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Ceylon Christian Care |
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News |
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Jan 31st, 2008 Visit Report
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Friends,
Introduction Recently we were able to pay another visit to Sri Lanka. Our main goal was to review our current projects. We also wanted to investigate which new projects could be considered. Traveling this time were Herman van der Weerd, Wybren Jongsma and myself.
Journey Getting to Sri Lanka turned out to be, well...problematic. Monday morning at 5:00 AM we left Veenendaal. We arrived in Peeriyaneelavanai at 1:00 AM in the night from Tuesday – Wednesday, after a trip that took over 40 hours, with a delay of about 12 hours. Problems with one of the engines of the Airbus forced the airplane to make a stop in Dubai, after which we were booked on another flight.
After our arrival in Colombo we heard about a blast that had occurred somewhere between Peeriyaneelavanai and Batticaloa, in a village that we sometimes drive through when we drive from Peeriyaneelavanai to Batticaloa or vice versa. When we drive from the airport we often pass through this village as well. If we wouldn’t have been that late, we might have been there when the explosion happened. It caused us to reflect on the Lord’s providence.
After arrival it was decided that we would take another road which goes through the mountain area in the midst of the island of Sri Lanka. After a journey of about 9 hours over bumpy roads, mostly through intense darkness because we were driving through rural areas without electricity, at last we arrived in Peeriyaneelavai. The children had gone to bed already, but the staff had been waiting patiently on our arrival, and wouldn’t rest until they had served us with a dinner that wasn’t hot anymore in a literal sense, but that in every other respect reflected the warmest intentions with which it had been prepared. It was good to be there, and to meet with our friends.
Civil War The situation in Sri Lanka is depressing. The first day of our stay was one of the many dark days in the recent history of Sri Lanka. It was the day that the cease fire, that had come in effect about 5 years ago, following a long episode of complicated negotiations facilitated by people from Norway, was formally terminated. Today, about 50 foreigners who had been supervising compliance to the cease fire agreement, left the country. Tamil Tigers “celebrated” the day by causing one of the meanest attacks to date: a bomb got placed in a bus with young students. The result: 27 young people killed! Till today most attacks had been on military or political objects or people. Also, most of the war had been concentrated in the Nord-eastern part of Sri Lanka. In other parts of the country the situation used to be relatively relaxed.
That period seems to be over now. Both sides, government and Tamil Tigers, seem to have chosen for an all-out war with all means available. The government elected for a full war against the Tamils. The Tamils decided to respond with brutal terroristic attacks throughout the country. The government in turn reacts with actions in the Tamil area which sometimes involve the killing of innocent civilians. And to make things even more complex: there are several other opposing groups who have started to involve themselves in the war. There are Tamil Tigers who have separated themselves from the main group and it is said that they receive secret support from the government. There are Muslim groups and Hindu groups who use violence against each other. And to make the chaos complete, the government decided that – for the first time in many years- this was a good time to organize local and regional elections in several tamil districts, probably to demonstrate to the world that things are under control, which is causing tensions to increase to new heights.
Anybody driving through the Tamil area in Sri Lanka is confronted with this situation. There are armed soldiers everywhere. There are countless checkpoints on the roads where traffic gets stopped. In the evenings and nights the towns and villages seem desolated, because nobody dares to go outside. Foreigners have disappeared mostly. Gone are the many large impressive white Toyota’s with their satellite antennas, flags and impressive logo’s of foreign NGO’s. To sum it up, Sri Lanka is a country that is back in war with no help from outside.
He who doesn’t believe that there is a God Who lives and rules would easily believe that the situation is hopeless. He who does believe that God lives, and who therefore knows also that there is a war in this world between the empire of darkness and Kingdom of Light, is tempted to believe that in Sri Lank the devil has succeeded in taking possession of the souls of leaders on all sides and is succeeding in his attempts to turn Sri Lanka into a hell on earth.
What does this all mean for Ceylon Christian Care and for our projects? We don’t know. However, what we do know is that, now more than ever before, we need to do what we can! Never was there less reason to draw back. And besides, we know that satan doesn’t have the last word. Sometimes we do see small and hopeful tokens that the work of the Lord is progressing in the midst of chaos and violence.
John’s Academy Wednesday morning we first visited the new school, the John’s Academy. The new building was opened in October. Te building looks beautiful and is located nicely. Getting the school started wasn’t without problems, especially because it turned out to be very difficult to find qualified teachers. We were introduced to Alice, the new manager of the school. We saw the new computer room, probably one of the most modern and well-equipped facilities in Batticaloa. We visited each of the classes and got a sense for the way lessons are conducted. We were glad to observe that the school is not just Christian in name, but that Christianity is an integral part of the school in every respect. This may well be the only school in Sri Lanka where this is the case! On Friday Herman and Wybren would spend a whole day to review the school operations in detail. Our first impression was that there is much work to do to bring the school to the quality level that we aim for, however, with motivated management and staff we are confident that things are moving in the right direction.
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Udapusellawa Wednesday morning we left early to visit the mountain area in the midst of Sri Lanka. We wanted to visit an area where many tea plantations can be found. In one of these areas lies a village where we are asked to start a new project. In these tea plantations there are very poor Tamil people who are “employed” under trying circumstances. These Tamil people got “imported” from India in the 19th century to labor in the plantations. From generation to generation these families have been working there, locked-up in the vicious circles of their poor existence and mostly unable to free themselves from their circumstances. They work for extremely low daily wages. Often there isn’t enough work to be allowed to work for more than 2-3 days in a week. Much of the plantation work is done by females. They live in slum-like houses which have been made available by the plantations. Children can’t go to school and child labor is very common. The food comes from plantation shops. In short, these are circumstances not unlike what was common 200 years ago, but one doesn’t realize these circumstances exist even until today.
