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Why
Green Hope The
tsunami diary
Donate | (to
French site) . For news before sept 26th 2005, read more from the French version of the diary |
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October 29, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin At last after three weeks of misery we are back on-line again this morning... In the depths of our "darkest jungle", we got word from you that the book is out... we would love to hold it in our hands, to turn the pages, ... from what we hear it is beautiful... we are impatient to see it! Myriam and Serge and little Léonard from Cazouls set out again for France. Their stay seemed to us too short. ….Together, we distributed the toys and educational equipment in the pre-classes, took to the sea on one of the trawlers, the "Ville de Rully /Ville de Sète", and shared the Green Hope Journal...
On the night of Sunday to Monday, Carole and Fred will also leave us... at the school they tested 80 children and teachers and we gave out 13 pairs of glasses... in the villages of Patuwatha and Seenigama 22 pairs... in the Women's Workshop, out of six workers, five will wear glasses.... They were formidable, with the same energy and the same passion as Sophie of whom we thought so much, of course... The Women's Workshop opened with three workers, they are six now. The production during the summer was on a small scale and now it is necessary for them to do several types of cushions, necklaces and small medallions...while at the same time creating the next collection with new combinations of colours... if you wish to support us by ordering - for example your Christmas presents - you can do so on-line at: araliyadesign@wanadoo.fr
Jean Christophe arrived and started to prepare the next Festival. Rolan, the craftsman who made the masks came to visit us and asked us to help him to rebuild his house, his workshop and its production, entirely destroyed by the Tsunami. The Belgian delegation is thinking of putting in place a system of small loans... we could kick it off by offering has Rolan the possibility of getting back his materials for work... As we are launching the first inscriptions for the pre-schools, the two new buildings are going up at full speed and we are beginning to imagine the finished buildings…. splendid... It is just one year ago that we opened the first pre-school class. The next school re-entry, in January 2006, we will be able to take in 210 pupils in six classes…..fortunately the Communauté de Communes de la Côte Fleurie allovs us to have a sufficient budget to respond to all the requests... Just for your information: if you come to visit us - and there are many of you who do so during this time of school holidays - avoid booking in the Ocean View Cottage. This guest house prohibits the entry of native Sri Lankans into its establishment. It is impossible for you to notice this segregation because it is written in sinhala on all the doors …... it brings back quite bad memories of former times... ... and the rain, violent and unceasing, drives the flies away….
the sky becomes like milk, then darkens to navy, moving on to the
dark green of the jungle, finishing in a golden purple... one then
hears it coming from afar, approaching, breaking the silence of
the animals, who become anxious…. a noisy hail... and then
moving away... and often returning ... finally the relieved sky
clears up, the broad sheets of the canopies drain, the flowers open
out and the animals loudly move about their affairs... flooded roads,
puddle pools in the dirt tracks, blocked rice plantations, and the
bad weather is accepted here with same fate as the unforeseeable
course of life itself, determined somewhere else….beyond our
control... October 24th, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Myriam We are the Green Hope delegation from Cazouls d' Hérault, in Patuwatha, in front of the children there. Some are looking well, others haggard. It is a solemn occasion. Green Hope is setting up two new classes between the rice field and where the tropical flood passed. The monks are here, impassive and sure of their calculations. The inauguration took place at 9 h 36 in this Friday, October 21st, 2005. Everything is in place. Not by magic but by the coming together of different energies. Passing from the help of the donors - , Enfance et Partage, Aide à l'Enfant en Détresse de la FERTE-MACE et ALENCON et la commune SAINT-NOLFF in Brittany - to the effective Sri Lankan Green Hope team, by way of the openness of these villagers who know that their future depends on the education of their children. All of these energies depending on the work of Pierre and Quentin. We feel all of that here. And then all the rest. All that remains to do and especially to keep doing, the second requirement after the Tsunami. The country is getting back together in a striking way but the poor are getting poorer. In the villages of Hikkaduwa, one of the zones struck hardest, the children recognise our coming with enthusiasm. To desert them would be calamitous. That's what we have learnt by coming here. Thus there was emotion on this day, a day of hope between the greenery and torn tarpaulins. Knelling on the earth to bury there the first stone of our Green Hope school, accompanied by a hundred of pairs of eyes, some surprised, some tired, I understood deep down the responsibility of our action. And the huge wealth which we will harvest in return.
