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Sri Lanka Project*This phase is complete - we are no
longer accepting donations. Rebuilding a school in Bathigama The Centre for Literacy is contributing to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of a tsunami-affected school in Sri Lanka through the purchase of books, supplies and uniforms for school children in Bathigama village, Matara District. We are collaborating with Dr. A. J. Weeramunda, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colombo. Thirty students taking his course on Applied Sociology for the General Arts Degree have volunteered to work on the project. They will document their work and submit it for part of their course credit at the end of the semester. The school The school with 325 children in grades 1 to 11 was located near the beach 10 km from Dickwella town on the Dickwella/Tangalle road in the village of Bathigama. All the children survived the tsunami but several lost one or both parents. The school was totally destroyed. In the first weeks after the tsunami, classes were held under the trees. Now the children study in a vacant building. The High Priest of the local Buddhist temple has volunteered to donate land for the construction of a new school several kilometers inland and away from the beach that the government has declared out of bounds for any reconstruction activities. Community Characteristics The local population is mainly subsistence farmers who have lost their equipment and livelihoods in the tsunami. The displaced families are living in a welfare center from which the children come to attend school. Needs Preliminary consultation with the school principal identified the following needs in order of importance:
Project Interventions The volunteer students will take a crash course in trauma counseling on February 2 at the National Institute of Social Development in Colombo and will work in teams to handle counseling for children in different grades. They expect to conduct trauma counseling for the children from February 4 - 6 and will make subsequent visits on weekends to continue providing material and psychological assistance. Some will also link up schools in their home area as support groups for the project school. A few will teach specific subjects in the event that teachers are not available at the moment. The students will also solicit local donors for some of the material needs such as school requirements, shoes and socks, and paint needed for repairs. Each team will submit a group report as fulfillment of the class assignment component at the end of this semester. How The Centre for Literacy will help The Centre will focus on contributing to the materials needs — school supplies, books, uniforms, etc. We are told that each student package of schoolbooks and uniform costs about 1,500 rupees (approx. $19.00 CAN). We will be accepting donations in the coming four months and will send the funds to Dr. Weeramunda, who has opened a dedicated bank account for the project. The Centre will issue tax receipts for contributions of $10 or more. The professor will send us reports and pictures as progress is made. At the end of the project, we will decide if and how we can maintain contact with the school over a longer term. To make a donation *no longer accepting donations Complete the attached donation form (in PDF), and send with payment to The Centre for Literacy. Please indicate clearly that your donation is intended for the “Sri Lanka Project”. Tax receipts will be issued for amounts of $10 or more. We will post on our web site (www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca) the amount raised at the end of each month, until the end of May 2005. Information about the Bathigama school was provided by Dr. Weeramunda on January 27, 2005 For more information: The Centre
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