...Portal of Hope...
Habaraduwa and Talpe are located in southern part of Sri Lanka on A2 road between Galle and Matara towns.
On December 26th, 2004, deadly Tsunami struck the southern and eastern part of Sri Lanka. This unexpected event which cause so much destructed to lives and property open up the hearts of many compassionate humans. Sarana foundation led by Ven. Ranasgalle Gnanaweera rose to the occasion. On December 27th, the day after the Tsunami, Ven. Gnanaweera and few others rushed to aid these people in need. They choose Makadugoda, Talpe in Habaraduwa area. The Buddhist temple in this area, Negrodaramaya, is affiliated to the Mallikaramaya temple. This makes coordinating relief efforts much easier and efficient.
First task was to create a supply water to the people who were without food or water. All the wells in the area were contaminated with the sea water. 115 wells were cleared for drinking water. A lot of people who lost their home were camping at the temple. Food and other necessaries were supplied with help from various donors from Sri Lanka as well as other international donors. This story of compassion started....
Profile of Tsunami Affected People:
| 518 | Families in Temporary Camps | |
| 2152 | Total Family Members | |
| 875 | Males | |
| 1055 | Females | |
| 165 | Infants | |
| 420 | School Children | |
| 37 | Houses Destroyed | |
| 182 | Damaged Houses | |
| 17 | Deaths |
The project focus is improve the quality of people’s life in the area. We believe that just rebuilding houses does help the people who are beaten by this enormous natural force. We believe that necessary resources and help must be given for them to stand up on their own. Help them to get back to the career they followed for years and get the children back to schools. We are interested in improving the following aspects of life:
- Quality of Life
- Health
- Education
- Career
We are running several projects in parallel apart from building houses. Here are some of the active projects:
- Rebuild 37 houses destroyed by the Tsunami. The model house plan is availble here.
- Renovate partially damaged houses.
- Bought 3 cement block machines and started production. Currently this project is undergoing.
- Conducted Medical camps
- Supply tools for the people who lost their tool due to Tsunami. For examples, carpenters are provided the necessary tool kits, etc. This has addressed on needy basis.
- Promote children's activities and encourage them to lead the development effort. Also emphasis on serving the community.
- Get children's help on development projects, Involve them on various education competitions, and Get involve in religious activities to make them better and useful people to the community.
- Cleanup the environment
Dharmapala Institute of Milpitas, California
409 S Temple Dr, Milpitas, CA 95035, USA telephone: +1 408 934 3985
Our main sponsor of this project is Dharmapala Institute of Milpitas, California. Dharmapala Institute and it's members have campaigned and collected a lot of money to help the people who have affected by the Tsunami on December 26th, 2004. They have spent their valuable time to raise this funds with hope of lifting the spirits of the people who are affected. Dharmapala Institute has already donated money $40,000.00 to the Foundation to build houses and provide any other assistance to the people in the Habaraduwa area.
OneSriLanka Foundation of Walnut Creek, California
1981 N. Broadway, Suite 385 Walnut Creek, CA 94596, USA telephone: +1 925 949 5110
OneSriLanka Foundation is spearheaded by Mr. Suriyakumar who lives in California. Mr. Suriyakumar and others who are part of OneSriLanka are very compassionate about improving the lives of the people in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan community in general. They have donated monetory donations for cleaning wells and recently donated about $19,000.00 for the purchase of a Lorry. This would help the foundation to transport necessary materials to build houses.
Many other organizations and Individuals have donated time, money and resources to this project and we wish them happiness, peace and success in their life.