katherine's community challenge

The build

Sunday 2 April

After a very long flight (over 10 hours) from London to Colombo, our group of 21 volunteers were transferred to Hikkaduwa, south of Colombo. A snack of pineapple, bananas and water was dished out in yellow paper bags - even at 4.00 am it was still welcome. The transfer took just under 3 hours - as the sun rose, we began to see the effects of the tsunami. It's odd, but some of the shops and houses seem to have withstood the waves, others were completely wiped out. Now there is a mixture of new build, derelict properties, temporary wooden huts on the original houses' hardstanding and one or two tents and bits of plastic sheeting. We saw a lot of work in progress on what looked to be a kind of flood or tsunami defence and still quite a bit of work on bridge and road repair - some funded by Japan, some by Italy.

When we arrived at the hotel we were given a traditional Sri Lankan welcome with garlands of frangipani flowers and orange juice. We listened to a welcome speech from the hotel manager and then each lit a special candle on a stand - watched and applauded by most of the hotel staff.

Julie, the Charity Challenge contact in Sri Lanka, briefed us all on the week's work and other essentials. Then, at last, we were free to go to our allocated rooms. The rooms were lovely - on the fourth floor with a view of the sea and the hotel pool and grounds.

Sarah, my roommate, and I decided to go for a walk along the beach - although it was only 10 am it was very, very hot and humid. The hotel pool looked very inviting when we got back so we put on more factor 30 and our cossies and went for a swim. Blissful. After another shower, lunch - all sorts of salads, curries, dahl, rice, red rice, roast lamb and then a selection of cakes, jelly, cheesecake and tiny bananas, pawpaw, melon, pineapple - all beautifully presented for you to help yourself - no wonder I put weight on!

Gill lights her candle

View from our hotel room!

Wrecked carriages of the train at Hikkaduwa

More than half the group then went on a trip to have a look at progress with reconstruction. First call was Hikkaduwa railway station where four of the carriages of the Colombo-Galle express train washed off the track by the tsunami are parked as a memorial. 1,800 people were killed in this incident alone.

Boarding our 3 tuk tuks and mini van we set off again to the place where the train actually left the track - one woman whose new house is right next to the line (as was her original one which got washed away) showed us photographs of the train, the track and her house immediately after the waves had hit. Other people were keen to invite us into their homes but I didn't feel comfortable with this.

The Hindu temple - unscathed by the tsunami

New & temporary homes near the railway line

A new house next to the track where the train was washed away by the tsunami

Foundations of a new house

Remnants of somebody's home

Looking at the train carriages and touring round the various new homes, memorials, the remnants of homes which are still there - viewing the Hindu temple on an island which was totally unscathed - it seemed a little intrusive although people were happy to see us and were very interested in what we were here to do.

Memorial to those killed in the tsunami

The memorial inscription

Over 1500 people are buried here

Protest banner against the 100m rule

Me in tuk tuk

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