Jayawickreme Foundation: Newsletter No.1/2006, Weligama, 19.1.2006

We wish you all a happy, prosperous and peaceful New Year. We say THANK YOU to all people who assisted us during the last year and we would enjoy further collaboration.

At the end of the newsletter you will find our actual project list.

The 26th of December 2005 was a very emotional day. Relatives and friends of Tsunami victims had their ceremonies in remembrance of their loved ones. Oil lamps were burning along the coastline and in many houses and gardens. Priests of all religions took part in public and private ceremonies. As there were not enough priests available on the 26th itself these ceremonies were conducted from the 23rd until 28th in Weligama alone. It was heartbreaking to see friends and family members not only mourning their beloved ones, but still living under horrible conditions cramped up in camps and ruins of their houses.

Children attending the free of charge English school.		Secretary of State of Rheinlad Pfalz, Hendrik Hering, (Center), Barbara Braun, country representative "Rheinland Pflaz hilft" and Volker Dattke, Managing Director Human Help Network, are watching on as Chairman of the Jayawickreme Foundation Sujith Jayawickreme is laying a foundation stone.
Secretary of State Hendrik Hering, Sujith and Susanne Jayawickreme are distributing school material and toys in a camp.		Children in front of their primitive make shift classroom. As there are not enough classrooms available in their school they have to go for lessons even in the evenings. There is also a lack of proper toilet facilities. Funds are urgently needed to renovate those neglected rural schools.

Experiencing the hardships and sufferings the victims are still going through is encouraging us even more to work harder and to BEG for more funds to help and assist these people who have lost everything just a year ago.

Remember that one year means just 365 days more for most of us, but the very same one year has been and still is living hell for those who have been unfortunate enough to get caught by the sudden killer waves, which destroyed everything they had, which destroyed their lives, which took their loved ones.

Moreover monsoon time is still continuing although the drought period should have started some weeks back. The conditions in the muddy, deteriorating camps are inhuman and horrible. The inmates have lost hope to ever get a decent home again.

In Weligama more than 1000 houses were damaged and destroyed and more than 20000 people affected by the Tsunami. According to the last official figures available 82 houses have been completed so far: 50 by a Belgium Company, 16 by an Italian NGO and 16 by the Jayawickreme Foundation.

Some Government land is available again, because many individuals and organizations, which obtained those lands previously did not honour the MoU they signed with the authorities.

Government land was given to individuals and organizations, which were able to construct houses on such lands. As the houses will be built on Government land the people who will ultimately occupy the houses will be chosen by the relevant authorities out of the Tsunami victims who are still without homes, specially the ones still languishing in camps under appalling conditions. The recipients of Government land cannot put people of their choice. This condition has to be strictly met by all builders. We think that this is a good move as the authorities know best who the deserving people are.

The Jayawickreme Foundation just got 1.2 acre of Government land to build up to 30 houses for Tsunami survivours still living in camps. To complete this project as quick as possible and to give the needy people a roof over their heads again, we urgently need the necessary funds. Children and elderly people are the most traumatized.

In addition, we have built 27 houses for the poorest of the poor in the rural area since 2002 and 1 more is in the pipeline.

A free-of-charge kindergarten for 30 poor children was opened with a traditional Buddhist ceremony in January. The kindergarten is financed by “Rheinland Pfalz hilft”.

We are still hoping for funds for the extension building of the free of charge English school for 190 children, which was necessary to accommodate all the needy pupils. The building was pre-financed under great difficulties, so that we need not to turn away poor children, who are talented and want to learn English.

There are also funds needed to buy more fishing boats with out border motors and complete netting. Many boats without netting and out board motors and too small for deep-sea fishing were donated by good-hearted sponsors without cooperating with the relevant authorities. Those catamarans lay idle on the beaches and cannot be used. Therefore proper fishing boats are urgently needed to give jobs and income to the fisher folks.

In December sports equipment was donated to 30 youth clubs in the presence of officials of the relevant authority in Weligama, which were affected by Tsunami. The youths did not have any places to go anymore. The sports equipment contains varieties of ball games, various athletic gadgets, bodybuilding equipment and indoor games. Through this donation, financed by “Rheinland Pfalz hilft”, the coastal youths has found places again to meet, exercise and practice. Therefore they do not hang around on streets and beaches where the dangers of prostitution and drugs are waiting for them.

Last year Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme, Vice Chairperson, spent more than 2 months in Germany giving lectures about the situation in Weligama and the work of the Jayawickreme Foundation throughout the country. As a result many a cordial conversation, constructive dialogs, even friendships and more partnerships emerged. We wish to thank everybody involved for the warm welcomes and are looking forward to a fruitful cooperation.

Many media meetings took place in Germany as well. In the meantime various journalists from print and electronic medias came to report about our projects.

In December 2005 the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of German Federal country Rheinland Pfalz, Mr. Hendrik Hering, visited the Jayawickreme Foundation and saw for himself the projects and situation at the base. We were happy to hear that financial support will continue and were very happy to have the delegation here.

Mrs. Christina Rau, Chairperson of the German Government’s Partnership Initiative, paid a visit to Sri Lanka as well during December to get 1st hand information. During a conversation she has had with the representative of the Jayawickreme Foundation at a reception in Colombo it was amazing to learn the knowledge she has about the work of the Jayawickreme Foundation.

The readers of the well known Munich daily "Abendzeitung", which is available throughout Germany, have just voted Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme as one of their "Persons of the year 2005" for her social work.

The United Organisation of all Communities of Sri Lanka will officially award Susanne Loos-Jayawickreme the title of "Sama Sri Deshamanaya" for her social work as the 1st foreigner who will receive this award by this organisation. The ceremony will be in Ratnapura on the 21. January.

Moreover Susanne Loos will attend the UN Roundtable as a speaker on "Older Persons in the 2004 Tsunami" during the 44th session of the UN Commission for Social Development in New York in February on the invitation of the co-organiser "Friedrich Ebert Stiftung".

Our aim is to give the Tsunami victims as quick as possible a proper roof and the children and elderly people a decent home so that they can leave the horrible camps in which they are cramped up under inhuman conditions for more than 1 year now.

Our projects are long-term projects to help the people to be on their own and become independent.

The annual report is currently prepared by the internationally recognized accountant company Ernst and Young and will be available soon.

Click for the Current Projects of the Jayawickreme Foundation.