Alternative for Tsunami Donations

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

This letter is from the daughter of friends who live in Sri Lanka.
Georgia was on the front cover of Time as a volunteer helper in Bali after the bomb.

"As many of you know my parents have lived permanently for six years in Sri Lanka, although their passion for the country and people began some twenty years ago. In 1990, my parents built a holiday house in Talpe, a very poor fishing village, just South of Galle.

I am sure you are all aware of the tragic events in Asia on Boxing Day the 26th Dec 2004. My father returned to Sri Lanka as soon as he could after the Tsunami to see how he could help....... and he has found a way. I am very proud of what he is doing.... and would like to take this opportunity to forward to you his note below and his drawings attached.

We are in the process of setting up an account in Australia to save Australians the bank transfer fees to Sri Lanka and are also trying to have the fund recognised by the Red Cross or Care Australia so as to make donations for Australians tax deductible. I shall be in contact with you Monday with Australian bank details.

In the meantime, as my father says.... any donation however big would be appreciated... even if it will buy one brick.

With love and thoughts for a calm, peaceful and happy 2005

Georgia Fell-Smith
Spa Alliance
+62-812-3848094
PO Box 1167/TBB
Tuban Kantor Pos
Bali
Indonesia 80362
This is the letter from her Dad, Bruce
Subject: The Talpe Rehabilitation and Development Trust
Following the disastrous tsunami in Sri Lanka, the Galle area and especially the villages of Talpe, Habaraduwa and Unawattuna are devastated. There have been thousands of deaths, as well as thousands of other people displaced due to the destruction of their simple homes.

In response to the need to have people re-housed and rehabilitated, as well as numerous offers of financial assistance, I have designed a low cost house that will provide initial shelter and can be extended later, when people are more financially able.

Copies of the drawings of this house are attached.

Currently the house is being priced by Contractors and I anticipate estimates in the range of US$ 1800 to 2200 per unit. These figures will be known in the next 3 or 4 days.

To implement this process I have formed a trust, which is legally constituted and named:

THE TALPE REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT TRUST
The Trustees are,
Mr Simon Senaratne (Attorney at law), Mr. Harsha Weerakkody (Chartered architect), Mr. Bindu Wickramasekera (Attorney at law) and myself.

We have opened a bank account in the Trust name at The Seylan Bank Ltd, 90 Galle road, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Account number 0860-041117-001
Mr. Bindu Wickramasekara is liaising with various Temples, local Municipal Councils and private donors for land to be provided and set aside for this project and we sincerely believe we can have construction commencing in the next 14 days and that houses could be competed in around 3 to 4 weeks. If we achieve this, we could be re-housing families by mid February 2005.

We seek assistance to achieve our aims and to assist the people who are desperately in need of shelter.

Anything that can be given would be of enormous benefit, whether it be to buy one brick, or a whole house.

Thank you in anticipation.

Bruce Fell-Smith
B.ARCH (MELB.), F.R.A.I.A., M.S.I.A.


On behalf of the Trustees.
THE TALPE REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT TRUST.

My company Precious Metals have donated to cover the cost of one of these homes. I know it is scary giving to people you do not know etc - but I believe Bruce has the local knowledge and experiance as an architect who has lived and worked in the area and buit many holiday homes there. He can pull it off.
I have known these people for many years. Here is some info on the guy

http://www.dreamsofoldeceylon.com/
http://dreamsofoldeceylon.com/victoria.htm
I stayed in this one - it was (it is now just a few walls - the 4 century old windows and doors are gone). Sri Lanka is an amazingly beautiful place with warm and happy people.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-49,GGLD:en&q=Bruce+Fell%2DSmith

 

[Regular Guy]

If you''ll allow, I''ll take the opportunity of this, my 350th post here, to mainly inquire -- if I can -- of how this particular venture is rolling out?

Garry, I''m sorry this idea got such little play here, at least so far. It seemed so very thoughtful and on point, and as time has progressed, the need for these sorts of shelters has been described on news reports I''ve heard.

Clearly there have been problems administering aid. Also, as goes this web-site, with the early banner for info on how to make contributions for relief on-line, so too goes the world. Time magazine prudently reported early on that one of the best new year''s resolution at the start of 2005 one can make might be to remember to continue to think about and contribute to communities effected by the Tsunami in 2006.

With appreciation for both this site, and for all of those responsible for its vitality, usefullness, and ongoing development,

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Thank you for asking.
Here is the latest update Ira.
THE TALPE REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT TRUST

Below is an update on the activities of the Trust and what we have achieved over the last seven to ten days.

(A) Accreditation:

We have had no success so far with World Vision or USAID with regards gaining recognition and accreditation, however, ongoing discussions with the Salvation Army is looking more positive. We shall keep you advised.

