Helping in Ahangama
It's 12:45 pm on Friday and Jesper and I just returned from Ahangama where we met Ian, the local manager of the Galle restaurant Galleria. We spoke to Ian a week or so ago about locating a small village to help out. He suggest looking into Ahangama where he lived close by. We arranged to meet him there this morning.
We arrived early to walk the road for a km or two and returned along the beach. We met some friendly people along the way and saw the usual crumbling brick and block remains of buildings and homes. These villages further outside of the bigger cities don't get the help they need so it looked like a good place to inquire about. We met Ian at a beach club a half hour early as we were both early.
He introduced us to a couple who in turn led us to the remains of their beach side brick home. There was a tent there to house their remaining possessions but they slept at night in shelters across the road. She has a small boutique business at the beach club but it is now nearly non-existent due to a lack of tourists. In August they say things should pick up.
We hire a van to drive us to a plot of land they have purchased for 150,000Rs ($1,500). Jesper has some funds donated by his company to use in a small village and we're thinking we've found the right area. The true problem however is handing over cash in situations like these. Ian told us the best thing to do is to just purchase the materials and labor ourselves. Sounds good, but how do you do that when you leave in 1 week? Who can you trust locally?
Ian said he would manage the money and it can be a risk, but we keep in mind that we approached him originally and he has a very good job. Jesper is still deciding on how to handle it but thinks giving Ian enough money to start building a well and purchasing enough concrete, block, rock, and gravel for the foundation work is a good start. This will cost about 25,000Rs ($250) including labor. The entire house, well, and bathroom will cost about 400,000Rs ($4,000). Once we see some progress before leaving on the the 28th and pictures sent of continued progress then more money will be sent.
(Warning: Rant ahead) There is just so much to do here it can be overwhelming. I had a talk with Paul, the local GC coordinator, and we both agreed you have to choose your battles and it's better to complete one project than running around completing nothing. I further believe that GC just takes the money we give, sends us to Sri Lanka blindly without caring how the effort is handled here while Paul and Michael, who are trying what they know best, use us as mere manual laborers.
This IS how things are mostly done in Sri Lanka but with our western standards of organization and utilizing the best machinery possible for a job, it gets a bit frustrating. Our effort could be better used by using our fund raising abilities and organizational skills than as mere laborers. We DO want to help by getting our hands dirty but we could be moving forward by orders of magnitude with just ONE concrete mixer, and a few small backhoes or similar machines. These things are available in Sri Lanka but you have to understand their way of life and thinking.
In the western world, we organize, build quickly, and earn quickly so we can enjoy the finer things in life. In a third world country that line of reasoning just doesn't exist. Why hurry? What are you going to buy? Where are you going to buy it? You can't leave Sri Lanka without a foreign sponsor or $10,000 in the bank so what's the rush? Just take 10 people and move this pile of boulders 40 yards which will take all morning. It's maddening at times and a serious reorganization needs to be done from the bottom up. I see a for-profit company, Global Crossroad, sending over-charged volunteers to Sri Lanka to help while Paul and Michael just view us as manual laborers who need to work harder.
Paul and Michael, who are brothers, are doing a great job and are on leave with their jobs in Sri Lanka to organize this effort. We respect them and their efforts very much but there is room for improvement. To their extreme credit they do listen and put into effect nearly all we have suggested. We have suggested they overlap volunteer 2-week efforts so that all is not lost every 2 weeks. We suggested that volunteers arrive at least 2 days early to adjust to the time and temperature as much as possible. People getting off a plane half way around the world and getting up at 7:00 the next morning to do very tough work takes its toll on a lot of people. It is getting better and will continue to do so only if we help them with recommendations.
Some volunteers here seem to forget that the end goal is to get these people into good permanent housing and not to stress over the organizational skills of Global Crossroad or having someone make your stay more pleasant. I've heard too many poorly-aimed complaints about housing and heat and a million other excuses as to why people cut out early or whatever. There have been great examples as well of people not being able to cope with the job site heat and turned that into an opportunity to do some refugee camp work instead of sitting about and sulking. Most do give it their best which is great. But, if you don't or just simply can't then move on and either find something useful to do or keep quiet. Disgruntled talk in the midst of difficult work is tantamount to mutiny in my opinion. We have committed ourselves to a project and almost as importantly, each other. Half the reason I am able to drag myself around the work site in the late afternoon is because I see Jesper or James or John or Paul or Lottie or Steve or Ruth or Tracy or any of the other volunteers giving it their all. Charity only takes you so far in 120 degree humidity. Ok, that's my rant on ranters.
Yesterday, we met Ken and Carolyn back at Janaka House for a scheduled trip to drop off the donated items at the camp. We all took a van and there were about 13 of us total. We were greeted with the same warmth as before and piled our goods under the main tarp. The local leader, Cheeny, had us write down our brought items and sign our name next to them. (They have handwritten bookkeeping for everything here. You get a hand written receipt for everything. In the grocery store each item purchased is written out and filed away somewhere never to be seen again I'm sure.)
