A record personal victory

Mr Manoj Sanjeewa has re-established his video and record shop with assistance from Sewalanka.

Thirty-year-old Mr Manoj Sanjeewa is the proud owner of Sanjeewa Video, a record shop in Ahangama, about 15 kilometres south of Galle. The small, well-stocked shop sells DVDs and cassettes and provides a healthy income for Mr Sanjeewa’s family.

Although he is now living a comfortable life with a new house and business, two years ago things did not appear so bright for Mr Sanjeewa. Like so many people living in coastal Sri Lanka, Mr Sanjeewa lost everything on 26 December 2004. His possessions were swept away, his house was destroyed and his business, a retail record shop, was ruined.

Without a house, possessions or a business, Mr Sanjeewa was left with the gruelling task of having to rebuild a life for his family of four.

“Initially, we stayed with friends for two months and then moved into a Sewalanka constructed temporary shelter near Galle,” Mr Sanjeewa said. “The shelter was only made of timber, but it was like a palace to me. It was mine. After moving into the temporary house with my family, I was eager to start earning money and to rebuild my life. I wanted to repay my friends the money that they had lent me.”

Sewalanka provided Mr Sanjeewa with a Rs.25,000 grant which allowed him to reconstruct his destroyed shop and to restock the shelves. Since opening Sanjeewa Video six months ago, Mr Sanjeewa hasn’t looked back.

“Running the record shop keeps me extremely busy, but I am pleased that business is thriving – I’ve even expanded the operation to include video production. The idea of making movies has always interested me, so I seized the opportunity and started producing DVDs about local Sri Lankan dance. I never would have guessed that the venture would be so successful and that my DVDs would be sold in shops around Sri Lanka. The tsunami taught me that life is fragile and that anything is possible and as a result I decided to pursue my long-term interest,” he said.

“I am so happy with where I am right now. I have everything I desire – a new home, a successful business and a healthy family.”

Profits in papermaking

Mrs Priyanga Nimal earns an income by making greeting cards out of recycled paper.

Hardworking Mrs Priyanga Nimal is the president of Swashakthi Society, a group of 12 tsunami-affected mothers whose children attend Deheyia Preschool in Habaraduwa, a village south of Galle. While their children attend classes, the women keep themselves busy and earn an income by recycling office paper into beautiful hand made products which are sold in retail outlets in Colombo.

Mrs Nimal has four children, one of whom attends the Deheyia Preschool, which was established by the Sri Lankan Government in 2005 following the tsunami.

Mrs Nimal initially got involved in the paper project to provide her family with a much-needed income. The Nimal’s earnings were greatly reduced when the family business, a small vegetable shop in Matara, was destroyed by the tsunami. “When Sewalanka brought up the papermaking concept at a preschool committee meeting, I envisioned that it could provide my family with an income.

“So far, the money that I have earned has gone into re-establishing our vegetable shop in Matara and into building a new house for my family,” Mrs Nimal said.

Two years on from the tsunami, Mrs Nimal can see the benefits of the paper making initiative beyond the financial returns. She is proud to be involved in such a worthwhile project, leading a group of women to earn a salary, and helping to preserve the environment by recycling used office paper.

Bricks and mortar rebuilds lifes

Mr Aravinthan was just 20-years-old when the tsunami destroyed his family’s house in Thampaddai, Ampara. The devastating event saw his family living in Kanakipurani Refugee Camp for over six months and then in temporary housing. Now at 22, life for Aravinthan has once more changed, this time for the better.

Pre-tsunami, Aravinthan left school at 16 to work with his father, Mahailingem, as a casual labour. The Rs.200 per day Aravinthan earned doing intermittent work in field cutting and bricklaying was barely enough to support his mother and sister, the latter having just started school. The family’s difficult situation was further exacerbated by the fact that Mahailingem was getting older and suffering from illness and injury that prevented him from working.

As difficult as life was pre-tsunami, the terrible waves caused even further hardship for the family, leaving them without a home and suffering from trauma. Nevertheless through courage and strength of spirit, the family got through this tough time, and after months of living in temporary housing constructed post-tsunami, were allocated land and semi-permanent housing. Employment, however, was difficult to obtain. Mahailingem was in no condition to work and the family’s previous source of income – selling produce from their garden – had been torn away by the tsunami.

Around this time, Sewalanka staff through their relief and rehabilitation work with tsunami-affected communities, became concerned about employment opportunities for young adults in the area. Determining a need for skilled labourers to contribute to the rebuilding of village and town infrastructure, Sewalanka joined with Swiss Contact to develop a training program for young people. Entitled Vocational Training and Business Recovery, the program was aimed at restoring sustainable livelihoods for tsunami-affected people in the Ampara and Batticaloa districts. To do this, Sewalanka staff provided tools to skilled labourers, supported employment opportunities for affected youth, set up mobile vocational training units, introduced technology training in construction and provided business development services.

It was when the mobile vocational training unit visited Thampaddai, that young Aravinthan saw an opportunity to change his life. After registering with Sewalanka for the program in early 2006, he embarked upon a masonry course that included on-the-job training. Six months later, in June 2006, Aravintham received his qualification in masonry.

Since then a lot has changed in Aravintham’s life. As the skills he possessed upon completion of the course were in high demand, he was quickly able to secure permanent employment for around Rs.800 a day. This has now meant that he alone can provide for his family and allow his younger sister to focus on her studies. In addition, as a mason, he became eligible for a Government cash grant (for the construction of housing), and is currently building a family home.

Although the home is still under construction, the family can now see not only a return to life as it was before, but one with a better house, standard of living, and income. While there is a long way to go for Aravintham and his family, there is now at least a future to look forward to.

Hope in the face of adversity

Ranjini’s story is one of both sadness and hope. At just 13 years of age she has faced more tragedy than most will experience in a lifetime. Ranjini is from Theethakarai, a small fishing village in the north of Sri Lanka. Fifteen years ago the entire village was destroyed during fighting between the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE, leaving her family without a home.

Upon the family’s return to Theethakarai, Ranjini’s parents worked hard alongside the rest of the community to rebuild the village. Her father, Mr John Parnanthu Sebastianpillai, returned to his trade as a fisherman and began earning a steady income for his wife and eight children.

Tragically, in 2001, Mr Sebastianpillai was severely injured by a sea mine explosion that left him with a lasting disability and unable to continue working.

Already struggling to survive, the family was again faced with tragedy when the tsunami destroyed their village. Thirty seven village members including Ranjini’s mother were killed and 132 families left homeless. Left without a mother, Ranjini’s familiy was forced to live in a Sewalanka constructed temporary shelter camp, where they are still residing today.

With all this adversity, however, Ranjini feels there is hope. The foundation for her family’s new permanant home is almost complete and along with her five unmarried siblings, she has returned to school. The family was also able to secure a bank loan with the help of a business plan prepared as part of Sewalanka’s Small Business Development Program (CEFE). With this loan, the family has established a small grocery store which is providing a steady income.