(B) Bank account at the Seylan Bank Ltd, 90 Galle Road, Colombo 03,

Account No. 0860-041117-001,

Swift code SEYBLKLX

Considerable funds have been transferred into the account, more are pledged, others amounts are in the process of being transferred and other cheques in either foreign or rupee sums arriving. An example being that of an unknown person who collected 23 euro cheques from Paris and other parts of France, totaling nearly five thousand euros, and forward all these cheques to the Trust.

We are in the process of preparing a register of all donations so far received. This register will be made available as soon as possible and updated regularly. Currently we hold funds for around 25 houses.

(C) The First House

The blessing ceremony performed by the Venerable Sitnasmaluwe Sudhamma Thero, a Buddhist Monk from the Talpe Temple before the start of the construction of the first house, took place on Sunday 23rd January 2005. The house to be built on land owned by a very poor family, outside of the Government proposed 100 meters coastal setback near the Talpe station on the Galle to Matara railway line. The family of 5 previously occupied a stick and mud, one roomed house that was totally destroyed by the tsunami along with the lose of all their meagre possessions. Over the last two years the family had scraped together enough money to lay, piece by piece as money came to hand, the foundations of a house. As these foundations were found to be structurally sound and closely matched those of our house design, we started from there. We expect to complete the house in around three weeks. The blessing ceremony and events were filmed by a crew from the international arm of the National Geographic Channel who selected Talpe as the district in which to record the destruction wrought by the events of December 26th, 2004 and the efforts of reconstruction and rehabilitation. The film will go to air early March and will be globally viewed on the National Geographic Channel. NGC productions will return to Talpe for the anniversary of the dreadful day and make a follow-up film to record the progress and rehabilitation within Talpe. It is indeed exciting to have our efforts and your generosity receive such global exposure.

A photograph of the ceremony is attached.

(D) The Model Village

Obtaining Land to build is not easy at present, as there are many issues that have not been resolved by the Government, especially with regard to future development on the first 100 metre set back zone from the beach. Most displaced families come from this area.

A friend of the Trust, Mr. Dominic Price from Bombay, has most generously provided US$26,000.00 to purchase a 260 perch (6,580sqm) plot of land outside of the coastal exclusion zone, in Habaraduwa a shire within the Talpe district. Harsha and Bruce have plans to include 27 houses along with a small shopping/ communal centre and centrally located a 950sqm children's park. We hope to interest a Rotary Club in taking up the challenge of supplying the necessary children's playground equipment, so will keep you up with progress on this matter. A plan of the land is attached. The plot will be subdivided on completion of the sale of the land, construction of buildings and houses once completed will be gifted to homeless recipients as selected by the Venerable Sitnasmaluwe Sudhamma Thero. We anticipate the land transfer around the end of this month and will immediately start construction.

We wish to thank all who have helped us to date for their generosity. We shall continue to keep you all informed of our progress.

Kind regards,

Bruce Fell-Smith B.ARCH (MELB.), F.R.A.I.A., M.S.I.A.

On behalf of the Trustees.

THE TALPE REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT TRUST.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

and here is the model village plan

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

oops

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

This is an unedited email from our friends in Sri Lanka.
It is veerry long - but includes accounts from many members of the same family - I do not know these other people - but the story is worth reading - especially the last one from a young child.

Dear All

Thought that you might be intested to read these remarkable accounts of survival. They are from the family that we with Georgies help, so desparetly spent most of the night 26th Dec. trying to reach and confirm that they all survived. Their new house of 5 days old, yes they moved in just before Christmas, was the most beutiful of all Bruce''s houses situated next door to ''IF'' where you would all have enjoyed swimming.

Gwen and Peter I will send an article from yesterdays newspaper another survival story this one from Nilevali Beach Hotel and in fact the room directly under the one that we stayed in whilst there. Perhaps you may want to post onto Tony & Ginevra and they in turn can give to Drena as they have all stayed at Nilevali as well. You will remember it as the beach resort just out of Tricomalee.

Gwen and Peter I have some photos of the son and mothers sister of your little family, taken on the road outside the rubble on the land that was once their home, I will send to you as soon as I can.

Drena and Gary your donation is already at work, the money you sent which was the first received into the Trust account, is building the first Trust house of which the ground breaking and blessing ceremony was filmed by National Geographic Chanel, so make sure that you watch out for it as from the March 1st, it will be aired on Aus. TV National Geographic Chanel, about
16 times throughout the month of March.