After writing out our donations we gave about half our items out to the local children. It was an exciting few minutes. The rest was stored for other children who may not be present or to hand out again at a later time. More hot tea was given to us, a few bought lace made by the women in the tents, and we toured some of the new tents. Inside the tents we were able to see the tables which our previous group funded the purchase of but was completely started and organized by Ken and Carolyn. It was a good site to see as they had nothing before to keep their possessions off the dirt and mud. We visited for a little while and a few boys started an impromptu cricket game with some newly acquired tennis balls. This was briefly interrupted by a loud machine being carried down the road and spraying a large white cloud of mosquito insecticide everywhere. This excited everyone and we all held our noses. Except Jesper who said it was just an oil rich mixture in a 2-stroke motor. Placebo or not, the locals got a kick out of it.
After the camp we were found by our tuktuk driver from the other day and he helped us locate the Land Surveyors office so that we could purchase some Galle District maps. We ended up not needing them but they will be nice to take home. After emailing and lunch we ended up back at Janaka to tell Tracy to come join us for dinner that night. She already had accepted dinner with Santa at his home but said she'd try to come by after. I told her those dinners can take a while and since she didn't show by 11:00 pm we figured it was to be expected and went to bed.
I believe we will just try and help this one family in Ahangama if not others over the next few days and perhaps some local shopping mixed in as well. I haven't bought anything and I better grab a few things because I know how these departures can sneak up on you.
The sting of our friends leaving stings a little less but my desire to see them again remains the same. I believe Pam said this type of close-knit work experience is equivelant to roughly 6 months in the real world. Most of us have never done this type of work before but a few have and we value their thoughts a lot. One great thing about it all is I feel very confident in moving forward on my own in the future when the call arises.
I have certainly learned a lot about not just Sinhalese culture but other western cultures as well. I've been told that someone like myself in another area such as Canada or the UK would have been on many many trips by now instead of just this one. In the US we have a very ego-centric society. It's easy to understand though since most movies, music and people are always trying to make it in "America." How can we be expected to look outward when everyone else seems to be coming to us? I understand our need to include others in our decisions which virtually effect everything, but I hope they understand when you have millions of people trying to enter your borders every year illegally or otherwise, its easy to think this is the place to be.
Jesper said the USA's self-reliance, mostly in thought, also accounts why the US is always head and shoulders above the rest of the world in terms of money, might and acheiving goals. We have a core set of values and stick to them. We don't look elsewhere for approval or acceptance. We are our own island. This is also the same reason why some people hate us. There is balance, there is a way to bridge the current divide and I believe I've found my own path. I hope you are able to join me and travel to lands such as Sri Lanka. Get outside of airports, hotels, and shopping malls. Take risk and reward your soul.
Talk to you soon....
-Chris
We arrived early to walk the road for a km or two and returned along the beach. We met some friendly people along the way and saw the usual crumbling brick and block remains of buildings and homes. These villages further outside of the bigger cities don't get the help they need so it looked like a good place to inquire about. We met Ian at a beach club a half hour early as we were both early.
He introduced us to a couple who in turn led us to the remains of their beach side brick home. There was a tent there to house their remaining possessions but they slept at night in shelters across the road. She has a small boutique business at the beach club but it is now nearly non-existent due to a lack of tourists. In August they say things should pick up.
We hire a van to drive us to a plot of land they have purchased for 150,000Rs ($1,500). Jesper has some funds donated by his company to use in a small village and we're thinking we've found the right area. The true problem however is handing over cash in situations like these. Ian told us the best thing to do is to just purchase the materials and labor ourselves. Sounds good, but how do you do that when you leave in 1 week? Who can you trust locally?
Ian said he would manage the money and it can be a risk, but we keep in mind that we approached him originally and he has a very good job. Jesper is still deciding on how to handle it but thinks giving Ian enough money to start building a well and purchasing enough concrete, block, rock, and gravel for the foundation work is a good start. This will cost about 25,000Rs ($250) including labor. The entire house, well, and bathroom will cost about 400,000Rs ($4,000). Once we see some progress before leaving on the the 28th and pictures sent of continued progress then more money will be sent.
(Warning: Rant ahead) There is just so much to do here it can be overwhelming. I had a talk with Paul, the local GC coordinator, and we both agreed you have to choose your battles and it's better to complete one project than running around completing nothing. I further believe that GC just takes the money we give, sends us to Sri Lanka blindly without caring how the effort is handled here while Paul and Michael, who are trying what they know best, use us as mere manual laborers.
This IS how things are mostly done in Sri Lanka but with our western standards of organization and utilizing the best machinery possible for a job, it gets a bit frustrating. Our effort could be better used by using our fund raising abilities and organizational skills than as mere laborers. We DO want to help by getting our hands dirty but we could be moving forward by orders of magnitude with just ONE concrete mixer, and a few small backhoes or similar machines. These things are available in Sri Lanka but you have to understand their way of life and thinking.
