fishing equipment."
Following the overwhelming support shown by friends and family, they have
developed an informal group called Melbourne Friends of Sewalanka. Already
the network has organised many events to raise money for Sewalanka - sending
much needed funds directly to Sri Lankan communities. Please download the
promotional pdfs below for more information:
– Melbourne Friends of Sewalanka (192
pdf)
– Auybowen: An exhibition of photos
from Sri Lanka by Kellie Watson (490k pdf)
– Bride and Predujuice: An tsunami
appeal movie night (306k pdf)
– Information awareness at Casetech
Australia stall for the Melbourne Flower and Garden show (355k pdf)
South Asia Institute Partnership Inititative
When news of the tsunami hit, a group of friends and colleagues mobilized into action to raise funds for Sewalanka Foundation’s Appeal. They soon formed a partnership to help facilitate their fundraising with the South Asia Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute focusing on South Asia, located at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Amazed at individuals willing to donate, they have received donations from over a 100 people. Of note, the Union of Geography Students at Heidelberg University spontaneously decided to raise funds for Sewalanka at their annual union party, which attracted a huge crowd. They doubled the entrance fee and donated the additional revenues. Also, a church group in Heidelberg has approached us and donated a large sum which they had collected among their church members.
As the media attention of tsunami dies down, the efforts of this group of friends does not as they continue to raise funds and support specific projects.
Three friends from three countries join together to help fishermen
“Since the tsunami hit, I [and my other partners] have been collaborating with Sewalanka Foundation (a Sri Lankan NGO) to develop a project that will assist communities affected by the tsunami to get back on their feet economically. Considering that the North and East of Sri Lanka were the worst hit, and given the political difficulties in getting support to these areas, fishing villages in Eastern Sri Lanka were selected for targeting rehabilitation assistance. The project was developed based on a careful assessment of the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts and in response to needs voiced by the communities. The other partners engaged in this initiative are my brother, Nalin Cooke (who is working with a U.K. based union - UNISON) and a group of friends in USA (www.taskusa.org). Together, we are all working towards the common goal of collecting adequate financing for Development Project No. 1"
Roshan Cooke, Geneva