Must go as I am swamped with work on this charity thing. Love Norma

Subject: Tsunami - The Price Family Account From Sri Lanka

> Dear Friends
>
> Many of you have asked for our accounts of what happened in Sri Lanka
> on 26th December 2004 when the Tsunami came. Below are our accounts.
>
> Today is a particularly poignant day as Manika, our elephant, died a
couple
> of hours ago. She has been ill since the Tsunami struck as she
> swallowed
so
> much salt water. Although she was only part of our family for five
> months, the role she played on the 26th December ensured the safety of
> our
children
> and those staying next door. Thank you Manika.
>
> Kindest regards
>
> Aloise
>
>
> DOMINIC''S ACCOUNT
>
> My family Aloise, our three children Halcyon nearly 9, Horatio nearly
> 7, Ottilie 5, Charlotte Mascarenhas and Lavita de Souza who work with
> us in Mumbai, my mother-in-law Elizabeth Batty, brother-in-law Patrick
> Batty,
our
> friends Kim and Raju Panjwani, their daughter Reena and sons Nicholas
Rohan
> 6 and Evan Rahul 2 and a half, who were visiting from New York were
> all at our beachside home in Talpe 11 kilometres south of Galle on the
> south west coast of Sri Lanka when the Tsunami hit at about 9.15 am on Boxing Day.
The
> Panjwani''s personal and very poignant first hand account of the events
> surrounding the Tsunami is attached below here. My own account follows
> below together with some photographs some of which were taken just
> minutes before the first wave hit while we were blissfully unaware of
> the enormity of the events that were to transpire.
> (See attached file: TsunamiPanjwani.doc)
>
> Our Christmas holiday December 19th to 25th:
>
> My family group had arrived in Colombo from Mumbai in the early hours
> of Sunday December 19. After a hectic day in Colombo getting last
> minute
items
> for Christmas in preparation for the fifteen guests we expected over
> the next three weeks we set off south driven by Ifhan our friendly
> driver, electrician and general odd job man from Galle. We reached our
> new house Airavata (named after the first elephant from Hindu
> mythology) on the 19th evening and began preparing our house for the
> arrival of our first guests the following day. First to arrive after
> us was Aloise''s mother Elizabeth on the 20th. During the 21st the
> Panjwani''s, Kim, Raju, Reena, Nicholas Rohan and Evan Rahul, arrived
> after a long journey all the way from New York. On the evening of the
> 21st two elephants including Manika, who features prominently on our
> 2004 Christmas card, and Asela arrived with Mahinda Galapatty who
> together with three mahouts had accompanied them
down
> from Giruella a town a couple of hours North of Colombo. We had a
delicious
> local vegetarian dinner and most people retired early while I waited
> up in the early hours of the 22nd for the arrival of Aloise''s brother
> Patrick, who it turned out had ended up driving himself about half the
> way down
from
> Colombo as he was worried by his driver''s inclination to doze off at
> the wheel.
>
> Our Christmas holiday therefore began in earnest on the 22nd. A
> Buddhist ceremony was arranged under the guidance of Bindu
> Wickremasekera our local lawyer and close friend and Mahinda Galapatty
> the Elephant man. Charlotte and Lavita under Aloise''s direction had
> hung silver stars imported from India throughout the walkways and from
> the Frangipani trees in the Ganesh courtyard at the front. As I
> returned from the local Buddhist temple with Bindu''s brother in-law
> and three Buddhist monks in differing colours of robes I remember
> thinking that our dream home was just that. Mahinda had taken me to
> the beach to pick up fresh sand which was deposited in eight
> earthenware cups together with coins in each cup placed in them by the
> family of the house. The monks went about their ritual chanting while
> our children and several of the guests from next door watched quietly.
> We were each administered the thread that the monks tied to our right
> wrists to keep us safe. The elephants were in the front pavilion
> resplendent in the robes that they wear typically for Peraheras (Sri
> Lankan religious ceremonies). Manika was wearing her white robes
> complete with wings specially made for her to resemble the mythical
> white elephant Airavata
and
> Asela was in gold. The scene was perfect and I enthusiastically went
> about the hanging and burying of the earthenware cups under the
> supervision of Piadassa, Manika''s mahout. Four of the cups were hung
> from the four
corners
> of the building roof and four were buried in the four corners of our land.
>
> Over the next three days we enjoyed watching the elephants being
> bathed, fed and even walking on the beach where Ottilie rode on Asela,
> the ten
year
> male elephant that had come down to accompany Manika. We played
> cricket
and
> stump on the beach both outside our house, swam in the beautifully
> warm
and
> sheltered water within the reef, went into to Galle and had lunch at
> the Lighthouse Hotel on Christmas Eve, and ventured down further south
> to Weligama where we took the children to boogie board in the surf
> with our new friends from next door. Aloise had befriended two sisters
> on the
beach,
> Caroline and Hayley, who were staying with their families and their
brother
> at "If" the villa next door to ours. We had soon made new friends with
> Gregoire and Caroline Varenne, their four children Theo 12, Hugo, 10,
> Zoe
8
> and Felix 5, Frank and Hayley Holle and their two children Julian 5
> and Zayley 3, Caroline and Hayley''s brother Max and his girlfriend
> Anne from New York and had drinks both at our house and theirs on
> Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.
>
