Woken from a VERY deep sleep (took them 20 minutes to wake me apparantly) by one of the other volunteers pounding on my door to tell me everyone was panicking due to another earthquake near Sumatra. Now busily trying to get the news online, by phone, and any other possible means, to see if there’s… [more]

The main Hindu temple in town, though damaged by the tsunami, still has some amazing characters and colour within its structure. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity can all be found in Sri Lanka, and the mutual respect shown between the followers of all of the religions could perhaps act as a great example for other… [more]

Heard last night from Father John, the priest for the local Catholic church, that the LTT are pulling out of the 3-year cease fire between them and the government. Apparently in part due to the government being very slow with any deals or compromises, while in Jaffna the government forces are still occupying public buildings… [more]

Just looked back over my previous musings, and noticed that they seem to have got a little bit less “exciting” than my earlier posts. I guess it’s due to the fact that the work I’m doing now is more of the “long haul” kind, the type of work that does involve such exciting stuff as… [more]

So, roughly half way through my time here, and I was lying back in the hammock in the YMCA courtyard tonight, nursing a cold beer after returning from dinner with the family of one of our local shelter foremen, and mulling over what I’ve seen and learnt over the past month and a half. And… [more]

Apart from our actual physical relief work, another very important part of our time here is interacting with the kids, whether that be informally as we walk through the village, or through various activities we implement. Football in the park, with the football goals the volunteers have constructed for the kids… Volleyball too… …and perhaps… [more]

…while others remain the same… Have actually had a reasonably successful week of dealing with the local government bureaucracy with regards to the shelters. And believe me, being able to say that with any amount of substance is cause for a minor celebration in itself. After having the ADS (Assistant District Secretary) tell us 2… [more]

…and 2 months since the tsunami hit, and it’s kind of an interesting feeling I have arriving back in Kallar from 5 days in Colombo. Overall, the relief & development senimar was not really worth the time taken to travel back to Colombo and attend. It really was about basic project management, about including the… [more]

Jonny from Norway, and Alon from Israel (down the well) helping with the well cleaning while I was over in Colombo attending a relief & development seminar.

We had the good fortune of a visit from 5 Northern Irish lads from a little town called Ballynahinch, who brought a great deal of energy, commitment and laughter to our neck of the woods for an unfortunately too short a time. As a bit of a final night thankyou along with our bonfire on… [more]

…is still a tree, though in the case of the trees that have washed up on the Kallar beach recently, not as we know it. According to the locals, these trees are like nothing found in Sri Lanka, and are believed to have washed up here all the way from Indonesia. More likely is that… [more]

Most of the areas provided for the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps are pretty bleak and desolate. We will be doing our best to make them as comfortable as possible with whatever ideas we can come up with (and feel free to post any and all ideas you might have!), but it is a reason… [more]

Our home at the “Y”… Room with a view… (though locked when we’re out, a few things have gone walkies over the weeks). Justin from Canada playing a few tunes on our deck… …and Dave from Australia relaxing with a couple of mates. Some of the hundreds of bottles fresh water we have for the… [more]

Well, seems like even working in a disaster relief effort there is still late night office work to be done… I have just finished drawing up about the forth or fifth draft of the layouts for the three shelter camps in Kallar, for where each of 250 shelters along with toilets, washing facilities and access… [more]

Actually, this French team (AUI) are an amazing story in themselves: 4 engineers in this area with no equipment (all the larger NGOs are concentrating in the larger population areas) apart from a couple of sledgehammers, a rope and a ladder made from wooden debris, who walk around looking for dangerous structures that need to… [more]

Five days since my first glimpse of the devastation first-hand, I have found out just how valuable one person can be. My role is to take over the water filtration and sanitation for the local community from another Aussie guy, Karl, who is leaving in 2 days, and who was also as unknowledgeable about this… [more]

Arrived 5 days ago in Kallar, a small community on the east coast of Sri Lanka. Nearing our destination, we travelled along a road running parallel to the coast, about a kilometre or so in from the sea, thronging with people and traffic, buildings packed along both sides. There was little evidence to suggest what… [more]

Well, three days and no news from that organisation I had arranged my entire placement with, so… am currently in the offices of the YMCA, waiting to undergo a day’s training before heading out with them over to the east coast. Yep, I’m gonna be working for the YMCA!! Everybody… “Y… M… C… A…” They’re… [more]

Well, less than 24 hours on the ground over here, and I’m already getting a sense of the chaos that the relief efforts all over Sri Lanka are. Met a few people at the guest house I’m at, who have been both across to the east coast, as well as down south towards Galle and… [more]

The following images are provided by Joel and Bec, an American couple who were working for the YMCA in Colombo when the tsunami hit. They were amongst the first foreign volunteers to head over to the east coast.