Financial Times

It was an important occasion for the local Lions Clubs of Sri Lanka last week, as the International Foundation Chairman Clement Kusiak was in the country to experience first hand, the on-going housing projects for victims of the tsunami.

The Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF), had raised the largest donation of $7 million to be given to a country in need. The aim was to build 1,600 houses for those affected, where 400 have so far been completed. The project identifies 23 sites for building, including Valachchenai, Batticaloa, Pottuvil and Kaluwan - chikudy, where others are still waiting for work to begin due to a variety of concerns, from acquiring land to political instability.

Upuli Samarasinghe said that one of the main difficulties with getting the project started was getting land off the government, but once that was achieved, “the move forward has been very positive”.

The meeting was held at the Galadari Hotel, where a film was shown highlighting construction completed and what was still going on, from basic homes, to vocational training centres to childcare centres. But as pointed out, the project in Trincomalee has been postponed due to safety concerns there.

Mr. Kusiak said that something that made him really proud was that when the tsunami hit he immediately contacted Lion members in Sri Lanka, only to find that those members were already up and running. “It was very encouraging and we ourselves immediately found out what needed to be sent. But of course, this isn’t just a short term move as we are looking at the long haul with the building of rehabilitation centres, schools and vocational centres,” he said.

The chairman also pointed out that the Lions got “superb support” from the government, especially being given access to wherever members wanted to go. “Hopefully the livelihood of the people in the areas we are helping in will improve due to the work done. I have seen the smile on the mother’s face; the happiness of the children playing in a playground built with Lions money,” Mr. Kusiak said.

As for how the decision is made to decide who lives in the new homes, Asoka Gunasekera, a Lions Club District Governor, said all the organisation did was build homes, the District Secretariat decided who got the homes as they knew who was most in need.

“To ensure honesty, a list of those to receive a house was put up before the keys were handed over so people could let officials know if someone had lied about their predicament,” he said.

For a completion date, it was set to be before the second anniversary of the disaster. As for those working at the particular sites, Mr. Gunasekera said that there were technical officers assigned to the sites to ensure things were proceeding normally. For those construction companies whose buildings weren’t up to scratch, they had their fees withheld until things got back on schedule.

In the vote of thanks, Mr. Graetian Gunwardhana said that the Lions had shown their true worth with their response to the disaster, by leading from the front. He said part of the reason for calling members of the media together was to publicise the “passion we Lions have, so that more people can join our ranks and try to offer those suffering a better life in the future”.