> We had a lovely Christmas day which began with excited children
discovering
> Father Christmas''s footprints in from the elephant garden. While we
> went
to
> an Anglo-Singhalese Mass at the main Catholic church in Galle the
> mahouts had Manika and Asela make impressions in concrete which were
> duly dated to act as an elephant visitors book in the elephant garden.
> We returned and gave presents of sarongs and little elephant pendants
> to all our staff and to the mahouts. We and all our guests and
> Charlotte and Lavita then opened our presents beside our little
> Christmas tree and then set off for a late lunch at the Galle Fort
> Hotel run by our friends Karl Steinberg and Chris Ong. The evening saw
> another session of Perudo won this time by Caroline breaking Reena''s
> run of wins of the previous evening.Our friends from next door
> departed at about 10 pm and we sat down for a late dinner retiring
> thereafter aware that the elephants were due to leave for a Perahera
> at Matara in the morning and that the Panjwani''s would also be leaving
> for
the
> second leg of their Christmas holiday in Mumbai. At one stage their
tickets
> sounded as though they were not confirmed and we were trying to
> persuade them to extend their time with us.
>
> December 26th the day of the Tsunami:
>
> I remember rising reasonably early and putting the music on. Aloise
> had arranged to join Caroline and Hayley next door for Yoga and had
> asked me
to
> keep an eye on Halcyon, Horatio and Ottilie while she was gone. I went
with
> Halcyon and Horatio to see Manika and Asela being bathed and then
> several of the children from next door came round to say good-bye to
> the
elephants.
> Halcyon and Horatio were back in the house at this stage and Ottilie
> had just come running down the garden with Theo when the first
> thunderous wave smashed against the wall with shocking force. I
> remember seeing it out of the corner of my eye as it cascaded over the
> wall and through the beach gate sixty odd metres away. Ifhan shouted
> for us to run inside and the mahouts started to get the elephants out
> of the elephant garden onto the road beyond. I ran through the house
> behind Charlotte and Lavita who were down in the Ganesh courtyard at
> the front (roadside) of our house with Theo, Halcyon, Horatio,
> Ottilie, Zoe, Felix, Nicholas Rohan, Julian and Zayley and their ayah.
> I remember the gravel of the drive being quite uncomfortable underfoot
> as we had no shoes on. As I got out into the road the children were in
> the middle of the road with Charlotte and Lavita and
I
> shouted to them to get across the road as I was worried about traffic
> that usually speeds along the Galle Matara road far too fast.
>
> Before the children had moved far a wave that had come through to the
> road knocked most of them and Charlotte and Lavita into the ditch on
> the other side of the road. I was still on my feet shielded by the
> front wall of
our
> house and the water at this stage was only up to knee height on the road.
I
> pulled Lavita free from the bushes in which she was entangled and was
> struggling to free Felix when Sunny our main man pulled him clear. I
> distinctly recall that I did not know where Horatio was as Halcyon and
> Ottilie were with Charlotte and Lavita. Before I had time to look for
> him
a
> large wave had swept us all in among the trees. The sea had
> effectively overflowed and must have been between twenty and thirty
> feet above its normal height. I remember Raju being swept away and him
> screaming as Evan Rahul his 2 and a half year old was swept off his
> shoulders. At that stage the water was so fast and so powerful that
> however good a swimmer one was was almost immaterial.
>
> I realized I had to try and find Horatio and started turning up palm
leaves
> to see where he might be. As I turned up a big palm frond I found
> Nicholas Rohan, Kim and Raju''s six year old son, hanging onto the
> trunk of a palm tree with his eyes tight shut. I asked him whether he
> was all right and thought about swimming with him on my back but
> decided he was safer where he was and I swam off to continue searching
> for Horatio. By now the big waves had passed and it was time to account for people and reassemble.
>
> I remember Aloise''s mother walking out of the gate what must have been
> 25 or 30 minutes after we had. I had completely forgotten about her
> and my brother-in-law Patrick who had survived in their beds which had
> broken up as the water filled up and they floated on the mattresses at
> door height
in
> their room. I recall shouting over to her that I thought we had lost
> Horatio. Aloise and I continued to look with Kim''s help for Horatio
> but with no sign of him anywhere our worst fears were mounting.
> Halcyon was screaming "Please find my brother..." Aloise was looking
> further in among the trees and I was looking near the road closest to
> where I last remember him being. As I picked palm fronds out to look
> in the water I remember the surreality of wondering whether I would
> find Horatio face down or on his back in the water. I did not imagine
> that he could be alive if I found him so did not really want to look.
> After what must have been about 40 to 45 minutes of fruitless search a
> local person appeared who told us that Horatio was fine. Worried that
> he might not know which our son was I questioned him as to how old the
> boy he had seen was, what colour his hair was and most importantly
> what he was wearing. When he told me he was in
red
> and black I began to believe that all was not lost.
>
> I set out with the villager having insisted that he show me where
> Horatio was. We waded, stumbled and swam through the flooded woods
> across the bent railway tracks and on another several hundred yards or
