Water Water Everywhere

Nine months after the tsunami there continues to be a critical shortage of clean water. In the village of Thibbotukanatta it is the Red Cross who are providing the vital lifeline.



Every few days a Sri Lankan Red Cross truck stops at the main road near the village. Every able bodied person grabs bottles, buckets and plastic cans to fill with water and carry back home. The sight of families running up the street to fetch water impresses upon me the fragile nature of their existence. The village is built along a mangrove swamp which renders the wells salty and undrinkable. The tsunami spread contamination and disease so now they cannot even be used for washing or bathing. If not for the Red Cross service the people here would have no choice but to leave their homes.

Carting water is a difficult business. Most people here live within a mile of the main road, and the distance is multiplied by the number of trips required to carry all the containers. Young boys load their bicycles, pregnant women share a canteen between two, and other women load up wheel barrows with over 40kg of liquid. One family has to traverse the main village and wind through the mangroves with the load. The ground is so soft underfoot that you leave an indentation with every step, a bit like walking in snow. The winding path through the swamp makes it feel even longer – we observe silver sided fish darting through the water, little black crabs watching us cautiously, and mudskippers flinging themselves into the murky still pools.

There is a festive atmosphere around the water truck when it arrives. The driver is a popular figure who enjoys a cup of tea from the appreciative locals. Everyone is patient for their turn - there is never any short supply and they may take as much as they can carry. For now the water is precious yet abundant, so little care is taken to avoid spillage at the bowser.

The minister for the Provincial Council is now working on a proposal to enable a piped water supply to the village. The pipe would have to run about one kilometre to serve the needs of all 16 land titles. The cost however is very high and the water board would seek costs from the community itself, roughly estimated at 80,000rs or $US800. The project would be dependant on external aid if it is ever to happen.

For now the truck will arrive every few days and the people of the village will carry what they can.

December Twenty-Six

Everyone in the village has a story to tell about the events of December 26. It is easy to forget what tragic circumstances have brought their need to our attention, but it is important that we remember just how much they have lost.



Sirimanthe's brother, Nihal lived near the beach where the river meets the ocean. His timber home was washed away by the tsunami. He was working in this village, Thibbotukanatta, at 9:30 on the morning of December 26 and ran to his sisters house when they heard the water coming - it was very very loud. Seconds later they could see the water flooding towards them. Nihal carried their mother while Sirimathe carried the children. Everyone was crying. There was no time to gather belongings or even close the doors. The entire village simply ran as fast as they could. At it's peak the water stood above head height yet it took just minutes for the water to recede. A second wave hit at 12pm, although not as big as the first. It took days to restore power to the village and weeks to make the area inhabitable again.

The weaker homes were knocked over or washed away and the stronger homes were filled with debris and a very fine sand. Stranded fish were strewn all over the village and beyond. Worse yet were the dead bodies that lay scattered around peoples homes. Sirimathe says they were mostly unrecognisable, swollen and torn, and soon they became a health risk so authorities buried hundred in mass graves. Her neighbour, Violet, lost her husband on December 26. His body was never found and she wonders if he is lying in one of the mass graves, washed out to sea, or still undiscovered somewhere in a forest or mangroves. It was a slow and torturous wait for Violet, unsure of whether he might return or be found in a hospital one day.

A young man named Isuru is helping build another house with our team. It belongs to the neighbour of a friend, but Isuru has no job and spends his time helping where he can. He once worked for a dive centre in Unawatuna. The owner of the dive shop and the owner's son, Isuru's best friend, died when the tsunami crashed through the shop. "All the beach side building suffered big blast. Unawatuna beach corner. My family is good, my family not trouble. My father is broken the leg. My father is painter. I'm happy my father is alive."

Isuru doesn’t want to go back to the ocean because that is where his best friend died. He would like to be a painter like his father but no one pays very much money for that. In Matara he painted for a few days, but he earned 250 rupess and spent 100 rupees to catch the bus. Sujith, whose house Isuru is working on, is a carpenter by trade but also is finding paid work difficult to come by. Sujith used to work for himself, but the tsunami destroyed all of his power tools. It would cost about $US500 to replace his equipment, or about six months of full-time work. It is hard to restore their lives but the first step is building a home.

Sujith and his wife, Inesha, talk about the process of starting over. For the first two weeks they lived in a temple about three miles away, too afraid to return the village in case another wave came. When they did return they found only a few belongings worth saving. The Red Cross kept lorries coming in to provide rice packets and water, and sometimes clothing. Inesha also tells me about the spirits that haunted the village. For the next three months she and others could hear the shouting voices of unsettled souls during the night, calling for help. It terrified them. They lit the streets at night with oil lamps and brought in shamen to drive away the spirits. Inesha says that the souls were people who were not ‘ready’ to die

Nothing was as it should be - The tsunami took people before it was their time.