Thanks to Pierre and Quentin. One only understands fully the extent of their work only by coming here to see. Myriam of Cazouls October 23rd, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin For a week we have had no internet connection so we send you this from an internet cafe... First of all, if you sponsor a child, take a careful note of the address of the godchild who writes to you, but do not send any money directly to him or her. Preferably, do not hesitate to ask us for advice, we are on site here to help ... It could be possible that people take the address of the sponsors and write to them directly to ask for help and keep the money for themselves... We shall keep you posted. Carole and Fred continue the eyesight tests. They have just finished with the school at Patuwatha and are going to continue with the adults of the village from tomorrow. Just like Sophie, they do not spare themselves, with gentleness and care they are doing a remarkable job. This morning early, at 7 h 46, then at 9 h 27, we attended the laying of the first foundations of the new pre-schools, moments of great emotion for us together with all our friends who are here with us……as soon as possible, when we are back online, we shall fill you in more on this ceremony...
This morning also, together with Martine, Myria, and Serge, we distributed the new educational toys in the nursery schools. "Kind Heart" and the "Secouriste Sans Frontière" have taken to the sea … Weather is not good at present, the sea roars under torrential rains... Christelle began the cooperative yesterday with the embroiderers. The place is splendid, peaceful and nice; all the fitting-out has ended, including the well in the small garden. Christelle prepares the new collection, which promises to be creative and pretty. Dushyantha had the small aesthetic intervention: he now wears a coloured lens which conceals the lost eye. In three years, when the space will have grown, we shall do another more-advanced operation. We were so happy this morning to find Awiska in the school and know that we will be able to cure her... The mother of the fisherman, having undergone a five hour operation, is going to be able to come home next week... Sorry we cannot write as we would wish... We shall soon make up for it... We do really take the time to read all your messages! And are happy to know that the English translation is on the site, updated, thank you, once again to Jean-Christophe and Alain... October 19th, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin We have been a bit unlucky…no internet connection and so we write to you from an Internet cafe... All going well we should have a new line on Saturday, with a new number once again... On top of that, our home nearly burned down... However, all being said, everything is going very well, we finished the long tests for Awiska, and he does not have leukaemia, he is going to be treated and made well, which is tremendous because, without Green Hope, we would never have been able to get him a full consultation and proper analysis. We have to return to the hospital in the next three weeks to do new tests and then will know if we must continue the treatment... The mother of the fisherman is being operated on today, a very long and dangerous operation... As for the little hydrocephalic girl, she will get back some mobility over the next few years provided that we continue the treatment... Asanka was great in overseeing all of these medical actions, and devoted himself without stinting for the children and the impoverished villages where he is from…. it gave him satisfaction and us also… The 21st will see us begin the foundations of the new classes... We received the official Governmental approval letter and therefore, very soon we shall also begin the reconstruction of the new stadium... Eyesight tests have begun this morning in the nursery school of the seaside of Patuwatha... We have had no time to pass by there, but we shall tell you more anon….. Dushuyanta is going to be operated on tomorrow, an aesthetic operation where the doctors are going to re-colour in where he lost his eye, which is currently white, making it less noticeable. The Women's Workshop is going to open on Thursday, good contacts were made at the Salon, and orders taken …... Everything is installed and in working order!! Boats are back on the water, we should order the last boat of this "fleet" this coming week... Myriam, Serge and Leonard their son are due to arrive today, we are very happy with this visit from Cazouls. So because of all of this …even if we do not have connection
before Saturday it could be worse and as for the fire, all's well
that ends well: it burned only a part of the house, the outside,