> so until we came to a steepish hill. I called out for Horatio as could
> not see him through the undergrowth. The delight of hearing him shout
> "Daddy" was indescribable
and
> after scrambling up the bank through the bushes I hugged him half to
death.
> I reluctantly left him with the security guard and two English ladies
> with whom he had been playing elephant snap to wend my way back to the
> rest of our group huddled as they were on the top of a half built
> house in the flooded woods across the road from our garden. I made my
> way back to the others swimming much of the way and careful to
> remember how to get back to where I had just been.
>
> Once back we started to move the children down from the roof and wade
> through the woods back to the railway line. I knew I must leave the
> line
at
> the 79 mile marker but was dissuaded from doing so by other villagers
> saying my son had been moved and that I should head for the safety of
> higher ground where he was. On arriving at the "safe house" up on a
> hill
we
> passed our first body, that of a woman whose upper body was covered by
> matting. It was the only body I saw. Once we reached the house it
> became clear that the villagers who had told me our son was there had
> mistaken
him
> for one of the other children and so I had to retrace my way back to
> where Horatio was. This was easier said than done as we were in quite
> a
different
> place and yet again a friendly local helped me. There was a certain
> menace in the air from local looters and the uncertainty of further
> waves added
to
> the tension. As I walked up the hill with Horatio we were received
> with cheers and claps. I remember Aloise mentioning that Caroline and
> Hayley''s husbands were unaccounted for as they had been surfing at
> Weligama along with Hugo one of Gregoire and Caroline''s children and
> that we should be sensitive to their uncertainty.
>
> The local people were selfless in the sharing of sweet milk and
> biscuits for the children as we waited uncertain of what to do next.
> It was only here that we received reports that the wave had hit six
> countries which we were not inclined to believe as it sounded like
> local exaggeration. Soon after there was much excitement first as Max,
> Caroline and Hayley''s
brother
> arrived followed soon after by Frank, Hayley''s husband who came
> running up the hill and embraced his pregnant wife. With Frank came
> news that
Gregoire
> and Hugo were safe too despite having been surfing at Weligama as the
waves
> hit. There were stories of more waves and an air of uncertainty
> pervaded the place.
>
> We then began to make plans to move to a safer place inland. With the
> help of Sunny we managed to get a mini-van to take us in two loads to
Illuketia,
> a house where we had spent Easter earlier in the year. Nikki Harrison
> who managed our house managed this too and had already evacuated those
> staying at Apa Villas to Illuketia. Nikki was a pillar of calm
> conducting affairs as though she had been through events like this
> before. She understood
that
> we had to ration water and other vital supplies as we had no idea how
> long we would be holed up for at Illuketia. We took turns in making
> calls from the one or two mobiles that still worked to get news of our
> survival and whereabouts to people who must be worrying about us.
> Aloise got through to her father. I got through to the Taj in Mumbai who relayed my messages on.
>
> The world service confirmed the tidal wave had begun from an
> earthquake in Sumatra and we set about trying to get word to families
> and friends of where we were. Aloise called her father in England, I
> finally got through to the Taj in Bombay and asked them to notify
> three people whose numbers I provided. I was able to get through to
> Vedika with whom I work in Bombay and remember telling her that the
> reports of 2000 dead were way below the 10,000 plus that I imagined
> must have been killed from the stories we were hearing locally. Our
> contingent took the numbers at Illuketia up to around 50 odd and
> people began to relax sharing the stories of their narrow
escape
> earlier in the day. We were still apprehensive given reports that the
> high tide time between 9 and 10 that night was very dangerous and
> breathed a
lot
> easier as 11 o''clock approached without further incident. I recall the
> wailing or chanting sound of a nearby Buddhist temple as I fell asleep
> uneasily. I also recall the comfort of hearing insects and birds as
> imagined that all would go quiet if a massive wave were to approach.
>
> On the 27th I tried to return to Talpe to Airavata. The first convoy
> of three cars left for Colombo via the treacherous mountain roads
> taking the Panjwanis, Aloise''s mother and brother and Frank, Hayley,
> Zayleyand
Julian.
> I went with David Gerrard''s wife Jan and her daughter Nicki Alexander
> driven by Bob Harrison, Nikki''s husband. En route we passed Bindu our
> lawyer heading in the opposite direction and we stopped and embraced.
> He had come down from Kandy overnight. We explained that we were
> trying to
get
> back to the house and I hopped into Bindu''s car as he took us a way
> that
he
> felt would get us as close as the roads would permit enabling us to do
> the last bit on foot. Bindu was worried about our going back and after
> reluctantly resigning himself to our stubbornness he came running back
> saying that he had just been called to say that there were still
> worries
of
> waves at Hikkaduwa. Whatever his concerns whether they were looters,
> waves or the structure of the building I got a strong sense that we
> should not
go
> back and so I headed back to Illuketia where the children were