Hit for six

Across the road from our seaside hotel the local boys challenge our Habitat team to a game of cricket. It turns out we're better at building houses than building a run chase.



For those of us not content to relax at the hotel after a hard days work - to swim in the ocean, dive in the pool, take a full body massage or just have a drink at the bar - the evenings entertainment would be provided in the form of a friendly cricket match. It should have been obvious what lay ahead. The local lads were grinning from ear to ear and laughing compulsively at our group of guys and gals. The captains lined up and we negotiated a few playing rules. Limited over was the flavour although the system of point scoring seemed to have lost something in the translation. The toss was won by the local team and they had no hesitation to bat first. Fading light and a tricky pitch would prove formidable advantages. They also provided an umpire for proceedings whose impartiality and experience was never in doubt.

Our team was a mish mash of nationalities but none-the-less designated 'Australia'. Not wishing to be lambs to the slaughter we recruited our local Intrepid leader, Bruni, our local guide, Sisera, and the bus driver, Andrew. They found another couple of Sri Lankans to join up and when the fist ball hit the deck it looked like we might have a chance - fight fire with fire.

To the credit of our enthusiastic team we did manage to take wickets and we did hold our own. It wasn’t until late in the game that the run scoring got out of control and the 'Australian' team fell apart. The bowling remained stoic in attack but lacked the penetration of our experienced contributors. A few of the girls showed the way however by taking wickets and proving difficult to cart over the fence for six. No such luck for yours truly of course. Amidst the howls and screams of joy from 'Sri Lanka' the target score had been posted - 175 runs after 12 overs.

Our team was studded with potential however and the daunting total before us was no barrier to our confidence. We had a few look-a-likes in the line up and felt sure that the presence of Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehman would drop back those cocky Lankans a peg or two. Ricky did indeed take a liking to the pitch conditions and was in fine scoring form when disaster struck and he retired hurt with shoulder pain. There were a few close run-outs to heighten the drama and the umpire, supplied by our team for the second innings, sought assistance from the third umpire. Silence is golden and the batsmen invariably received the benefit of the doubt.

In the dying moments of a gallant run chase our Scottish representative took charge of the pitch. Having never held a bat before he demonstrated a cool head and mighty blow as the runs began to flow. His innings was cruelly cut short by a catch in the deep and with the loss of his wicket went any hope of a win. In the end we fell less than 100 runs short and can take a measure of pride in that achievement. The match photo was taken with all the members of both teams and will be a treasured snapshot of this great sporting event.

Our touring side managed better fortunes a few days later when taking on a some village "under 9's" in Unawatuna. It's always good to head home with at least one win to your credit.

(* photo courtesy of James)

Houses are for People

The people who receive our help to build homes are required to invest their labor in the project too. For the Habitat teams this provides a unique opportunity to put a human face to the tsunami response and work side by side with the families they are trying to help.



House 'number one' sits very close to the mangrove, set against a wooden shack that currently houses the future owners. They are an older couple but full of energy and vibrancy - there names are Sunathra and Somobasa. Four of our Habitat team's finest girls are on the scene to help with plaster cement. Skilled tradesmen are working inside the rooms to apply the plaster, and one of the girls decides to give it a go herself. Her lack of experience is negated by some quick on the job training and before too long the plaster is sticking to the walls exactly as it should. Outside the other girls are sifting sand - a task requiring considerable strength and great deal of repetition. Sunathra has just finished fetching water from the daily red cross service, about a kilometre round trip carrying a 20 litre jug, but takes no rest before she steps in to assist in the sand sifting. His eagerness to work is infectious and gives all of us a great sense of drive.

Further along the mangroves house 'number three' finally has a finished roof frame and it's time to start setting the tiles. The tiles were delivered to the front yard of one house and we need to move them to the back yard of another. A small band of us grab a handful of tiles and walk them around, each trip carrying between 3 and 6 tiles. Priyantha, a young and fit Sri Lankan, is helping to build the house for his sister and he grabs 12 at a time. His pace is exhausting just to look at let alone emulate! His youngest son, Adisha, is just 4 years old but even he decides to carry a few roof tiles for us. Everyone is pitching in. It is an important part of the Habitat program that owners must provide 'sweat equity'. 500 hours of labor are committed to the building by the recipient family, and that total can be contributed by themselves, their friends, the community, or relatives.

When the tiles have been relocated it's time to get them on the frame. Priyantha shows his commitment once again; he climbs up a support pole and straddles the roof with nimble confidence. The rest of us form a chain to feed the tiles up and we can barely keep pace with the laying. The elder son, Nilanga, has returned home from primary school, dressed in his best whites and shorts, and without changing clothes he jumps into the line and starts handing forward the tiles. The children see our participation, and their father's, and are excited to join in. Little Nilanga cannot stop smiling and every time he passes on a tile he earnestly offers a "Thank you" in his best English. The joy is a little infectious and we are all smiling and laughing. For a short while we have forgotten about the heat and humidity. It is a special moment and we feel privileged to be a part of it.

