An Intrepid Beginning

Habitat for Humanity build homes for people who need them. Sri Lanka has a great many people who need them. 'Habitat' were on the scene before the tsunami and have been extremely active since then. With the help of Intrepid Challenges a group of Australian's are gathering in Colombo this week to trade their holiday for house building. They are bringing some tools, a great deal of enthusiasm, and plenty of 'sweat of the brow'. The expertise for this project will be provided by Habitat and the logistics of the group travel provided by Intrepid.

My role is to document this journey with words and pictures. And help build a home as best I can.

I have been to Sri Lanka once before - I left two days before the tsunami hit. My recollections of the country at that time was a nation struggling to gain it's identity, a nation that echos deeply with hundreds of years of colonial rule, a nation that is ill-equipped to move forward in a globalised world. I have only imagined what tragedy was unleashed by the Tsunami. Television images provide only a glimpse of the real story.

So it is with trepidation that I look forward to the journey ahead, and with relief that I will have the company of strangers.