It was another long drive to get where we needed to be. It took us about 6-7 hours. The countryside was beautiful. Elegant quiet mountain areas with much green and spectacular views. The rice fields add an exotic dimension to the scenery. The tea plantations tend to be higher-up in the mountains at heights of about 1500-2000 meters, because tea bushes flourish in a cool climate
The village of Udapusellawa would benefit from some help indeed! The village exists of what I would describe as a “slum string”: two long rows of poor sheds built on each sides of a dike, with each “house” inhabited by a large number of people. Obviously all people are poor, although one notices that there are grades in poverty with sometimes considerable differences. We are told that this is because some families have members of their family who go to work in the mid east, which enables them to save some money and send this to their families. However, we are also told that many of these people are being misused as prostitutes, which means that the price they pay for an incremental improvement of their circumstances is one of the highest that can be paid: they pay with their body.
We visited one particular house that is for sale and that could be used as starting point for our activities, which would include worship services, vocational training and income generation programs. It is hard to get excited about this house to be frank. It certainly has four walls and a roof, but that’s about everything that can be told about it. It looks as if it can collapse any moment and there is very little space around the house. However, the location is excellent, and there aren’t many alternative options in the area, as most of the land is owned by the plantation. We therefore decide that we will develop a plan for a thorough renovation. Back home we will discuss this potential new project in our board and decide whether we will start this new project. |
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Murokkodanchenai In the afternoon we visited the project in Murokkodanchenai, where we are doing an integral development project. The project started about 18 months ago, and seems to be going well. In many areas of the village the results are visible. There are now many water wells which make clean water available to most if not all people. Toilets have been placed as well. There is a market place where local people can sell and buy goods. The community center facilitates many activities. Young people receive there vocational training such as sewing and glass painting. On Sunday the center is used to conduct worship services which are well attended..
The story how it all started is remarkable enough. It started with a Christian widow who has been living in the village for many years as the only Christian person. Sometimes she would attend the church services in Batticaloa. At one day she asked Rev. Jeyanesan whether it would be possible to conduct services in the village where she lived. She was prepared to make part of her territory available for this purpose and she would do so without having to be paid. This made it possible to realize a simple building (not much more than a roof on four piles) where services could be organized. This started just few years ago. Today, the services are attended by about 80 people!
During our visit this same widow proposed that we would take the rest of her territory and house as well, as she was planning to move to a different location. The price that was proposed was very reasonable, and we decided to accept the offer. We needed to build a house for the local pastor anyway and we were already making some plans. Buying this house turned out to be much more cost effective and would give us a sizeable area which would allow us to develop other activities over time as well.
We visited a few other families in the village as well and saw examples of men and women who are now able to earn a daily income, because with help of CCC they received a micro credit which enabled them to get started with some income generating activity. |
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The computercenter |
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Principal Alice |
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The broommaker at work |
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Education in the village |
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Peeriyaneelavanai We then drove back to Peeriyaneelavanai, which mean driving for a few hours. There we were welcomed by the children. A happy reunion! For me it had been 1.5 year since I had seen “my” boys. I felt somewhat ashamed and affected when I noticed how much they appreciated my presence and how the boys showed their affection in many small ways. They were proud to show me the new vegetable garden, which has been established under leadership of one of the wardens (Lorenzo) who enjoys gardening. I was amazed to learn that most of the vegetables were completely unknown to me!
At night the children made us listen to some of the songs they had learned for Christmas. People in Sri Lanka like singing a lot, but one can’t compare it completely with what we mean with singing, because everyone sings at his own height. The result sounds sometimes more like a speaking choir than a singing choir! But it doesn’t take a way that the singing is performed with great enthusiasm. Subsequently I played a few pieces on the organ in the church, which was donated by Domus last year. Now, I have to admit that my ability to play organ is probably less developed than the ability of people in Sri Lanka to sing their songs. Also, I couldn’t find a few essential buttons on the organ, which made the organ sound as if it had a bad cold, but the children listed with great interest, until they got a bit sleepy. We closed the evening by singing some Dutch psalms for the boys and girls.
In general we were quite happy with the situation as we found it in Peeriyaneelavanai. Over the past 18 months we experienced some major problems, especially after our manager – Vathany – was forced to leave the project following a raid on the project. Recently Sounthi, a young pastor, was appointed as the new manager, and we are very glad with the way is providing leadership to the project. The atmosphere is relaxed, yet disciplined, and the projects are progressing well. Also, Sounthi’s English is very good, which makes communication much more easy. |
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Laurens with his boys, left pastor Sounthi |
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Finally This completes the visit for me. After our visit to Udapusellawa I take a separate bus to drive to the airport, a drive of another 6 hours. Herman and Wybren will stay for the weekend in Sri Lanka, and then pay a visit to India. On my way back to the airport I reflect on everything I saw and heard over the past few days. I feel privileged that I am able to contribute in a small way to these activities in India. An although the journey back is just starting, I’m already looking forward to the next time that I may visit Sri Lanka.
The trip back is as easy and comfortable as the journey to Sri Lanka was difficult, including the luxury of 4 seats in a row in the plane for me and me alone. The airplane has barely taken off when I stretch my legs and put myself to sleep, with a firm mind that I’m going to make up for all sleep which I have lost during the week, and longing to be back home to see my wife and kids!
Kind regards, Laurens van der Tang Ceylon Christian Care |
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A lady plucking thee |
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The homes of the thee pluckers |