At the conclusion of the day young Adisha has confiscated someone's tools and mimics the task of shovelling sand from one pile to another - even though the tool is taller then he is. His father's example has clearly made an impression even at this early age.

Raising the Roof

Our first on the job building houses and we reached a symbolic and tangible achievement as every single member of the team pitched in to finish the roof. The team has transformed itself from an unkown potential to an effective building machine.



Today was a very big day for me, the one I thought would be the most difficult. I simply did not know what to expect. We had been cautioned over and over again to minimise our expectations for the house building. So many factors come into play which may prevent us from being productive. Unforseen interuptions to people, tools and basic materials can cause havoc to the building schedule and generate a lot frustration for the international teams. The idea that you will turn up at an empty plot of land and six days later leave behind a fully constructed home is not realistic.

In our case there were four houses to work on and they were all well and truly under way. Each of the four buildings were in similar stages of completion, with all the walls put up using mortar and concrete bricks. Two had completed roofs and were ready to concrete plaster the walls, one had a roof frame ready for treating and tiling, and the last one was in not yet kitted with even the roof frame. My first impression upon arrival was to wonder how I might be useful given the mature stage of the project - but I need not have worried as the Habitat projects are well rehearsed in putting idle hands to work.

Our Intrepid Challenges team is a little different from the usual Habitat scenario, which would send teams of 8-10 people to a location to work on two houses at a time. Any more than four people on a work-site and everyone starts tripping over each other. We spread out a total of 24 travellers and leaders across the four houses and let people get down to business. Roof battens had to be sawed for joining, roof frames had to be taken to with brush and preserving oil, cement plaster had to be slapped on and smoothed over, bags of cement had to be unloaded and carted about, and great piles of sand was in need of sifting before the cement plaster could be prepared.



The work sites are run by a Habitat appointed construction supervisor, and he was accompanied by Habitat volunteers and the very people for whom we are building the house. This collection of local people provide the expertise and knowledge that ensures the successful completion of the job. It is under their guidance that we try to be useful.

As possibly the least skilled of all our members it was an inspiring site to watch my colleagues. Guys and gals clambered on top of roofs with brush in hand. Exemplary patience and determination was demonstrated by those who dabbed their hand at chucking plaster. Committment and dedication marked the efforts of those who spent all day thrusting sand through a hand made sifter built from 2x4 timber pieces and graded fly-screen. The major obsticle to productivity was confidence, but as the day wore on the change in everyone's self-perception was palpable.

Following the afternoon tea-break something very special happened. House number three was half way through putting on the roofing tiles and the remaining stock of tiles were quite some distance away. The team decided to form a human chain and move all the tiles together. Everyone got into it - the challenge team, the leaders, the construction supervisor, the mums and kids.

As the last tiles went into place we could all stand back and be rightfully proud of a good days work.

Temporary Housing

Today our journey begins in earnest and we travel south for Galle. We visit the site of the Peraliya train disaster and find out exactly what 'temporary housing' means, nine months after the tsunami.



Driving south from Colombo evidence of the tsunami appears in patches, where the road skirts the ocean. It is difficult to see what is no longer there, the most obvious scar being the temporary housing. Wooden shacks are propped up where once existed a concrete home. I had imagined beamy constructions with solid columns and thick walls, but the reality was very disappointing. A concrete slab the size of a bedroom is walled in with thin planks of timber. Corrigated tin forms a roof and the weather comes in through a half foot gap below the eaves. The latter is useful when hot but problematic when it rains. The monsoon season has been running for five months.

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Arriving at Midnight

At Colombo airport the Melbourne passengers were early through customs and we waited as the trickle of challenge participants gather together. One minute there's just a few of you, three or four names to memorise. Then another silently emerges from the flow of disembarking passengers, and even at this stage the task of introductions and identification is getting cumbersome. Two more slide in and only half the group notice. I turn around and see several more people nearby - I had seen them earlier but only now do I realise they are with us. A few names are announced and the words bounce off my brain without registering. I am now surrounded by people who's names I do not know and faces I can barely glimpse; I can't see the trees for the forest!

As we drive away from the airport and head for Negombo the lack of familiarity suddenly strikes me. Even those few I have chatted with I know nothing about really. Where you live and what you do for a living says so little about a person I wonder why I would even ask sometimes. I am far more curious to learn how they got here, what kind of experiences led them to sign up for this charity challenge, what visions of Sri Lanka have they carried with them and how they will cope with what lays ahead. I know so little about my companions, but I do know one thing; they have each given up time and money to make a difference here in Sri Lanka. That does say a lot about a person, and the brief interactions from this evening has confirmed for me these people are a little bit unique & a little bit special.

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.