> relieved to see me again as they had not wanted me to go in the first
> place. I began
to
> feel we should get out as soon as we could.
>
> We spent the rest of the day distracting ourselves swimming for want
> of a bath and relaxing as much as we could while inetrmittently
> listening to
the
> rising death toll on the radio. We left in the second convoy on the
> 28th safely escorted by a security detail JPMorgan had sent in to
> retrieve us
in
> transport the Tata group had sent down from the Taj Samudra in Colombo
> who took us and anyone else with us who wanted to get out. Harsha the
> JPMorgan security guy from Mumbai was a brick and allayed our fears on
> what was still a worrying time as we headed north. It was ironic to
> find we joined the sea road at Kaluthera right beside the huge
> Buddhist temple there. We stopped and paid our respects as we have so
> often seen our Buddhist
drivers
> do. It eventually took almost nine hours to reach Colombo as we had
> to turn back on occasion from attempts to join the sea road which was
> still obstructed due to the devastation. We were relieved to reach
> Colombo in time to buy new clothes at Odell''s and then met up with our
> friends from the previous days convoy over dinner at the Gallery Cafe
> where Shanth Fernando the owner and a good friend gave us an emotional
> welcome. Bruce Fell-Smith our architect had very kindly made his house
> at 12 Boyd Place available so we spent a very comfortable night there
> before going about
the
> process of getting new passports, visas and tickets on the Wednesday
before
> flying back to Mumbai in the early hours of Thursday morning.
>
>
>
> Some photos of the beach pre-Tsunami
> http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOHLNu0ZtmjDdg
>
> The first 20 photos were taken before the Tsunami
> http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOHLNu0ZtmjDMg
>
> In the photos that follow the first shows Halcyon and Horatio in front
> of the wall behind the Elephant bath at about 8.45 am December 26th
> and the second shows just the elephant bath after the Tsunami with the
> wall behind completely destroyed. The third shows the
same
> wall
> before the Tsunami and the fourth shows the gate and road wall some 80
> metres from the seawall within an hour of it being destroyed. The
> fifth photo is the last I took only minutes before the waves hit. The
> remainder are taken two days later by our driver. While the sea and
> perimeter walls of the garden are destroyed the house itself is
> structurally secure though most of the doors and windows have been
> destroyed.
>
> http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOHLNu0Ztmju4
>
>
>
> ALOISE''S ACCOUNT
>
> "It''s really amazing when you think about it. The sea accounts for 70%
> of the world - we''re just ants - no, grains of sand - in the bigger picture."
> So said our close friend Raju Panjwani on Christmas Day as we surveyed
> the beautiful bay Airavata overlooks.
>
> 0830am found me - bleary eyed - signing in for Boxing Day yoga with my
> new-found friends, Caroline and Hayley, living next door at ''If''. The
> sea looked breathtaking - the stillest I ever remember seeing it -
> every blade of seaweed was standing proud against the reef. Twenty
> minutes on we were contorting ourselves on our mats. Ottilie appeared
> through the beach gate, guilty admitting that she had sneaked across the beach alone to find Theo.
> The children were all at the front of the house watching the elephants
> about to be loaded onto their trailer for the Parahera in Matara. The
> pair rushed off to watch proceedings and we continued our would-be flexibility.
>
> Suddenly the beach doors were blown open by a wave. I stood up,
> disorientated and concerned that Ottie had only just left. Caroline
> jumped up onto the beach wall to do a quick survey and was promptly
> drenched - it was reminiscent of a moment of monsoon madness on Marine
> Drive. Bombayites will know what I mean. Caroline and I laughed.
>
> The next moment, the sea gate on the far side of If was blown across
> the lawn pressed forwards by a large wave. That is when we started to run.
> Hayley - who is pregnant - ran through the main sitting room and
> shrieked ''watch out - electricity and water - I just got a shock''. The
> three of us half ran, were half swept towards the gate.
>
> As I slithered through the gates I saw our two Indian nannies,
> Charlotte and Lavita cowering in a ditch with Halcyon and Ottilie.
> Reaching them
meant
> passing across the open land to the sea between If and Airavata. I
> took three steps towards them through the swirling waters and get
> knocked sideways into the trees by the thundering waves. I dimly
> recall looking ahead and seeing trees and houses and thinking that I
> needed to catch hold of a tree to break my path and prevent being
> swept closer to the
buildings.
>
> I missed the first one and then managed to grab onto a banana tree.
> Then the water roared over my head. Because I had my back to the sea
> and
through
> the sheer volocity of the water, I had a pocket of air under my nose.
> I remember dully wondering how long it would last and how long I would
> be
able
> to breathe. Throughout this underwater ordeal I chanted like a mantra
''don''t
> let go whatever you do'' over and over again. The tree I was holding
> was
not
> very substantial and I recall thinking ''if it gets uprooted - that is
> out of my control - but I won''t let go''. When I reflect back, I am
> amazed at the calmness I felt. In such a situation you are living each
> moment at a time. Each extra moment is a bonus.
>
> Then my head was above water again and I saw Raju being propelled past
> on another wave, with his wife Kim in his wake. Raju was shouting -
