Sunday Times 2
20 years on, Rotary Sri Lanka reflects on tsunami response
View(s):The tsunami of December 2004 was easily the biggest natural disaster to strike Sri Lanka and left a trail of destruction and despair in its wake. Nearly 38,000 lives were lost and two-thirds of the country’s coastline destroyed. As we mark 20 years after the tragedy, Rotary Sri Lanka reflects on its role in rebuilding schools that were destroyed by the tsunami.
Rotary in Sri Lanka had always been involved in the social and economic development of the country and with representation in all districts, was well positioned to provide assistance. Even as the full force of the tragedy began to unfold, Rotarians were already in action rushing supplies of food, water, clothing, bedding, medicines and shelter to all corners of the country.
One of the key areas affected was schools. Rotary’s challenge was to build 25 new schools spread across the country in some of the most remote and poorest areas. “We wanted to ensure that our efforts benefited all Sri Lankans irrespective of caste and community or religion. The estimated cost of this project was around USD12mn and would help send nearly 15,000 students back to new ‘model’ schools”, says K R Ravindran who was the Chair of the project.
Rotary was allocated schools from Jaffna and Mullaitivu in the North through Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai in the East and down South in Hambantota, Galle and up to Kalutara.
“The devastation was total in most areas and in some instances broken bits of blackboards were the only evidence remaining to confirm that the debris before us was once a school,” added Ravindran.
In initial discussions with the Ministry of Education it was decided to turn this tragedy into an opportunity and Rotary resolved to build bigger and better schools with all modern facilities.
Each school was provided with well-ventilated and spacious classrooms, administration offices, state-of-the-art computer centres, fully equipped library and playground and recreational facilities.
We named the project ‘Schools Re awaken – building what cannot be destroyed’. It was not just a construction project; it was a movement. We transformed a tragedy into an opportunity to uplift communities and change lives. We turned empty plots of land into vibrant learning centres, proving that anything is possible with determination and unity.
One of the Rotary schools, the Uthayapuram School in Batticaloa, even received the prestigious Geoffrey Bawa Award for Excellence in Architecture. The accolade highlights the quality and thoughtfulness of our work.
Assistance poured in from the global family of Rotary led by the Rotary Foundation.
The corporate sector also supported the project. The Standard Chartered Bank was a strategic partner and provided all the necessary infrastructure for our project office in additional to a generous initial contribution of funds. Microsoft supported the computer centres whilst Room-to-Read USA provided the libraries and American Red Cross supported all our plumbing and sewerage work.