In the western world, we organize, build quickly, and earn quickly so we can enjoy the finer things in life. In a third world country that line of reasoning just doesn't exist. Why hurry? What are you going to buy? Where are you going to buy it? You can't leave Sri Lanka without a foreign sponsor or $10,000 in the bank so what's the rush? Just take 10 people and move this pile of boulders 40 yards which will take all morning. It's maddening at times and a serious reorganization needs to be done from the bottom up. I see a for-profit company, Global Crossroad, sending over-charged volunteers to Sri Lanka to help while Paul and Michael just view us as manual laborers who need to work harder.
Paul and Michael, who are brothers, are doing a great job and are on leave with their jobs in Sri Lanka to organize this effort. We respect them and their efforts very much but there is room for improvement. To their extreme credit they do listen and put into effect nearly all we have suggested. We have suggested they overlap volunteer 2-week efforts so that all is not lost every 2 weeks. We suggested that volunteers arrive at least 2 days early to adjust to the time and temperature as much as possible. People getting off a plane half way around the world and getting up at 7:00 the next morning to do very tough work takes its toll on a lot of people. It is getting better and will continue to do so only if we help them with recommendations.
Some volunteers here seem to forget that the end goal is to get these people into good permanent housing and not to stress over the organizational skills of Global Crossroad or having someone make your stay more pleasant. I've heard too many poorly-aimed complaints about housing and heat and a million other excuses as to why people cut out early or whatever. There have been great examples as well of people not being able to cope with the job site heat and turned that into an opportunity to do some refugee camp work instead of sitting about and sulking. Most do give it their best which is great. But, if you don't or just simply can't then move on and either find something useful to do or keep quiet. Disgruntled talk in the midst of difficult work is tantamount to mutiny in my opinion. We have committed ourselves to a project and almost as importantly, each other. Half the reason I am able to drag myself around the work site in the late afternoon is because I see Jesper or James or John or Paul or Lottie or Steve or Ruth or Tracy or any of the other volunteers giving it their all. Charity only takes you so far in 120 degree humidity. Ok, that's my rant on ranters.
Yesterday, we met Ken and Carolyn back at Janaka House for a scheduled trip to drop off the donated items at the camp. We all took a van and there were about 13 of us total. We were greeted with the same warmth as before and piled our goods under the main tarp. The local leader, Cheeny, had us write down our brought items and sign our name next to them. (They have handwritten bookkeeping for everything here. You get a hand written receipt for everything. In the grocery store each item purchased is written out and filed away somewhere never to be seen again I'm sure.)
After writing out our donations we gave about half our items out to the local children. It was an exciting few minutes. The rest was stored for other children who may not be present or to hand out again at a later time. More hot tea was given to us, a few bought lace made by the women in the tents, and we toured some of the new tents. Inside the tents we were able to see the tables which our previous group funded the purchase of but was completely started and organized by Ken and Carolyn. It was a good site to see as they had nothing before to keep their possessions off the dirt and mud. We visited for a little while and a few boys started an impromptu cricket game with some newly acquired tennis balls. This was briefly interrupted by a loud machine being carried down the road and spraying a large white cloud of mosquito insecticide everywhere. This excited everyone and we all held our noses. Except Jesper who said it was just an oil rich mixture in a 2-stroke motor. Placebo or not, the locals got a kick out of it.
After the camp we were found by our tuktuk driver from the other day and he helped us locate the Land Surveyors office so that we could purchase some Galle District maps. We ended up not needing them but they will be nice to take home. After emailing and lunch we ended up back at Janaka to tell Tracy to come join us for dinner that night. She already had accepted dinner with Santa at his home but said she'd try to come by after. I told her those dinners can take a while and since she didn't show by 11:00 pm we figured it was to be expected and went to bed.
I believe we will just try and help this one family in Ahangama if not others over the next few days and perhaps some local shopping mixed in as well. I haven't bought anything and I better grab a few things because I know how these departures can sneak up on you.
The sting of our friends leaving stings a little less but my desire to see them again remains the same. I believe Pam said this type of close-knit work experience is equivelant to roughly 6 months in the real world. Most of us have never done this type of work before but a few have and we value their thoughts a lot. One great thing about it all is I feel very confident in moving forward on my own in the future when the call arises.
I have certainly learned a lot about not just Sinhalese culture but other western cultures as well. I've been told that someone like myself in another area such as Canada or the UK would have been on many many trips by now instead of just this one. In the US we have a very ego-centric society. It's easy to understand though since most movies, music and people are always trying to make it in "America." How can we be expected to look outward when everyone else seems to be coming to us? I understand our need to include others in our decisions which virtually effect everything, but I hope they understand when you have millions of people trying to enter your borders every year illegally or otherwise, its easy to think this is the place to be.
Jesper said the USA's self-reliance, mostly in thought, also accounts why the US is always head and shoulders above the rest of the world in terms of money, might and acheiving goals. We have a core set of values and stick to them. We don't look elsewhere for approval or acceptance. We are our own island. This is also the same reason why some people hate us. There is balance, there is a way to bridge the current divide and I believe I've found my own path. I hope you are able to join me and travel to lands such as Sri Lanka. Get outside of airports, hotels, and shopping malls. Take risk and reward your soul.
Talk to you soon....
-Chris