A Message from the Cybervillage of Sarvodaya USA, the North American Affiliate of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka. Cybervillage is a loose connection of Americans who have been to Sri Lanka with Sarvodaya or who have come to know about Sarvodaya and are lookiing for ways to help.
>From the Honolulu Weekly for January 5-11, 2005
DISPATCH FROM SRI LANKA
Hawai'i residents Markus Faigle and Jeannette Koijane, both
public-health experts, were in Sri Lanka on a two-week study tour to
learn about the grassroots rural-developent oranization Sarvodaya when
the tsunami hit the island nation. Before flying to Germany on Dec. 29,
the couple saw Sarvodaya in action.
"We know from our friends that many people are looking for a
low-overhead, direct-relief organization to donate to." says Faigle, who
has worked for the state Department of Health and the University of
Hawai'i. "Sarvodaya is such a project."
The couple did relief work for two days in Colombo, witnessing how
Sarvodaya's network is able to mobilize. "And we know that they will
still be there when the international organizations have gone home,"
says Koijane.
Founded 47 years ago, Sarvodaya works mainly with Sri Lankan volunteers,
rather than pricey imported help, ala the United Nations, on projects
such as malaria eradication and mcro-credit programs.
"What Sri Lanka needs now is money," says Faigle, "Sarvodaya has people
power but is short of cash. With money they can buy gas and medication
and rent trucks. They are already organizing longer-term housing, clean
water and sanitation -- they know that reconstruction is the true
challenge." Adds Koijane: "We need to give to groups that won't rebuild
poverty."
According to Faigle, when Sarvodaya founder Dr. Ahangamane Tudor [A.T.]
Ariyaratne returned from a trip to the South on Dec 29, he looked
shell-shocked. "He said to me, a German. "We need a Marshall Plan like
you guys got after World War II or we will be finished. Rebuilding will
require billions.' "
"We had CNN on at headquarters. People stopped to watch, mostly when
local coverage was on, and silence filled the room. The death toll kept
going up. First 1,000, then 3,000, and up and up," says Faigle. The
count is now 28,500, and is projected to reach 42,000.'
A steady stream of people stop by Sarvodaya to drop off clothing, tarps,
bags of rice, cookies and canned goods. Sarvodaya also organized
volunteer teams of doctors, medical students, and others with first-aid
knowledge to visit camps and shelters.
On Dec. 27, Koijane visited four camps, which included a temple
harboring more than 500 people who shared one toilet.
"A child had chicken pox, and it was just a question of time before all
the kids were infected," says Koijane. "We also saw diarrhea -- not
surprising given the sanitation situation. Imagine this is the scenario
for 1 million people displaced from their homes."
To donate, visit www.sarvodaya.org. The site accepts Visa or
MasterCard. Or send a check to: Sarvodaya USA, 5716 Manchester Ave.
#3, LosAngeles, CA 90045. Earmark the check: Tsunami relief.