Something positive amidst the gloom

It was Asitha’s tear-streaked face at his mother’s funeral that epitomized the heartbreak of the 2004 tsunami. Now two years on, Kumudini Hettiarachchi revisits Asitha

The gate is painted bright blue. As one steps into the tiny garden, a red bicycle leans against the wall and out of the house, full of smiles comes Asitha Rukshan Fernando, now 11 years old.

Asitha (left) and Ruwangika (far right) with their sister’s family. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara

The eyes have a hint of sadness and in the home of his elder sister where he too lives now, the cause of sadness can be spotted, for on the glass cabinet in the hall is a large photograph of a woman in a heart-shaped frame, with a passport size photo of a man placed at the bottom.

The memories come flooding back – like the monstrous waves that shattered the lives of this boy and his two sisters two years ago. The tsunami took away his mother Ranjani and just a year later his broken-hearted father Ivan died too, falling off a train.

Yes, we are in the home of Asitha in Moratuwa, orphaned at the tender age of 10. It was Asitha’s tear-streaked face at his mother’s funeral, splashed across the front pages of more than 100 newspapers worldwide that epitomized the heartbreak and anguish of the terrible tsunami that engulfed the region on December 26, 2004.

The loss of both mother and father would be devastating to a little boy. However, even amidst the darkest of clouds, there has been a silver-lining for this family. For, soon after The Sunday Times wrote the story of Asitha, after his mother’s death, many benefactors rushed to their aid, and two have been with them throughout, along with Sr. Jacintha who has been of support to them even before the tsunami. One benefactor has bought this family a house, the one which they are living in. Earlier both Ruwangika and Asitha were living with relatives. Now, the two live with their elder sister Ashani, her husband Tharanga, and their two-year-old toddler. This benefactor is a regular visitor, bringing gifts, goodies and toys not only for Ruwangika and Asitha but also for Ashani’s little one.

The other benefactor provides the monthly rations and also sees to the educational needs of Asitha.

“I have been promoted to Grade 7,” says Asitha, assuring us that he is concentrating on his studies, while Ashani says that now he doesn’t roam Koralewella playing “teek bola” with his friends, like he used to soon after his mother’s death. All the extras he needs in the school are provided by us with the income my husband gets from his work, says the elder sister. Tharanga takes on “polishing work”.

Meanwhile, Ruwangika having a slight mental impairment, is also doing well. Very much into mat and carpet making, a skill she has acquired at the Caritas Special Education Centre in Koralawella run by Sr. Jacintha, she is invaluable at home helping out with the housework, according to Ashani.

Sr. Jacintha has opened two savings books for Ruwangika and Asitha and deposited some funds given by the benefactors, “for their future”.

Seeing the orphaned little family, growing and also smiling amidst the tears, with sustained support from their benefactors as the second tsunami anniversary comes around, the positive note strikes a chord of happiness, even as stories abound about others still without a roof over their heads.