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Alissa
Sears, center, at St. John's Orphanage in Batticaloa with
Selvi, Tamara and Kala |
From
Laguna Blanca to Sri Lanka
By Jeff Jones
The churches, temples and schools are mounds of
rubble. Brick shells of once-popular resort hotels are refugee camps.
But amid the decimation after years of civil war, the children of
Sri Lanka hold their heads high.
A
pat on the back and a gentle tuck under the chin went a long way
this past summer during one young Santa Barbara woman's humanitarian
effort. Alissa Sears, a graduate of Laguna Blanca High School just
three years ago, touched as many of the island country's estimated
60,000 orphans as possible throughout the month of July.
"I
was raised in such a loving, supportive family that I felt like
it was important to go and share that love and support with others
less fortunate," said Sears, who joined a handful of others
in the recently founded nonprofit Vision's Program. "Most of
the orphans were either abandoned or their parents were killed.
Many have lived through things most of us can't begin to imagine."
After
the university senior heard about the fledgling volunteer program
founded in Lancaster, Sears decided to take a break from her senior
studies at UC San Diego. Toting about 80 pounds of books gathered
during a book drive, Sears met up with seven others for the group's
first volunteer journey. The town of Batticaloa served as the home
base where the young visitors from near and far reached out to thousands
of orphans.
Sears
said each story was poignant. "One little girl's mom had died
from a snake bite," Sears recalled. "Her father killed
himself the next day. She went to live with her two brothers. She
had to watch as they were shot and killed by soldiers. What was
something to see was that she never complained." It took Sears
some time to figure out that many in the orphanages saw beyond their
own tragedies. The youngsters, especially this particular 15-year-old
girl, were wise beyond their years. "She and others felt someone
else had a worse story," Sears said. "Most were all about
prevailing. They have such consideration for other people."
Sears
slept on a cot, surrounded by upto 500 children from any given orphanage
at one time. With little means at hand, the teachers did what they
could to pass on kernels of knowledge. "We worked with the
teachers at a spoken English workshop in hopes of passing on knowledge.
The teachers and children could then proactively continue the task
of improving their level of English."
Sears
learned many ways to communicate during her four-week stay off the
coast of India. Facial expressions and hand gestures crossed many
barriers. Some of the volunteers spoke Tamil. A few were returning
to their homeland. "Hundreds of thousands of people left in
the 1980s," Sears said. "There was a mass exodus during
the civil war. Fortunately there's a cease-fire now."
That
cease-fire didn't shield Sears from some close encounters with the
local infantry. "There are soldiers armed with machine guns
and the barbed wire is everywhere," Sears said. "Many
of the soldiers don't look over 15 years. We drove through fields
of land mines. All the buildings have been destroyed. The schools,
churches and temples are in shambles. But I wasn't scared. I wanted
to make the best of the situation."
Sears
worked from dawn to dusk at motivational camps set up by volunteers
for the area's youth. Small groups went from orphanage to orphanage.
"Each place we visited we put on dances and performances,"
she said. "It was amazing. They all seemed so happy in spite
of what they'd been through."
That
theme seemed to resonate throughout Sears' stay. Every now and then,
especially during the upbeat times, Sears said she would forget
for a moment where she was. Youngsters' questions would jolt her
back to reality. "They would ask us how many military checkpoints
we have in our cities," Sears said.
"We tried to explain this wasn't like everywhere and didn't
have to be that way. We told them they could become the leaders
and have peace." And in case some do become future leaders,
Sears just may have a youthful picture to go along with a political
career. She snapped off 24 rolls of film. Nearly 50 photos will
be on display through the end of the month at the Montecito Remax
Gallery at 1205 Coast Village Road.
"Every
single photo has a story and I would love to walk anyone through
them," Sears said. "They can e-mail me and I'll do it."
Sears has thousands of promises to keep. The most important include
returning to Sri Lanka next year. To make a donation or for further
information contact Alissa Sears at asears22@hotmail.com.
Courtesy Goleba Valley Voice |