Rebuilding War Torn Lives – Relief Efforts in Sri Lanka

In June of 2009 when I visited the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in Vavnia, I personally experienced the difficulties the doctors as well as the patients had to go through because of lack of health care facilities. Temporary tents were used as health care centers and it was hot and dusty inside. Patients were…

I had just arrived in Colombo after having driven overnight to the northern city of Annuradhapura. The next morning I received a phone call from Col. Bandara who is in charge of security in Zones 4 & 5 of Manik Farm IDP Camps. He informed me of a rather desperate situation. Apparently they had just…

For thirty long years the Northern Province of Sri Lanka was under siege. The ordinary citizens of the north abandoned their traditional abodes and fled for their lives. After many years of a disturbed existence they are now ready to go back to their villages. The village we chose to develop, Thiruppam Maduwa, is one…

In two months we have donated over 1000 pairs of eyeglasses. As part of our efforts to provide health care and improve the quality of life of the people who were displaced by thirty years of conflict in Sri Lanka, we have held eye clinics and donated over one thousand eyeglasses so far. Our eye…

In a previous article we informed you about our plans to provide 1050 cooking stoves to the IDPs. We are happy to inform you recipients were chosen in Zone #1 and #4 of the IDP camps and I participated in distributing the stoves in both camps on the 24-25th of July 2009. We know that…

On the 11th of August 2009 at 9.30am in a simple dedication ceremony we dedicated the second Healthcare Center (hospital) we built for the displaced people of war. Taking care of the medical needs of over 300 thousand homeless people who live in temporary shelters is a big challenge for the government of Sri Lanka.…

We are very happy to let you know about the completion of 100 semi-permanent housing units for the families who lost their homes due to war and have been living in tents for over two months. The recipients were very happy to move out of their tents and come to live in a building. We…

During a recent conversation with the doctor in charge of the three IDP camps; Sumathipuram, Dharmapuram and Veerapuram I learned that there were 4500 families living in tents sleeping on sheets of plastic. Sadly, amongst the people were 300 pregnant women. I visited the camps and saw for myself the unbelievable conditions these women had…

As our relief efforts continue, we dedicated our first Health Care Center that we build for the victims of war. On the 20th of July at 2pm we dedicated the little hospital by lighting the traditional oil lamp and chanting blessings. It was a very joyful moment for all of us. The building consists of…

On the 16th of July, an Eye Clinic was held for the IDPs (Internally displaced persons) of war in Veerapuram IDP camp in Vavnia. After an entire day of vision testing, 240 of the most needy people were chosen to receive eye glasses. The glasses were distributed on July 20th, the auspicious occasion of the…