Sri Lanka's tsunami village triumphs after tragedy

By Nita Bhalla

SEENIGAMA, Sri Lanka (AlertNet) - When the Indian Ocean tsunami hit five years ago, Sri Lanka's coastal inhabitants believed they would never recover from the misery, death and destruction that the tragedy brought.

In villages and towns along the island's southeast coast,hundreds of families grieved loved ones, tens of thousands of homes, schools and local businesses were devastated and the livelihoods of poor fishing communities were lost.

But five years on, amid the memorials and museums dotted along the palm-tree lined coastline from the capital Colombo to the southern city of Galle, lies what some inhabitants say is the real tribute to this tragedy.

A "model village" project which provides free services to more than 20,000 people in Seenigama village and the surrounding area, which villagers say was neglected before the disaster.

Providing services ranging from health and dental care, photography and diving classes, to a sports academy for the youth -- complete with a 25-metre length pool and a cricket stadium -- the rural empowerment project has touched the lives of many.

"I always wanted to bridge the gap between the urban and rural, said Kushil Gunasekera, 53, founder and trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, which runs one most successful post-tsunami rehabilitation projects in the region.

"I was fortunate, but many in Seenigama did not have the opportunities I did and I always wanted to do something about that," added the local philanthropist, whose family originated from the village, 90 km (56 miles) south of Colombo.


"CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE"

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Gunasekera, who was running small-scale educational activities in Seenigama, converted his ancestral home -- one of the few buildings left standing -- into a control centre for relief operations.

Initially building and repairing over 1,000 homes, the project has grown over the years into a "Centre of Excellence" which aims to offer a broad-based approach to providing more opportunities for the rural poor.

Based in his ancestral home called "Lahiru" (which means rays of sunlight in Sinhala), the centre hosts over 30 projects including a general and dental clinic where consultations and medicines are free.

There is a pre-school, a women's enterprise department teaching skills like dress-making and cooking to 300 rural women every year, as well as classes from IT and English to photography and business management.

Professional diving training -- aimed at giving new skills to young men who used to illegally mine for coral -- have helped many them find jobs in the island's harbours doing ship repairs, earning up to $500 per month.

"Before the tsunami, we used to mine for coral as it provided us with a good of income, said 22-year-old Chamara, who has been taking professional diving lessons with the foundation.

"But after the disaster we realised that if we had left our coral reefs perhaps it could have acted as a barrier and saved us from what happened."


SPORTS ACADEMY

Gunasekera, who is a close friend and manager of Sri Lankan cricket superstar, Muttiah Muralitharan, has also tapped into his contacts in the cricket world and beyond.

Ian Botham, former England cricket captain, and Canadian pop singer Bryan Adams, as well as countless cricket clubs around the world, are some of those who have come forward to support the sports academy.

The academy -- complete with the impressive Seenigama Oval cricket ground, as well as volleyball courts, netball courts and junior and adult swimming pools -- has helped children excel both nationally and internationally.

Young men like 16-year-old Pulina Tharanga, who was orphaned by the tsunami, learnt to play cricket at the academy and was selected for Sri Lanka's under-15 team last year. He has now been selected for national under 19 squad for World Cup in 2011.

Most residents agree that the level of development which the foundation has brought would have not been achieved if the tsunami has not struck.

Like all aid agencies grappling to respond to the disaster, the foundation saw a massive outpouring of donations from people around the world where pictures of mass burials, decimated villages and grieving families touched many.

"It is true, this project could never have happened before the tsunami as it was difficult to get funds," admits Gunasekera.

"It's sad to say, but from this tragic event came a blessing. The kindness of people was overwhelming and the waves of compassion overpowered the waves of destruction."