Sunil Samarasinghe

To Friends of Sri Lanka – Join the Discussion on Getting Flood Victims Back on Their Feet

As you know the past year was very wet. It was a boon to agriculture in many parts of our country and it helped to generate hydro electricity and save on costly fuel oil. Many reservoirs and rivers overflowed and caused disastrous floods that destroyed crops and houses of thousands of farmers. We visited an area in Mihintale during the second week of March, 2 months after the flood had destroyed Sunil Samarasinghe’s house and his corn crop. He, his wife and two sons, 12 and 13, now live in a shack made of glavanised sheets. It was incredibly hot when we visited him. They sleep at night in the shelter they have built up on a tree for fear of attack by wild elephants! He had laid the foundation to build a house on higher ground 8 years ago but did not have enough income to start on it. His corn crop was destroyed and he must wait till November rains to cultivate again. For now they survive on selling his labour as a casual labourer.

                Much publicised assistance to rehabilitate flood victims has not reached Sunil and family yet. May be it is their good fortune that our investigator had visited them to gather information to prepare a profile and Rehabilitation Plan for him under our Adopt a Family project. Our small NGO, Chakra Network Sri Lanka, in co-operation with another NGO, Berendina Development Services that is already working in the area, is embarking on the Adopt a Family project to rehabilitate at least the 20 most affected families in that area. We are confident that there are Friends of Sri Lanka looking for a way to show their affection for Sri Lanka. We invite them to become partners with us in this humanitarian project.

                Imagine how encouraged a family that suffered losses due to floods would be if they knew that there are kind persons who are concerned about them. The concept behind this project is to provide an opportunity for such concerned families to become involved. We will gather information from the families regarding their losses and what needs to be done to get them on their feet again. An important strength for that will be your concern and support. We will prepare a Rehabilitation Plan for each selected family indicating the actions to be taken, when and how much they would cost. Berendina Development Services will help us to implement and monitor these plans. We would also monitor them periodically and keep our partners informed.

                Erika and I have decided to adopt Sunil Samarasinghe’s family. For a start, we will help him to build one room of the house for which he has laid a foundation. We will support other actions after the Rehabilitation Plan is prepared for them. We hope that in less than two years this and other families will be on their feet again and that the relationships we build up will endure beyond that time. We look forward to your suggestions and comments.