They started working with the children. They played with them, taught English and even participated in the Muslim kite festival. As the children spoke of all they were taught and the fun they had, the rest of the community too gradually accepted the volunteers into their community. They took part in the Eid celebrations and accompanied their host families as they visited their friends and relatives.
A group of young volunteers from Sri Lanka and UK mingled with the communities in post conflict areas such as Kalmunai, Akkaraipattu and Ampara to identify their problems and help in some way to solve them. During their stay with the host families belonging to various ethnic groups, they learnt about their customs and culture.
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| Pix by Saman Kariyawasam |
This was thanks to a partnership programme – ‘Global Xchange’ conducted by the British Council together with the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and the local NGO Peace and Community Action (PCA) where 17 young volunteers between the ages of 18-25 from the UK and Sri Lanka worked in Sri Lanka’s post conflict Ampara and UK’s East Lancashire where ‘race riots’ took place. The plan was that they engage in voluntary work for six months. While in Sri Lanka, the volunteers worked with nine community development organizations in Ampara and in Britain, they will repeat the same process for a period of three months.
The objective of the programme is to create global citizens who have a passion for volunteering, community development and social action, says Deputy Manager Programmes Delivery, British Council, Sanjeevani Munasinghe.
Having completed the assignment in Sri Lanka, prior to embarking on the journey to Britain the volunteers spoke about their experience in the field.
Kudakwashe Kamupira from Zambia, one of the 17 volunteers enthused about her experience. Having a law degree, she had always been interested in international work. She feels that most people are unaware of pressing issues and crises around the world and even in their own community.
The exchange programme, in her opinion was not only a chance for the volunteers to offer help and support where needed, but was also a learning experience for the volunteers themselves. Kudakwashe was paired with a volunteer from Sri Lanka-Shanika-and lived for three months with a Muslim host family in Kalmunai. She anticipated having to dress in shalwar kameez etc to demonstrate their willingness to adapt to and respect the culture of the community. “Initially the people were wary of the newcomers. The local mosque was opposed to the idea of these outsiders working in the community, but the host family was very supportive and spoke on our behalf,” she says. As they played and taught the children, the barriers crumbled and the community accepted them.
Kudakwashe and Sathiya also worked closely with the Women’s Development Foundation and focused mainly on the issues faced by 34 families from Kalmunai, Sainthamaruthu, Maruthamunai and Sammanthurai. They interviewed these families and wrote reports as they felt that this would aid future projects in the area by providing a comprehensive picture on the needs of the people. Kudakwashe, who stayed with a Muslim host family, and worked with Shanika- a Sinhala Buddhist, and Sathiya- a Tamil Hindu, was able to learn much about the respective cultures and traditions. She takes back with her happy memories of her three month stay in Kalmunai, she says.
The programme was a different experience for Ayanthi de Silva as it changed her perception about another ethnic group, she says. Based in the tsunami devastated village of Islamabath in Kalmunai where Muslims and Tamils live, Avanthi got the opportunity to have an insight into the life of the Muslim community. “I got involved in their religious festival, weddings etc. As a result, I got more close to them and this changed my attitude in a positive way,” she says.
Grace Wood from London and Niroshini Hulangamuwa Gunasinghe from Sri Lanka narrating one of the rare encounters they had during a field visit to the IDP village Ambalantaru in Damana explained how they were able to address the health needs of a destitute family - a crippled mother and her two sons. “The family was suffering from muscle wasting which is a genetic disorder.
Due to this they were unable to attend to their day-to-day work and the children unable to continue with their education. When we spoke to the mother we learnt she had got this sickness at the age of 14 but was neglected for over 16 years. Her two sons aged 18 and 20 had got the same illness at the age of six. But their condition was not properly diagnosed. Although the sickness was to be seen, the family had not known what to do. That village was lacking basic facilities to address such health needs,” Niroshini said.
The volunteers had arranged for a doctor from the Health Ministry to examine the family. On the doctor’s recommendation the family was transferred to the Ampara government hospital for treatment, Grace said adding that though their illness is not curable with medical support their condition can be improved.
PCA National Coordinator Tharmalingam Thayaparan, said they are proud to support this new and different sort of volunteer opportunity here in Sri Lanka.
“For the first time Sri Lankan young people have led the way in offering support alongside their UK counterparts to communities here in Sri Lanka. It would not have been possible without the full support of Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities, their organisations, and host families here in Ampara working together to make his project a success,” he said.
Country Director VSO Sri Lanka Dr. Jane Rosegrant, said, “As Country Director of VSO Sri Lanka, I have been very happy to be involved with Global Exchange (GX), which is a partnership between Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and the British Council.” The implementing local partner organization for this particular exchange was Peace and Community Action (PCA) and VSO and PCA worked especially closely with the volunteers on their training and supporting them during their time with their partners and host families.” |
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