On September 26th of
this year we had the dedication ceremony
of the Triple Gem Village. Twenty-four happy
families received the keys to their new
homes on that day. What a joyful event it
was! There was an all-night chanting ceremony
the night before to bless the homes. The
next day a simple ceremony with a few invited
guests and Buddhists monks was held to hand
over the keys to the families.
Recently the world has
been affected by many natural disasters.
Our world will always be full of turmoil
and catastrophes because of the nature of
our planet Earth and the forces that govern
it. We cannot stop natural disasters from
happening and we will always have to deal
with them. When Nature's course brings death
and damage, first we must feel the pain
and suffering of those who are affected
and then share the responsibilities in assisting
them to heal the pain and rebuild their
lives. By responding to the suffering of
others with compassion and care, we ourselves
can find a sense of peace and heal our own
heartache and the sorrow that we feel for
them.
Working to build the Triple
Gem Village for tsunami victims is a good
example of that. Building housing for families
who have lost their homes and some of their
family members has not only changed their
lives but also the lives of those of us
who work so hard to help them.
After tirelessly working
for five months to address immediate needs
including temporary housing for the survivors,
I began to think of their long term well
being and how to build permanent homes for
them. The Triple Gem Village is the biggest
and most expensive single project we have
undertaken. After finding the land I signed
a contract to build fifty homes. Although
we had only $30,000 in our Humanitarian
Fund at the time I was confident that we
could complete the project somehow.
With the generous support
of my friends and students we were able
to complete 35 homes in three and one-half
months. This was in no way a simple or easy
task. Several professional architects, engineers,
and several contractors were involved in
planning and building our village. You might
know how hard it is to get a bathroom repaired!
This was a challenging task. The 35 homes
we have completed so far are built with
brick walls and tile roofs. Each house has
a shower room, separate toilet and septic
tank, electricity, and water. Roads are
prepared but need to be paved eventually.
There are so many people
who worked day and night to complete this
project. From the beginning, while I was
traveling and doing other things, I was
able to be in constant contact with several
people who managed and supervised the work.
I feel so lucky to work with the dedicated,
hardworking team of people in Sri Lanka.
There were two monks, Ven.
Uparatana and Ven. Pemaratana, who worked
as my right and left hands updating me regularly
and solving day to day problems. Mr. Nimal
Wanigaseekara is a childhood friend of mine
and a civil engineer. He supervised the
project as an independent engineer representing
Triple Gem Society. The team of architects,
engineers, and contractors were led by Mr.
Patmasiri as our main contractor. Mr. Patmasiri,
I would say, is a very pleasant and friendly
person to work with and we had no problems
whatsoever. I appreciate his professionalism.
Then there are those who
provided me financial assistance and moral
support. One special person took away the
heavy financial burden from me by sponsoring
twenty homes. When I was trying to raise
money, I had a discussion with Mr. Anura
Perera of the Phylnormel Foundation who
has been the major supporter of Triple Gem
Society and its humanitarian projects. At
the end of our conversation, when he promised
to sponsor twenty homes, I was relieved
and happy because I was planning to go on
a lecture tour to raise money and I was
not sure how long it might take to find
all the sponsors.
Six other individuals sponsored
six houses and the rest of the cost was
paid from the Triple Gem Humanitarian Fund.
The other six sponsors who paid for one
house each are Stephen Arnsorff of Lookout
Mt. TN, Anita La Placa of Durham NC, Niven
Padachy of Heath TX, David and Laurie Schovela
of Cambridge MA, Egnath Weerasekara of Toronto
Canada, and Saint Barnabas Medical Center
in Livingston NJ.
The sponsors paid only
for the actual house and their contributions
did not include the cost for the land, roads,
water and electricity connection and ground
preparation. Except for the land, all the
extra costs were paid for by our Humanitarian
Fund.
As you already might know,
we still have 152 families in our Triple
Gem refugee camps. I know most of the families
personally. It bothers me so much to see
them still in temporary housing and still
in limbo. Ten months after the tsunami,
the government promises have not come to
that area. As always I am disappointed with
the slowness and carelessness of the government.
We cannot solve all of
their problems. But we are looking to build
permanent homes for thirty of those families.
Our engineers have already visited several
potential sights and chosen a location.
They are preparing the permits and plans.
If all goes well, they will be ready in
two weeks and we will start Triple Gem Village
#2. Our hope is to finish it in four months.
If you have any fundraising
ideas or are interested in sponsoring a
home, please let us know. I would like you
to know that 95% of the money will go directly
to the people.
At times I feel helpless
and cannot find enough words to thank those
who help us. Together we are making a difference
in the lives of thousands of people. My
heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all of
you.
May you all be blessed
with good health and inner peace.
Bhante Wimala |
