Everyday Thoughts

Tsunami Relief

> An Experience with Bhante Wimala in the rat race to help Tsunami victims!
>>
>> I am Dr. Henry Francis from Chattanooga, Tennessee,
>> Obstetrician Gynecologist. Have known Bhante Wimala over ten
>> years.I spent last four days with him. This is my
>> experience of what he is doing.
>>
>>
>> I arrived in Colombo to see Bhante Wimala at full
>> speed, Constantly on the
>> cell phone arranging purchases, shipping,transportation and
>> consultations with government officials, friends, relatives and
>> Buddhist monks. My medical supplies and personal baggage were lost in
>> transit, but no problem??.live like a monk!
>>
>> The first day of my arrival at 11pm the truck was loaded at the
>> monastery with the mosquito nets, water purifiers, pots and
>> pans and food supplies,.
>> We started from Colombo ;at 4. 45 am on the road
>> south and east along the coast with mad truck and van race
which demonstrated the consummate driving
>> skills of all involved. Close to Gall we stopped
>> briefly to rendezvous with
>> other volunteers from Germany and by chance met the United States
>> marines..Master Sergeant Honko , the comptroller, gave a
>> detailed description of relief activities in the area performed by marines
>> on a daily basis under the guidance of Sri Lankan Government. They were
>> very happy to help people
>> and would do anything they were asked to do. The Marines thought Bhante
>> and four other volunteers were very interesting and
>> wanted to take pictures with them.
>>
>> We continued on thru miles of Tsunami damaged sea
>> side areas. We saw marines with bulldozers, rare relief organizations,
>> UN vehicle(Brand new Toyota land cruisers, 4wheel drive!) and countless
>> shattered houses. New temporary bridges were working. Sewage and
>> electrical systems were stating
>> to be repaired.At three locations the Buddha Statues and Stupas
>> were in perfect conditions while surrounding structures were heavily
damaged or destroyed. Every
>> one said all over the Island the Buddha statues were
>> intact, I must say in the 80 miles I traveled that was definitely so.
>>
>> We arrived at a small road and followed it back for
>> a mile or so to a temple where people were waiting for us. All around
>> the temple tsunami damage were present. The destruction were severe as
>> you approached the sea.
>>
>> The people were anxious, courteous and friendly but
>> as the time passed you could see and feel the distress. They told us
>> horrible stories of tragedy,A girl in the first year of collage had
a father died of cancer of that year and tsunami killed her mother.
We have her
>> picture and information of her. Another family of three found their mother
>> crushed under a cinder block wall. At the time of our arrival No relief
>> organization or government officials had helped that community as
>> yet.
>>
>> The monks who are traveling with Bhante Wimala
>> gathered with words of comforts and prayers.. The Villagers numbered
>> approximately one hundred followed their every word and were obviously
>> inspired and given hope.The people formed lines and received the much
needed supplies. The monks who had gone house to former house we
continue to assess
>> the need and do what was needed to alleviate suffering. Bhante Wimala
>> Would discreetly give Rupees to those in acute need of money.
>>
>> That night we slept in the house of Mr. Jayaakodi
>> and his pregnant wife Nisha. The next day we were up early and Bhante was
>> off again to locate and
>> inspired some educated monks who could assess the immediate needs of the
>> small villages. Bhante had previously joined a group
>> of ten councilors through the Sarvodoya organization to visit the
>> grief stricken famlies of
>> Hambantota to provide psychological evaluation and
>> spiritual support.The group included one Buddhist monk, two Buddhist nuns,
>> and a Catholic nun.
>>
>> Upon arrival at the medical/government complex many
>> people were gathered.
>> Bhante wimala introduced the members and with
>> eloquent speech opened his heart, the people were absolutely silent,
they were so grateful to be with the counselors and clerics.
The counselors then individually heard
>> everyone's stories. Bhante had several families to talk to, the
>> Buddhist nuns each had three families, the Catholic also
>> was taking to families separately. They all were listing to awful stories.
>>
>> You must know what happened here. December 26 was a
>> Sunday, the market
>> day, the day all the families travel to town to buy supplies for the
>> week and visit with friends. The buses are packed,
>> streets full with vendors and pedestrians. It was not a seaside hotel or
>> resort but commercial/poor residential area. All the surrounding villagers
>> lost people who were in
>> town shopping. The tsunami killed an estimated
>> 7-8,000 i people in this town and left them in swampy rice fields behind the
>> town or swept them out to sea. The town is gone! The wreckage now
>> bulldozed flat (too hard to
>> repair buildings and control disease) the vegetation
>> all brown, dead from salt water poisoning. The sea however is still
>> there casually flipping the fishing boats at anchor, a fresh brisk sea, a sea
>> that is no longer
>> alluring but is now deceptively menacing like the closed mouth of a shark.
>>
>> The people spoke and everybody listened. A Muslim
>> woman lost all of her children she was crying as she limped away. A 16
>> year old girl held her sister in the rushing water as longs as she could
>> until the force took
>> her sister away. She can still hear her sister
>> screaming. She has nightmares and must sleep between her parents.
A Buddhist women
>> was in a packed bus,one of the five or six people who survived. She was
>> at the hospital for twelve hours before she was admitted, her wounds,
>> physical and psychological have not healed.
>>
>> Until Darkness Bhante Wimala's group council who
>> ever was present. Exhausted, we left to seek a prior arranged sleeping
>> place But it was Tsunami damaged and unsafe. So we droved hour and
>> half back to Matara and arrived at our resident at about 11pm.
>>
>> Last four days I have seen Bhante's compassion in
>> action. There was no rest for him. Bhante Wimala is constantly on the
>> move unless actually helping the tsunami victims, The Cell phone,
>> recruiting, arranging,purchasing and assessing the immediate needs of the
>> people we contact.
>> It is always surprising that when you talk with the
>> people you see how much need there is and how little of them are met by
>> relief organization or the government. Bhante knows that you can not
obtain the help for those people
>> without a very personal assessment. That is where
>> his current efforts is concentrated.
>>
>> Many people are still in need and they haven't
>> received most of what they need. So far disease control must be
continued.
>> Bhante is focusing
>> getting people ? monks to areas that are still in need to
>> assess immediate requirements and deliver what is needed. A long
>> -term plan is being
>> developed at the present. Bhante is in very good
>> health. Perfect! I
>> think he thrives when he can really do some good. But it
>> is not glamorous. It is hot, sweaty, dusty, diesel fumed work. Constantly
>> accompanied by mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, please send me a
>> mosquito net.
>> Bhante is wearing me out.
>>
>>
>> More later,
>> May you live long Aubowan.
>>
>>
>> with love and blessings
>>
>> Bhante Wimala
>>

posted by Songie @ 8:46 AM