Cardinal McCarrick Visits Sri Lanka (01/11/05)

Happiness is a puppy ... (01/06/05)

With Gratitude ... St. Francis Cathderal and the Parishioners (01/04/05)

President Bush signs a condolence book ... (01/03/05)

Tourists are refusing to leave Sri Lanka ... (01/02/05)

Clintons, at Queens temple, pledge support for tsunami relief ... (01/01/05)

All the way from Virginia... (12/31/04)

A Real Hero - Corporal Lakmal (12/30/04)

SOS Appeal from Troops (12/29/04)

A letter from the Secretary to Administration, Archbishops House, Colombo (12/27/04)

Cardinal McCarrick Visits Sri Lanka
(Source - AP)

Washington (AP) - The Archbishop of Washington is in Sri Lanka to see firsthand the damage inflicted by the tsunamis. "I hope that, with this trip, I may better understand the needs and concerns of the people affected so deeply by the terrible disaster, and then bring those concerns back to the United States," Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said Thursday.

Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington with Most Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, The Archbishop of Colombo.

McCarrick arrived in Sri Lanka on Jan. 11. He leaves for South Africa next week on a long planned trip with Catholic Relief Services.

"I also want to encourage and support our folks with the relief agencies as they deal with overwhelming challenges in the wake of the tsunamis, and I pray that I might give witness to the people so they know that the Catholic Church in our country is concerned and wants to help," McCarrick said.

His spokeswoman, Susan Gibbs, said the cardinal - who has traveled in the region before - might also visit India.

Parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington will be collecting this weekend to help the tsunami victims. McCarrick is the spiritual leader of about 550,000 Roman Catholics in the District of Columbia and southern Maryland.

Happiness is a puppy ...

An unexpected surprise! At Moratuwa, Sri Lanka a young boy who came back to see the site of his totally destroyed home found something he thought he lost forever!

With Gratitude ... Our sincere thanks to St. Francis Cathderal and the Parishioners

St. Francis Cathderal of Metuchen, NJ collected over US$ 7,000 in donations towards the Sri Lanka - 'ARCHBISHOP TIDAL WAVE RELIEF ACCOUNT' fund These donations were collected only from this past weekend, which was contributed by the generous parishioners of the Church.

President Bush signs a condolence book ...
(Source - Embassy of Sri Lanka)

(Washington, DC, Janauary 3rd,2005) . In an unprecedented show of solidarity, President George W. Bush accompanied by the First Lady Laura Bush, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton called on the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington DC this morning. They were received by HE the Ambassador for Sri Lanka Devinda R. Subasinghe and Mrs Helga-Wurzer Subasinghe.

The first Lady presented a white bouquet of flowers to Mrs Subasinghe in a symbolic gesture of condolence. President George W. Bush who announced a nationwide charitable fundraising effort to be led by former President George H.W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton to aid victims of last week's earthquake and tsunamis in South Asia on Monday, January 3, 2005, had praised both Presidents for taking time out of their busy schedules to not only serve as a catalyst for the American people to give money to help, but also to join him and the First Lady in paying their deepest respects to those nations that have been affected by the tsunami.

President Bush stated that the US is very much committed in Sri Lanka for the long haul restoration of the country and would assist in every possible way. US assistance, he mentioned is a true bi-partisan endeavour as reflected by the role to be played by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

The President , Mrs Bush, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton conveyed their deep condolences and Best Wishes to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga as she leads the country in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

At the invitation of the Ambassador, before leaving the Embassy, the dignitaries spoke with all members of the staff, individually and in particular offered condolences to a member of the staff who had lost her parents and a sister during the disaster.

President George W. Bush signing the Condolence Book. ( L-R) Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ambassador Subasinghe, Mrs. Helga Wurzer-Subasinghe and First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush.	President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in conversation with Ambassador Subasinghe.
President George W. Bush studies a map of Sri Lanka with Ambassador Subasinghe. First Lady Laura Bush, Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush look on.	First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush signs the Condolence Book.

Tourists are refusing to leave Sri Lanka ...
(Source - AFP)

Wearing shorts, rubber thongs and a pair of washing up gloves, New Zealander Scott Gardiner is standing in a sewerage drain ankle deep in sludge, joining the huge effort needed to clean up Sri Lanka. The 29-year-old artist and his girlfriend Bianca Wilks, 27, are among scores of tourists refusing to leave this popular resort village torn apart by last Sunday's tsunami, which killed nearly 29,000 Sri Lankans.

The couple watched the disaster unfold from their second-storey guesthouse room, with Gardiner immediately recognising that a tsunami was about to hit when big waves rolled in and then the ocean drained back hundreds of metres.

" I was on the beach screaming at people to get back," he said, before they ran for their lives to higher ground. Then they were left grappling with the horrendous destruction -- and were overcome with the kindness shown to them.

" These people are the most accommodating people. They took us into their homes, they made sure we had food. And these were people who had lost everything. It was inspiring," he told AFP.

" It's nice to help because they've been so helpful to us."

Wilks and Gardiner have been pitching in along with a bunch of about 60 local surfers leading the charge in Hikkaduwa, who said they have received hundreds of emails from foreigners pledging donations towards reconstruction.

One of the surfers, who gave his name as Mambo and who lost 12,000 dollars worth of stock at his surf school, has been helping coordinate the cleanup, methodically dragging the masses of debris onto the road and sweeping it up.