the home of October 15th, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin We are going to have to imagine a journey every week to the Apollo Hospital, because we have had so many difficult cases recently. The next trip will take place on Monday with Awiska, to find out the exact state of her leukaemia, a little hydrocephalous girl whose ability to get around is diminishing, and the mother of one of the fishermen who must be undergo urgently an operation to try to save her from cancer. The Swiss deputation has decided to support the medical expenses for the consultations for Awiska, and the Belgian deputation to help the families of the children with the skin infection. Since they have started their new treatment, they are much better and do not scratch themselves any more. Until la Poya, the full moon, the boats stay in the harbour. For a week now we have been subjected to bad weather and, since the evening of the 11th, we had been off-line. As you must have guessed!... We shall answer your numerous messages after writing the Diary. We have put the finishing touches to the " House of Buddha " on the edge of road. A generous Sri Lankan donor is going to put a nice big statue there shortly. Then lorry drivers will make their offerings for a safer journey, if that is possible! Thanks to " Enfance et Partage, aides à l'enfance en détresse" " based in Ferté Macé and Alençon who have just joined forces with the village of saint Nolff in Brittany to help us construct two new pre-classes. The Village Temple decided that the right day to begin the laying of the foundations would be 21st. We are going to open a new pre-class in another small Temple, in Tiranagama. We will need your help. We hope that both pre-classes will be finished for the school opening which takes place on the January 1st here. So far Green Hope will have sent to school 190 children who would not have access to school without your donations. Still on the theme of schools, thanks to the Caisse des Ecoles de Cabourg and the Communauté de Communes de la Côte Fleurie, in Normandy, we are going to equip the seaside school of Patuwatha with an Internet connection to twin it with the Collège Barbara Hendrix d' Orange. Our numbers are going up! Christelle arrives today for two intense weeks work to put the Women's Workshop on its feet. On Monday Carole and Fredericia arrive to follow up the screening organized by Sophie. On the 19th Martine brings us from France the Educational toys for the classes. We also hope that Sabine and François will bring us the mobiles which we have a real need of and, on the same day, Myriam, Serge and Leonard from Cazouls Hérault come to visit us to have a look at all the activities in which they have played a part. Liliane and Jacques, long time supporters of Green Hope, are already here. It was a surprise visit which allowed us to share with them our table and introduce them to our new actions on-site. They will leave on the 24th. This evening, we will have a very important meeting about the reconstruction
of the Sports Stadium of Dodanduwa. We had one pre-meeting in
the late-afternoon yesterday, very stimulating and encouraging,
attended by very keen neighbours, numerous young people, and sportspeople.
This area was badly hit by the Tsunami and, was already very underprivileged
before the disaster. Sports are really important in developing the
balance of life, very necessary in a country where no psychological
support could be set up after the trauma. I will tell you some more, from tomorrow onwards, if possible with photos. "J'ai compris que demain serait la conséquence d'aujourd'hui.
Quand je l'ai compris, j'ai réagi et transforme demain."
Albert Jacquard. October 9 th, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin In a country which knows suffering, our minds go out to those who have been wounded by the violence of nature these last few days. We are thinking of the hurricanes, the earthquake, of people grieving, displaced. When will we find the peace of those who live in harmony with nature? Humans have greatly altered the natural order for financial gain or out of pride. When will we rediscover the humble values of our forefathers' good sense? And look again at the sky. And take care of our natural resources. However, not even death is the end. To people of goodwill, there will always be hope. They did not operate on Dushyantha this morning, it was too late, the eye is lost. However, Green Hope is going to take responsibility for another operation - this time for aesthetic purposes - to install a false eye. The operation will take place next Saturday.
Yesterday, a big celebration for the pre-schoolers in Hikkaduwa, with the presentation of their achievements, and we went there Apsara, Kumara's wife, their eldest son Mahashan, and Asanka. There were dozens of "Little Green-hopes" with their families, all dressed in green and white and all very proud. We congratulated them and gave them an ice-cream.
Out of solidarity for another boat in trouble on the open sea, the crew of "Kind Heart", in order to keep their vessel free, interrupted their fishing. It came back into the harbour without any fish. The expenses were the same but they will get nothing; however, we are proud of this act of solidarity, which allowed the other boat to come home safely this night. We gave some funds to each fisherman to make up for the lost wage. We are learning a lot since we have dedicated our life and our energy to helping these small poor coastal villages. Next month we will start the dance lessons. The "Green Hope
Cultural Center " will be, we hope, the first manifestation
of a future centre to which we are very committed. To date the Ministry
of Culture in France has not acknowledged the receipt of the dossier
outlining our proposal which we sent them. October 7th, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin Accompanied by Asanka, the children of both families and their
parents came back from the Apollo Hospital in Colombo, where they
were able to have an appointment with a well-known dermatologist.
