25 March- Poya Day and Good Friday!

"well, once again I am blocked. i have this wonderful synhalese writing and it seems I can not paste it on this page! I have followed all the directions in blog and hello with no luck. stay with me and I will eventually get this sorted. Wouldn't it be simple to cut and paste? NOT!" sorry, technology challenges- martha



Happy Poya day from Sri Lanka in Sinhalese

I must tell you that no true Buddhist would wish you Happy Poya Day as it is a day of calm reflection at the temple, not a joyful celebration. I am not sure that Buddhists are big on celebration at the best of times. I am not sure there is a happy Good Friday either. What is good about Good Friday? I do not think I am very well verse in any religious traditions, but I am learning.

Does it seem like some serious holiday time happens here in Sri Lanka? The other side of the coin is that many people work a seven day week, so the holiday times do not reflect actual off-work time.

Some of you have asked for more personal information on this blog, so here is my learning from the night.

It is wise to wear slippers when you get up at night, and it is also wise to turn the light on. Cockroaches make a seriously uncomfortable crunch under bare feet in the dark!

The deal about cockroaches is, they somehow get flipped over on their backs and die there. Then they are really gruesome to step on.

March is the hottest month of Sri Lanka’s continual tropical weather, and so my 15 minute walk to work feels much like the inside of a sauna. (I was going to sat furnace, but that is dry heat). My computer hard drive does not like the heat and has seized up, taking with it music, photos, and documents, etc… some was saved as the thing went through a series of death throws before finally giving up completely.

I will not be updating this blog for the next 11 days as I am away in Bangkok, city and then beach…I look forward to swimming, air conditioned room, and all those delicious food treats I expect. I have also learned that gin and tonic is very helpful in a medicinal preventative way to ward off Malaria. I with therefore medicate, preventatively!

On a serious note, I thank the many of you who have offered to send money in support of people here in Sri Lanka. One village describes going from 2 NGOs to now as many as 58 NGOs and they keep coming. The challenge is this. What people need, want and are getting increasingly frustrated in receiving; are HOMES. They do not need temporary homes constructed in areas where they will once again move.

On example is a Muslim community in the South. They need 43 homes, and they used to live in the 100 meter area which is now off limits. They want to live as a community, in a group, and where would they find land for this? And who would fund it? There is money in bits and pieces for programs and some aid, the frustration they feel is toward their government who is not delivering the money for homes. And where would the homes be? Fishermen wish to be close to the sea, not too far in land.

In Kosovo, there was a lot of frustration at people coming from away to offer psycho/social programs when people had immediate needs of home, shelter and safety. It is the same here. We can get funds for fishing line, school books, and the like, and that helps. The bigger need is for homes. Capacity building is about hearing people’s needs and helping them to advocate for homes and becoming settled in their homes.

So I appreciate the offers of funds and support. AHIMSA continues to do the work they have been doing for seven years in Sri Lanka. We will be offering programs including peacebuilding and psycho/social programs in Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities in the coming months. We are not the house builders or the ones to coordinate millions of dollars for the kinds of home building initiatives that are needed. We do peace work.

In the event that in July, we increase our work and need help funding peacebuilding and psychosocial programs, we will certainly invite your help. At this time, we appreciate your kind thoughts and interest in Sri Lanka and AHIMSA’s work.

In the next few days, our web site should be up and running. Look for us at www.ahimsa.lk

It is not fully operational now, but should be soon!
We had a wonderful chocolate cake and celebration at the finishing of student project programs, peer mediation manual in draft, and the web site ALMOST done.



Have a peaceful and joyful couple of weeks!
Martha