> his two year old son had just been swept off his shoulders.I turned to
> see
Nicholas
> Rohan, their six year old, clinging to a palm tree crying and their
> two year old Evan in some bushes close to me.
>
> It was immediately established that all the children were safe and in
> sight, apart from Horatio. Kim joined me in half swimming,(you had no
> idea what was under foot and no one had any shoes on)and half
> stumbling through the watery mire.
>
> It''s an extraordinary thing, contemplating the death of your child. On
> the one hand, until you find a body you have to keep looking and
> hoping, feeling that you are doing everything you possibly,possibly
> can in the
time
> available. When water is involved you are particularly aware of the
minutes
> ticking by. We swam around calling his name - it was impossible to
> really know where to start looking. I had no expectation of an answer,
> but you have to try, to keep going and to do as much as you can - keep
> your wits about you. Whilst maintaining the positive vibes, in the
> back of my mind I contemplated the fact that we have always considered
> Horatio our ''old spirit''. Maybe our borrowed time with him was up.
> It''s hard to admit that the fact even crossed my mind, but the scene
> in front of me was devasatation beyond anything I have ever imagined
> and it was difficult to imagine such a tot surviving the power of the sea by himself.
>
> Forty minutes later a shout went up that Horatio had been found. The
relief
> was extraordinary. Dominic says that until he actually saw Horatio
> with
his
> own eyes he didn''t dare believe it. I hung onto the information
immediately
> because the alternative was so bleak.
>
> Our party was split between the elephant trailer which had been slewn
> across the road and come to rest in a ditch up against some trees
> beside
the
> road and the roof of a newly-built local house. Clearly the owners
> were planning to build another level as there was a flat portion
> beside the slanted roof.
>
> We climbed the make-shift stairs and waited. There was another brief
> swell and several people started screaming. I looked at Kim. ''What is
> our plan - we need to have a plan''. There were some support struts
> sticking out of
the
> roof in two places which appeared to go down into the foundations of
> the house. One of the local men removed the makeshift electrical line
> and bulb from its path across the area to the struts - having already
> had one close shave with water/electricity I was determined not to
> risk repeating the experience. I reasoned we could hold the children
> up against the steel
pins
> if necessary - there was no real alternative. There also would not
> have been much room - there were many people on the roof so it is
> fortunate indeed that that theory was never tested.
>
>
> The Tsunami by Halcyon Price
>
>
> First I just woke up in bed, saw my Daddy and went outside. Daddy said
> "Do you want to come and see the elephants?" So Horatio and I went to
> see the elephants with Dadddy, who was taking photos.
>
> Then I got bored so I walked back and sat down in the front pavilion.
> I remember my Daddy going into his bedroom while my friends from ''If''
> came round to say goodbye to the elephants.
>
> A wave came up and hit the wall splashing into the garden. I thought
> that
it
> wasn''t normal, but I just sat in the pavilion and watched the sea.
> Then a second wave overflowed coming towards our elephant bath. I was
> just
watching
> the second wave when I heard a big thud and then I looked up and there
> was this big wave coming over the wall. Charlotte called me from the hallway.
So
> I ran to the Ganesh courtyeard at the roadside of the house and I
> called
for
> my Dad as I ran.
>
> Then all the children went with Charlotte and Lavita and we opened the
tiny
> gate onto the road. Then the wave came and washed us all into a ditch
> and all the staff ran out of the house. My Dad and I tried to pull
> Lavita and Felix out of the ditch. They were screaming for help. The
> cook, Jagarth, picked me up and carried me into the woods and we
> grabbed hold of a
cocoanut
> tree because if we didn''t we would have been swept away. Then the
> biggest wave came through and was going over my head, but Jagarth
> lifted me up so that I was higher up the tree with my head above the water.
>
> Lavita and Charlotte were washed away because they weren''t holding on
> to a palm tree. I couldn''t see Horatio or Ottilie. I saw Mummy trying
> to come
to
> me when I was hanging onto the coconut tree but she got hit by a wave
> and washed away...but she was all right. Then I saw Ottilie and Daddy,
> but I couldn''t see Horatio. So I started screaming; ''please find my
> brother'' and then everyone started looking for him. I was scared that he could be dead.
> Everyone was telling me to calm down and that he would be fine.
>
> Felix was about to be put into a house which fell down, so we got onto
> the roof of another house where the yoga teacher was.
>
> Mummy and Daddy were looking for Horatio. Mummy was calling out his name.
> Then we stayed on the roof for a long time. We could see the waves and
into
> the elephant garden which was all under water.
>
> Then I remember Mummy saying that the security guard had picked up
> Horatio and Mummy came onto the roof. Kim was on the roof too and she
> had big cuts on her forehead.
>
> I saw Daddy coming back also and he had seen Horatio and then we all
> got down from the house.
>
> Jagarth carried me and I sat on a surf board as we walked through the
forest
> in the water. Then we came to the train track which was bent and we
walked
> along the track until we came to a muddy track. We walked up to a
> little home where they gave us biscuits and cream for our cuts and sweet milk.