Green Hope have taken on the proposed treatment which should cure the illness over time. We have also decided to give a fan to every family to cool the air in the home and a filter for the water used for washing. The doctor was not overly anxious: unfortunately these problems have become common since the Tsunami. Very moved by the work of Green Hope for the children, he gave us his personal number in case of need. The little girl who had a problem with her leg has been treated. She has to wear an arch support which allows her to walk normally. Finally Dushyantha, who was seriously hurt in one eye, is going to be taken in to hospital on Saturday morning, and will be operated on once again on Sunday morning. We shall be able to visit him on Sunday afternoon. This final operation is on the iris. If everything goes well, he should get back some close vision which had seemed lost. As it should, Green Hope will take care of all the expenses. We are going to begin the free traditional dance lessons very soon. We will open three classes of two hours every Saturday (5 - 10 years / 10 - 15 years / 15 - 20 years). We will rent a room from the Lions Club of Hikkaduwa (it brings to mind our friends in the Lions club of Deauville-Trouville.). This room is in a central location. Berny is going to teach Kathakali and its particular incarnation in Sri Lanka, the Devil Dance. All shows will be presented in the course of the next Festival, in August, 2006. Myriam, Serge and Leonard, from Cazouls, are going to arrive on October 19th. We are very happy to be able to introduce them to the work of Green Hope. They will bring us tambourines to make up the teams. We hope to use their visit to begin " The Kitchen Garden Twinning " - an exchange of seeds between Sri Lankan and French classes to grow a symbolic world garden which we have spoken to you on numerous occasions. But there is a lot to do … This October also, new eyesight screening, organized by Sophie. Carole and Frederick are coming to attempt the check-up the pre-schoolers. We have received messages from Stephanie from FR3 and Sandrine de VSD our faithful friends, as the first year anniversary approaches. Since the disaster Radio France have followed us on their website - radiofrance.fr, - thanks to Thierry Bourgeon, manager of Radio Multimedia France. Already three journalists have came, we are waiting for a new special correspondent in November. Our book, the "Journal du tsunami" " is a very good means of outlining what Green Hope has achieved in the past year. With regard to the boats: the catches are good, but fuel costs keep increasing. Kumara is on the go continuously between departures, arrivals of boats, the numerous repairs, the lack of ice, doing the accounts. The sea is strong, there are violent storms, and, each day we are made aware of the tough, unforgiving job and the courage of the fishersmen. Once again we have need of you. We have just visited a preschool child from Pathuwatha, accompanied by his father. They have just learnt that this little boy, Awiska, has leukemia. We shall bring him to the hospital next week, and will help him in all his needs. A sponsor - godmother or godfather - would allow us take care of medical expenses.
This morning, at 5 am, two families set out for the Apollo Hospital,
the biggest in Sri Lanka, , accompanied by Asanka. We are happy about the upcoming visit of Thierry, Green Hope's
doctor, and Maud, next month … These last days we have paid wages and have had to buy books, pens, pencils, notebooks for the pre-schoolers. We shall bring them over to them today. These are the last things to be done for the Women's Workshop: a double ceiling, fans, a coat of paint and it will be ready for the return of Christelle in a few days time. We think a lot about Caroline and Christelle……..Friday, Saturday, Sunday (open to the public). They are going to give it a try - and surely succeed! - to fill up the order-book for the Workshop. It is on these orders that the jobs and monthly wages of the women of this cooperative depend…… Pay them a visit: the Salon de la Mode Ethique, Espace des Blancs Manteaux, 48 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris 4. Metro Stop: Saint-Paul. October 7th and 8th: reserved for the trade. Sunday, the 9th open to the public. We got a very encouraging letter about the "Dodanduwa Sports Club", we are just waiting for the agreement from the Ministry of Sports now, who own the ground, and we shall then start the work of making a fine stadium for this region with all necessary equipment for football, cricket, volleyball and the tambourine……Cazouls Hérault have offered all the equipment necessary to equip two teams of their local sport. We have completed the tedious accounts for July, August, and September. All the documents will be handed over, like the others, to the accounting expert, the auditor, in order to certify the receipts and expenses of Green Hope. You will be able to consult them within the legal timeframe. The 2004 balance sheet is available for your inspection. And in conclusion, some good news: Simon, from the Sérénitude Institute has been sending to us for the past three months 2 euros for every treatment carried out in his Institute. That is another good way of supporting Green Hope……. Pay him a visit on his website: www.serenitude.com and a nice photo …. Taranga, his mother, her sister, the window of their new home, newly finished.
