Housing Beneficiaries in Our Village

Here are some of our housing beneficiaries. Use of this term still bothers me…they are people right?! Bloody NGO speak!

This man’s house was destroyed in the war in the late 80’s- early 90s and has been living in various shelters and refugee camps or relatives ever since.

This woman is waiting patiently for us to build her house - standing with her family on the land where her new home is to be built.


This is a typical temporary (read: up to 10 years) shelter from one of our beneficiaries. The low ceilings are what kill me, but I guess most people here are not as tall as I.
Scare crow or just cool factor???? You be the judge.

Soil Testing at our Housing Site

Back to work…

After returning from my 3-week stint in the hinterland, I finally made it back to Trinco and was able to get back to work. The main project that I am working on is a housing and livelihood project in two villages north of Trinco, Thiriyai (sounds like teary-eye) and Kattakullam. We are beginning construction of 100 homes, several domestic and community wells, and road improvements. These people were affected by the Tsunami but their story goes much deeper than that. Most of the people in this village were displaced one or more times in the 80s and 90s due to the conflict in Sri Lanka. Many fled to India as war refugees and eventually returned to Sri Lanka only to live in refugee camps. Many of the refugees from this village were placed in a camp that was located very near the sea and have lived there for approximately 10 years. The conditions in the refugee camps can be quite poor with minimal shelter given by simple block wall or corrugated steel buildings with cadjan (palm leave) roofs. The 26th December 2004 Tsunami only seemed to add insult to injury for these people.

I have included some pictures of the soil-sampling program to get soil bearing values for foundation design.

Mobile drill rig and support truck.

The vehicle is called a crew cab. They are pretty common here and we have one for our project too. Its actually the vehicle I am driving around in this week. They are fun to drive!

The drilling tool is pretty simple but does just about everything that big rig would be able to do. It has a cathead with two speeds for driving the hammer and hoisting the drill string. They drive a split spoon sampler by dropping a weighted hammer from a specified height (for my geo-geek friends..cough..jim…cough).
The soil was really loose sand and the hole was not staying open so they used bentonite slurry to keep the hole open. Screwed up my plans for grabbing a water sample…

Our site office: Eating lunch and trying to stay cool with the project coordinator and field officers. The office is lacking some furnishings.

We had difficulty finding a standing building in these villages of some 500 families that we could use for our site office. Finally, we had to rent a mostly finished house that was built be another local NGO that did not have the funds to complete it. The owner was not staying in the house as it was not finished (no doors and windows) so he was happy to have some income generation. We also offered to complete the house for him as part of the deal. Unfortunately, we cant seem to find the owner to pay rent as he left to the Vanni (LTTE controlled area) due to the recent events in the district (for example...).

Wisconsin in January...

After coming back from Thailand, I was told to stay in Colombo because the events in Trinco had made it unsafe to return. All international NGOs left Trinco temporarily and I worked out of the Colombo office for a week before learning that me dad was scheduled to have heart surgery. I made the decision that I should go to Wisconsin to be with my dad. It was a good trip, er, I guess I should say visit. The trip took 36 hrs, 5 cities, 2 sunrises, and 2 sunsets! Ugh! I got to spend time with family and friends in MN and WI before the surgery and it was great to be there with my dad and his wife during the difficult time. Those of you that know my father know that he is a spitfire and recovered quiet well and only pissed off the nurses a few times!


My dad and I on the patio at Hawk Ridge, his cabin in Pembine, WI before surg. They had some good snow and I got to take a spin on their snowmobiles… January is really, really cold at 95 mph.

My dad shortly after returning home from the hospital and looking surprisingly good! You can see all the tape marks left on him. Each one represents a different line or sensor that was attached to him. I think I counted 19 lines going in or out of my dad when he was recovering. He is doing pretty well these days and has returned to work and is continuing to work with his wife Polly to finish the addition to their cabin (Hawk Ridge).


I also got to see my cousin Anna and spend time with her on her 15^th Birthday.

Thailand - Big Reclining Buddha

Also at Wat Pho, the large reclining Buddha is utterly impressive. It is difficult to get a perspective from the photos but he is really, really long. Along each side of the Buddha, there are hundreds of small bronze pots that you are supposed to drop small coins in as you walk along the Buddha image. The sound is mesmerizing as you walk through the temple with all the other people.


Check out the feet on Buddha! Each foot is covered with intricate mother of pearl inlays.

Thailand - January 2006

After the commemoration events, I took a short trip to Thailand for a little R&R and to celebrate new years. It is relatively cheap to get there and it is about a 4 hr flight. I was happy to return to Thailand after my trip there 4 years ago. I was only there for just over a week but really enjoyed my time in Bangkok and Chaing Mai. I even got some climbing in.

The temples at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho are utterly amazing. Even some of the lesser temples in the countryside are quite impressive.

I really like these…thai versions or gargoyles(???). The detail is amazing.

This golden Buddha is actually from a temple in Chaing Mai (the north) but thought it was worth adding.

Back at Wat Pho, they are currently in the process of restoring many of the temples. Here they are tracing all the intricate artwork for preservation and verification after it has been restored. You can see the areas that have been restored.

Tsunami Commemoration Con't

The Buddhist ceremony was held at a secluded beach that had fantastic landscapes with panoramic views. We could see it raining everywhere in the distance, seemingly on all sides and were sure that we were doomed to get soaked. But in the end we were lucky and didn’t feel as much as a drop.

The expats….

No, this photo wasn’t staged. I don’t think I even noticed the composition when I took it. My only point was to get a pic with these folks in it (pictures are better with people in it, right?) But when I saw it on my laptop, I really liked it. I think they were all watching Harsha get interviewed by the BBC.

Still suffering from the 100 Rupee ($1) haircut…

Harsha (Chairman, SLF) being interviewed by the BBC.


After a short ceremony by the monks and the chairman, all the monks and local slf members posed for this photo. If you haven’t heard, white is the new black. Of course Im kidding. White is the holy color, especially for Buddhists.

Tsunami Commeration - December 2005

Christmas day we got up and drove to Arugum Bay on the east coast. The Journey took about 8 hrs although we only traveled ~ 200km (125 miles). Harsha had planned two commemoration events there, one Buddhist, and one Hindu. It definetly was a solemn day.

Sunrise from our beach bungalow on the morning of the 26th.

We then headed inland for the Hindu ceremony. This ceremony was filled with colorful ritualism and concluded with a shared meal prepared in a large pot over an open fire, right in front of the temple.

Harsha (Chairman) and Amanda, waiting for the Hindu ceremony to begin.

The Hindu ceremony was very interesting. Although sitting on the floor for 2+ hrs was tough for me.

They were cooking during the entire ceremony and it smelled pretty good. They made a concoction of rice, fruit, sugar, spices, sugar, more fruit..did I mention sugar?

Christmas in the South of Sri Lanka- December 2005

I was invited to join the Chairman of Sewa Lanka and a few of the other American Volunteers to spend Christmas in Galle, then travel to the east to participate in two Tsunami Commemoration events on December 26th.

Christmas Dinner at the Lighthouse Hotel
We dined at a very nice hotel right on the beach, complete with crashing waves, fire-lit torches and a buffet that would not stop. It was so great to have good food and a variety of food to choose from. YUM!

Harsha, Amanda, Steve, and Thomas – Cheers!

Amanda and Steve, two american volunteers (note the creative use of the table center piece)

Some of the macabre sculptures within the hotel.