This next post is from the first part of day 4, as it deserves to be told separate from the rest of the day's activities.
After waking up in my 5th bed in as many nights, I joined the group for breakfast which our hosts at the hotel provided for us – toast and eggs, very nice. We then prayed for the day ahead. We were picked up by some members of the Community Capacity Development (CCD) team, including Dinuka who ran it. We drove the short distance to the village of 400 homes (100 constructed by the Salvation Army) for our tour of the area. Fist of all we were shown one of a number of community centres the Army had built, to allow communities to meet together and take group actions, such as in holding celebrations (as mentioned in my last post), but small groups such as women's and children's meet at certain times as well (we visited some of these groups, watch this space!). A local leadership team from the residents would be instated so that it was a community led (rather than Army led) facility.
One of the community centres
We drove on a bit before stopping at the location of the Salvation Army houses. Residents of the village were being employed by the Army to construct the roads past their houses, which I think is a fantastic idea – providing both work and the means to directly improve their environment. We were called along the part-constructed road by a woman (Thushari) to come and see a small fish pond her brother (Pradeep) was keeping. Pradeep was keeping the fish with the hope of selling them (Doreen suggested that as a fisherman before the Tsunami, he was going back to what he knew). I should point out here that the land donated to the Army to build these houses was a number of kilometres from the shore, yet the residents had lived by the sea prior to the 2004 disaster – quite a change in their lifestyle. With Major Nihal translating we asked them their story.
The family stood beside Major Nihal
This story is ultimately one of hope, yet contains great tragedy. Both Pradeep and Thushari had lost their marriage partners during the Tsunami, and Thushari had been 9 months pregnant when the wave struck. She had clung to a tree to avoid being swept away, and she had lost parts from two fingers as a result of this (apparently she is the woman from what was one of the 'iconic' images of the Tsunami as she clung to avoid being swept away). She had found it too difficult to raise her unborn child due to the trauma, so the child was now living with Thushari's mother. Pradeep's son appeared a bit later on, and he had a big scar on his arm as a result of the train crash caused by the Tsunami. His son was maybe 9 years old, so must have been a toddler at the incident.
Thushari and Pradeep invited us into their home where they had lived for the past 5 years. Pradeep showed us his beautiful artwork he had painted, which can be seen below. The beauty of these works is staggering, and I find them incredibly moving because of the emotion they invoke.
Pradeep's moving masterpiece of the Tsunami and his wife
The woman in the paintings is his wife, and the text reads on the left hand side of the below photo along the lines of, 'I'll never forget you, you'll always be a part of me'. He also had a tattoo of his wife on his right shoulder. What followed was a staggering act of generosity. Pradeep presented us with the photos of him and his wife as gifts for us to remember them by – this family had so little, and it was incredibly challenging to be given such items (their possessions in the front room consisted of a small tv and a table, with very little besides).
The paintings Pradeep presented us with
We were then asked if we wanted to try 'the purest water in Sri Lanka', and were each presented with a coconut cut open in order to drink from. The water inside was clear and slightly sweet, and very welcome as it was a hot day. Not only had this family invited us in and given us incredible gifts, they even saw to our human needs! One of their family members had gone and cut down the coconuts as we were talking to the brother and sister.
One of the family members uses a machete to cut the coconuts open
Thushari had married since the Tsunami (her husband was at work when we visited), and she had two young daughters who were flitting in and out of the room we were in. Sarah had brought some gifts with her, and presented the children with paper and pencils which they were delighted with. It was great to be able to give back even in this small way to those who had given so much more.
Our JOURNEY group and the family who did so much for us
This is a story of hope, because this family was slowly rebuilding their lives with the help of the Salvation Army, who had given them a home and a fresh start. I guess some hurts may never heal but the Army is there for those than can be.
Later on that day Sam read us Mark 12 v41-44, which seemed extremely appropriate given how we had been generously treated:
'Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”'
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