>
> Then Daddy came with Horatio and we all clapped and cheered. It was
> just like the Ramanyana where Raam was sent into the woods for 77
> years and how happy everyone is when he returns. Then we waited until
> a van took us all
to
> Illyketia.
>
>
> HORATIO''S TSUNAMI ACCOUNT
>
>
> This is when the first wave hit. This is what Horatio did. I was just
> staring at it. Then I didn''t know what it was because I had never seen
one.
> Finally I just started running but I didn''t know what it was. I knew
> it
had
> to be something dangerous because I knew it was a hummungous wave and
> I
ran
> onto the road. And my Father told the nannies to get the children off
> the road. I got separated from my family because a wave knocked me
> down and
went
> between us. Then a police guard picked me up and carried me. Well he
didn''t
> really sort of pick me up he just put me the right way round because I
> was facing the sea, but my feet were in the forest and I was just
> staring at
the
> waves. And he said; ''run, run!''
> And I ran.. Then I ran into the forest with him. Then he asked me to
> run
my
> fastest because of course the wave was coming very very fast. So I
> ran
for
> the whole day. I noticed people screaming and running out of their houses.
> And then I climbed onto a hill. He was with me all the time. He
> brought other people with me so that I wouldn''t be alone. And then I
> stayed there, but I don''t mean that I was with my family. I felt a bit
> scared. I knew I wouldn''t die. But then I remembered about my family.
> I was scared because Halcyon and Ottilie were there.
>
> The last thing I had seen was Halcyon running very fast, faster than
> I''ve ever seen him running and Ottilie screaming and Lavita shouting
> ''run, run, run!'' Halcyon was running the wrong way - he was running
> towards the sea.Charlotte said; ''you''re running the wrong way!'' Then
> he was hanging on to trees in the forest. Then he got saved by our
> cook. And I sort of saved myself and the security guard helped me.
> The other people were so busy talking I forgot all about the wave. But
> then I heard other people
screaming
> again. And then I had to stay there for two and a half hours.Finally,
> a
very
> nice man said to everyone I was with "I know where that little boys
> father is. Come here and I''ll take you.'' And the security man said
> ''No. Bring the Father here.'' Then the guy said ok and he brought my
> Father here and he
was
> crying on me because he was so happy. And he said I''ll take you to all
> the other eleven people. So my Father put me on his shoulders and
> started walking with me. Then everyone started shouting; ''come back,
> come back,
the
> wave is coming!'' So my Father almost tripped and I got scared. Then he
> put me back with the others and said ''I''ll bring them here.''
>
> I was feeling happy. Do you know why? I knew he''d mean what he said. I
knew
> that everyone else was safe. I was most scared when I got separated
> from
my
> family.
>
> And the last thing and the best thing is he kept his word and he
> brought
me
> back to my family.
>
>
>
> OTTILIE''S ACCOUNT
>
> I was watching the beach and I was keeping an eye on Manika.Theo and I
were
> running back to Airavata so that Theo could see the elephants. Theo
> wanted to sit on their back and take a picture. And the elephants kind
> of saved our lives.
>
> I saw the waves crashing over the sea wall and I was really scared. I
> wanted to run but I was too scared to go without a grown up.
>
> I couldn''t run so Lavita grabbed my hand and we started running onto
> the road. But the wave was huge so it still got onto the road. It
> followed us into the jungle and we didn''t know where was safe. One
> person thought they were going to die because of the elephant trailer.
> But she didn''t die and that was good. I am just happy that we are all
> alive. I feel sad for the people who died.
>
> We ran into the jungle and we started running into the trees. And
> that''s how the flood began. Charlotte, Lavita and I grabbed onto a
> tree. I let go of the tree and I swam to where Felix was. The water
> was over my head and then I grabbed onto something and went ''sigh''. It
> was really dirty and disgusting and I hated it.
>
> I was really frightened and I thought we might die. I didn''t want to
> get swept away.
>
> First of all Charlotte and Lavita were swimming with me and Mummy told
> us to go onto the roof of a house. So we climbed up the steps to the
> roof of the house. There was a slope. From the roof I could see the
> waves. They looked as though they were going to make another wave and
> I was really scared, but luckily they didn''t. I didn''t want anyone
> else to die. It was mean of the sea to do that. The earthquake should have been on land.
> Normally they are only in one country. Why did they have to spread
> everywhere?
>
> I kind of thought that Horatio had died and then I stopped myself from
> thinking that. Then I started thinking that maybe the Security Guard
> had taken him to somewhere safe. The three year olds Mummy (Hayley)
> was crying because she was pregnant and she thought that her baby
> might die because she drank so much dirty sea water. And the yoga lady
> had lots of cuts on
her
> leg and so did my Mummy. And Kim had a really big cut on her forehead.
> Luckily she didn''t have to go to hospital because it wasn''t deep.
>
> Some of the staff got mattresses and broken things and we floated on
> them and we went up to a high land. We were really inland after that.
> We were
up
> in Illyketya. I was worried the waves might come, but luckily they didn''t.
>
> My close friend Radheka - her Nanny Alice - her home got flooded in India.
> I feel bad for her and I hope it never happens again.
>
>