October 2nd, 2005 - Hikkaduwa - Pierre and Quentin Apologies….for the delay in getting news of Green Hope to you. When we arrived, the telephone and the computer were not working. The Trip went well. Only one slight hassle when, at the start, Sri Lankan Airlines asked us for 588 euro for 12 kg extra baggage. Normally Airline companies are more understanding of organizations which are working on behalf of the Sri Lankan people. Disappointed. Luckily, the crew was very kind. The sales department of the company need to realise that this attitude, repeated, does not paint a good picture. Upon our arrival, we bought the electrical equipment for Khrishanti's home, thanks to our friends in the very new Swiss deputation. Once again, a big thank you to Karl who is going to translate our news into English, making the site accessible to numerous readers, among whom the Sri Lankans themselves! The new Belgian deputation decided to sponsor both children of a Green Hope fisherman, who have serious skin infections. We will be able to get them the necessary creams and drive them to the biggest hospital of Sri Lanka, to Colombo for a thorough consultation. We visited them today. We also finished buying things for Taranga's home which will be opened tomorrow, all going well. Thanks to Carole, Dominique, Dylan and their friends. We also started our sports project: Green Hope is going to rebuild the big stadium at Dodanduwa, in the place known as Morakola, which belongs to the Ministry of Sports, with all the necessary equipment: two changing rooms, showers, a stand, floodlights and, if possible, sound and a scoreboard. The same evening we had a visit from the Village Council, all 28 persons, the elders of the village, all very motivated by the idea. We shall keep you up to date, as usual. This work is also thanks to a company which is helping us, whose name we hope to give you soon. We also paid a short visit to Ishan to bring him presents from his sponsors. He was in the middle of cleaning his nice bike. Ishan is now second in his class of 45 pupils, and is starting to learn the violin. Also, at the request of our friends from "Sri Lanka Coeur à Coeur" ("Sri Lanka Heart-to-Heart"), we went to see a family helped by them. The father died, swept away by the tsunami. The boat has been delivered, along with the motor. All that is lacking are the nets which will allow the older children of the dead fisherman put back out to sea. That's another reason to attend the Benefit Concert for the victims of the Tsunami, which will take place on October 8th of this year, near Bordeaux. Good news also about the book which will be finished on the 22nd of October. I'm sure that we have left out some news. No problem…we will be back on the site very soon, in French and in English!
September 26th, 2005 - France - Pierre et Quentin When a child appears... ". It has been a great day today for the "Green Hope Tribe". Our Friend, the "bearer of the word" , the Webmaster of this site for the past year, Jean Christophe, became a father, last night at 4.58am, for the second time, of a beautiful baby boy weighing 3kg 450.
We offer our congratulations to Gladys his partner, to Sébastien who has now become the eldest, and to Jean Christophe….and we celebrate life itself! You can send best wishes to them on the Livre D'or We are truly delighted! We got back from Switzerland this morning. We were there last Saturday and Sunday in the company of Enrica, in Geneva. It was our last stop in Europe before our departure the day after tomorrow... and it allowed us finally to take time to be together with Enrica and her friends. Yesterday, a timid Autumn Sunday …. Geneva, wide straight roads… Sunday with all the shops closed, people strolling or on bikes... along the lake, a gentle warm memory of domestic gardens... calm gardens where a gentle, tepid rain falls, the sky is pale... Geneva seems like a city made of water. Enrica took us to visit some open-air photographic expositions. The first, by Uwe Ommer on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, was entitled "Us them People" and focused on the diversity of peoples, interspersed with the international promises of a future of equality. The other Exposition was by Yann Arthus Bertrand, tracing man and his effect on the environment: "If all the inhabitants of the world lived like we do in the West, one would need two additional planets to satisfy all of their needs..." In the evening, Enrica had invited all of those who have stood with us since the Tsunami. Italian, German, Irish, English, Congolese, French..... such a cosmopolitan group that we asked whether they were ready to take on the English translation of the Diary. From next Saturday, every week, you will be able to find the main points of the Diary in English, available to all our non-French speaking friends. Good news, thanks to Karl who volunteered immediately for this job. More good news, a new delegation, that of Switzerland, - Enrica surrounded by her friends - agreed to continue their support for Green Hope... for the long-haul... and we can assure you that they have incredible energy...! And lastly, we returned with a computer keyboard with French characters for Sri Lanka, which will stop us driving our friends - the "bearers of our words" - mad because we leave out accents…. …. and a donation to buy household materials to finish equipping the house for Krishanti and his/her three children... and also the same day an donation to help us in the purchase of the house, thanks to the staff of Verspieren & Safir Group ... Thank you! On an early misty morning we took our leave of Enrica and Geneva…our heads and our hearts full of joy. From the base in Hikkaduwa we received some photos of "Kind Heart" on the seas for its first fishing trip ……and we post here one of the nicest.
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