A report about relief in Sri Lanka (via Groove space 'Sri Lanka Tsunami Aid')

Hi friends,

Hope 2005 is a blessed one for each of you.

Returned from Hambantota late last night. I thought I’d pass a few observations along. The last thing we want is for generosity to be misplaced at this time, and it is with that in mind that I am sharing. Keep in mind that these are based on my encounters in Hambantota only, and are highly subjective, so do what you want with them.

The immediate crisis seems relatively under control, and the relief measures are off the ground, though in dire need of coordination. State and private entities were off-loading supplies by the hour without stopping to assess the needs of each camp. The camps we visited were stocked with food, clothing and medical supplies. It even appeared that clothing and medical supplies were going to waste in a few places. Several garment industries are donating new clothes, and as a result, donations of used clothing are lying in heaps with few takers. I even argued with a Government Agent (GA) at one site who threatened to burn the mountains of clothing in the next few days because he didn’t know what to do with them.

If you still want to donate to the relief effort, think of items that are harder to come by. For example, lots of the kids in the camps have clothes but no footwear. It is hard to dress their wounds if they walk around barefooted. There are stocks of dry rations but no utensils (knives, strainers, saucepans) to prepare them with. One camp without cooking knives was limited to preparing food items that didn't need to be chopped. There are boxes and boxes of Paracetamol, but fewer supplies of asthmatic drugs (including inhalers) that are badly needed. Also keep in mind when donating medical supplies that not all persons in a camp are sick persons.

Bottom lines? Don’t give into the media circus. Push your own boundaries and donate items that are harder to come by, but are more urgently needed. Also, pay attention to where the supplies are going. It is easy to pack a van going South, but there are places in the East with greater needs. It is 'exciting' to send supplies across distances, but there are camps in the outskirts of Colombo that are sorely neglected. It also makes sense to think of added value - as individuals and collectives - and not take on functions we neither have the skill nor experience to fulfill. Also start thinking ahead beyond the relief efforts to the rebuilding process. This is possibly where the capacities of individual Sri Lankan citizens - who have done so much towards the relief effort - will be limited. So, if you are part of a group - office, company, family - pool your resources and in time pick a specific village, community or family to focus on.