"Give up just two weeks of your life to help these people ... It will change your life. You can make a difference in someone's life no matter what you do or who you are. Please come and help...”

It is 95km from Colombo, along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Just ask where the train accident occurred. It is Peraliya, a fishing village of around 3000 inhabitants. The “Samudradevi” (Queen of the Sea) engine no.591 Manitoba and it's eight carriages were toppled over by the Giant Tsunami waves, on 26th December, in Peraliya, claiming more than 2000 lives. At the beginning, many villagers considered the train a curse to their village. “Our relatives could not run because the train blocked their way.” said many frustrated villagers. They were also angry with the people who came to see the train but not them! As the time passed by, they realized that the train was a blessing. Many visitors of the train, foreign and local, eventually brought aid. They wanted to do something for the people, they became volunteers. Later, the idea of converting the train into a Tsunami Museum also was welcome by the villagers.

After re-railing the train, the railway department “secretly” moved the train to the nearest station. By now the villagers “owned” the train. “It is our train! It stopped in our village! It took the lives of our relatives! It belongs to us! No body can take it off!” the villagers joined by the foreign volunteers, were up in arms! Railway department created a short parallel railway line. They left the most damaged compartments there. When you come here, after seeing the train, do not forget to sign the guest book under the ragged black umbrella!

About 250 villagers from Peraliya have lost their lives. Out of 550 families, only 5 did not loose lives. Out of 420 houses, only 10 were spared. 5 children lost both parents and 50 had lost single parent. Tsunami’s damage to this small community is definitely out of proportion to it’s size and capacity.

“I lost my mother, father, two brothers, sister and grand mother ..”, pauses Chamath, just only seven years. He continues counting his fingers, six already folded, eyes set at the broken school building, “my class teacher, and four of my class mates.” He knows that he has not got any fingers left to count…. He is not crying…. He looks just indifferent.

" I was in that apartment, with my daughter, grandson and granddaughter,” 50 year old Piyadasa from Kaluthara points at the train, “when the first wave came, we all stood up on the seats, when the second wave was gone,” he burst into tears, I saw three of them dead just by my feet.” He unwraps a photograph, carefully wrapped in a polythene bag, “this is my daughter, these are my grand children.” his voice by now is faint and feeble. He has come today to join the religious observances to mark the third month of Tsunami disaster. “What else can I do than transferring merit to them?” he questions.

Just few days after the Tsunami waves, Alison Thompson, an Australian nurse, teacher and humanitarian film maker, along with Italian film producer Oscar Gubernati, arrived at this devastated village. They started cleaning and dressing wounds on the doorstep of the library building of the destroyed school. “Your warmth and kindness,” says Alison, “that’s what they need most.” She continues to explain “Tsunami plasters and bandages”: “Among those who really need medical attention, many people come here with minor cuts and bruises, but all of them are very special to us,” she pauses, “few nice words, a gentle touch, a lollipop for a kid and a plaster means a lot to them. Yeah, we call them Tsunami plasters and bandages! We have to understand that these people have suffered so much trauma, they are terribly in need of love and care.” If you hang around the hospital few hours, you will hear tiny voices calling “Alison, Alison” over the short walls of the hospital. That could possibly be a seven year old boy asking for a syringe to play water guns or a six year old girl asking for a glove to blow it up to a balloon!

Soon joined by American chef Bruce French and retired Australian army engineer Don Paterson, they repaired the building, one of the two remaining buildings of the school. Donations and volunteers started arriving. It grew up. More donations and volunteers arrived. Now this small health center provides free basic health care to many Tsunami survivors, complementing the untiring efforts of the local health facilities.

Jayantha is the village midwife. She was more worried about her duty than her partially broken house. “I have no place to run my office, I have lost my weighing scale, not a single health record was left.” she said. Before the tsunami, on a Monday like this, she would visit pregnant mothers at home before she conducts the immunization clinic for children after which she reports to the local hospital for the weekly meeting on health education. “I am responsible for the health of the children and women,” Jayantha was quite clear about her role in Peraliya. “But where to start, how to start?” she questioned.

Her grievances were directed to a set of volunteers: some midwives from England. They took up from cleaning up the place to buying news weighing scales to an examination bed. By next Friday, village women with their children were rushing to the midwife’s place in numbers to receive the care they have missed for almost two months. “We are so happy that we could help the midwife to restart the work. We will continue to help her even when we go home” said a volunteer.

It is not only or all about health. Many more projects rooted up from there. School Project, Housing Project, Water Project, Toilets Project and Boats Project: all are underway. “Even prior to Tsunami, the education here was not marvelous,” Says Oscar. “ First priority is to build the school!” he emphasizes. “We need to get not only new chairs and new desks, but also computers, cameras and projectors!” continues the ambitious visionary in his Italian accent.

You feel like coming here? Please do. Experience? Not necessary. Lodging, food? Many hotels in the near by tourist town, Hikkaduwa provides decent lodging and food. Transport? Tuc Tuc (three wheeler) is the official vehicle. You have two options, either you can join one of the ongoing projects. Or simply walk into one of those tents or temporary houses. People will welcome you. Just help them with what they are doing. Just be there. Just talk to them. Don’t worry! Language is not a barrier. You may find some one who speaks your language, if you are lucky. If not just stick to your basics: smile, nod, gestures!

Don’t forget to attend the special assignment on the beach on Sunday. It is a must! If you disobey, Oscar will keep on blowing his whistle. You may join the kids in their bath or those who just observe. It was an effort to help children to improve their terms with the sea. Many kids did not want even to talk about the sea. Now many have improved. Still this Sunday ritual is continued. It is cool! It is relaxing! It is fun! You will have the privilege of enjoying an ice cream from the ice cream man after the assignment!

Three months gone. Let me conclude with what Allison has to writes on her diary “At the beginning of January, I prayed to God to send all the angels he had in heaven and on the planet to this little island that was eaten by the sea. Now I ask you to come yourself...drive to one of the many villages and help, they will love you as their own. Give up just two weeks of your life to help these people ... It will change your life. You can make a difference in someone's life no matter what you do or who you are. Please come and help...”

Efforts of a group of independent volunteers to shed light on the lives of Tsunami survivors
www.peraliya.com