" The surfers and their families are helping out each other. We want to get back our Hikkaduwa again," he said, pointing out a pair of bandanna-clad Japanese women clearing gutters.

The pair, previous visitors, had booked flights to Sri Lanka as soon as they heard about the disaster.

" We have connections all over the world, and these people have come to help us. Friends are important now," Mambo said.

Frenchwoman Francoise Clottes, 42, is on her 10th trip to Sri Lanka as part of a four-month vacation from her job as a train ticket inspector and was on her way to Cambodia to volunteer as an English teacher when the tsunami hit.

" But I think they need my help here more now," she said, working up a sweat in the tropical sun, and wearing just one rubber glove as she sweeps.

So far, the clean-up here has been almost completely done by locals and volunteers, she said. No armed forces or police, who have been overwhelmed by the terrible extent of the national disaster, showed up until days afterwards.

Even now, Britons Ian and Anna Betts said locals and tourists have been paying themselves for diesel and drivers to get private earthmovers to shift the rubbish from the streets due to a dire lack of official assistance.

" All this money they say on the news is being donated, it's not getting down here. They could use any trucks. Where are the trucks? Where's the food?"

"People are devastated and we are so privileged, so why not help?"

Clintons, at Queens temple, pledge support for tsunami relief ...
(Source - AFP)

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Sen. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y. meet with Kurunegoda Piyatissa, a Buddhist monk, left center, along with other local religious leaders and tsunami relief workers during a visit to the New York Buddhist Vihara in the Queens borough of New York, Friday, Dec. 31, 2004.

All the way from Virginia...
(Source - Help Lanka)

The couple drove the U-Haul all the way from Virginia to New Jersey full of supplies to the NJ Temple - 'Tsunami Aid Collection Center' (This generous couple featured with Venerable Hungampola Sirirathana Thero)

Can one be so unkind as to leave a six year old’s life to be decided by the turbulent seas? Though the sea was raging at her utmost strength Corporal Lakmal of the SL Air Force could not.

SOS Appeal from Troops

Teams conducting immediate relief operations in Tsunami tidal wave affected areas urgently require following medical items.

Sri Lanka Army kindly requests all donors to contribute to this national effort by handing over the following items to “Trivida Hamuda Sahana Yathra” (Tri Service Disaster Relief Centre) now functional at Galle Face esplanade or Seva Vanitha Unit at Army Headquarters.

Click here to find out how you can help in this effort

A letter from the Secretary to Administration, Archbishops House, Colombo

26th Dec 2004

Dear Fathers,

I'm just writing few things about the situation in Sri Lanka after visiting some of the places with the Archbishop. We could only go upto Payagala railway gate. Beyond that place, road is impassable. Whole lot of debris are on the road.

After the the earthquake in Sumartha in Indonesia, sea water had rolled upto the road in the sea side from Matara upto Negombo.

Matara - it was during the Communion time, when the 12 feet high sea waves had come in and now it is reported nearly 400 people had been thrown into different directions. Some of the bodies had been found in the school and yet people are looking for their beloved ones. Either they have taken away with the waves or had run away to safe places. Matara church building structure is there but, everything elese had been washed off.

Beruwala, Payagala, Wadduwa, - all the houses in the coastal line have been completely wahsed off destroyed. There is nothing left for the people to find out. There are nearly 365 people or more found dead in Beruwala area.

Payagala, 5 churches have washed off, including the mission house. We could see the church benches have come upto the Galle road. There is nothing left in the Mission. Parish Priest, Fr. Ivan Pieters had been in another church with a newly ordained priest, Fr. Thusith celebarting the Mass. So Fr. Pietersz has only his cassock and his van left for him. Everything else had been washed off.

We could see the sea from the Galle road ! That means all the houses are completely destroyed. 4 temples around that area and at Wadduwa have accomodated the people and when we visited those temples also, the Monks told His Grace to allow the people remain until their houses are built.

Archbishop appealed to the people through the Media to come forward and help the people and send immediate relief to the Archbishop's House.

In the evening we came to know even Negombo is affected. Archbishop was asked not to come at this time there - now it is 11.30 p.m.. His Grace will visit Negombo tomorrow morning.

There were four people dead at Mutuwal area and many house even along the Mutuwal coastal area are destroyed. One person at Uswetakeiyawa was taken away with the waves, inspite of police asking him to get behind.

According to the reports reaching now, [ 12.00 midnight ] there are 3000 - three thousand - dead by this disaster.

President is out of the country. Therefore relief operation is very slow. PM is trying to organize. But when we went to Kalutara, Wadduwa, Moratuwa, Elakanda and Mutuwal areas, we found still the government relief has not reached.

People from interior have come out to assist many of these affected ones.

At Moratuwa, Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake have had a narrow escape. He had been blessing a house, when the waters have rolled in. He is injured, yet not serious.

We are yet to hear from Galle and Matara churhches.

There is a big communication problem at the moment. You may not be able to contact anyone immediately either through the Telecom line or mobile lines.
There are difficulties in calling either through the telecome lines and mobile lines.

Now there is a news item, that there will be again rough waves rolling on to the land side.

Those of you who are abroad - If you want to contact anyone, you could e-mail me OR fax your letter, I'll try to communicate your message.

There are few pictures I have sent here with - taken in Payagala, Kalutara, Wadduwa and Moratuwa areas.

Please remember the people in your prayers. If any Sri Lankans want to send any donations, direct them to the Archbishop's House.

Keep in touch,

Fr. Sunil De Silva

Archbishop's House,
Borella.