School funded by TRTF to open in Sri Lanka

Asya Magazinnik Guest Writer

While the nation struggles to recover from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, an event occurring halfway across the world can offer us all inspiration and hope. Due to fundraising efforts of Vassar students, the construction of a pre-school in Kirinda, Sri Lanka is scheduled to commence in October.

The project is overseen by the organization “Diriya Lama Bima,” which means “Land of Hope and Courage.” When a tsunami ravaged Eastern Asia in December 2004, leaving over 4,000 Sri Lankan children orphaned and homeless, Diriya Lama Bima resolved to build three pre-schools in the country’s most affected regions. The organization successfully built the first school in May, and is beginning construction of the second school this month. The third school, which will be funded primarily by a donation from Vassar College, is scheduled to begin construction in October.

The Vassar community was able to raise $9,900, or 83 percent of the total cost of construction. Vassar’s Tsunami Relief Task Force (TRTF), the umbrella organization that coordinated fundraising efforts, took full advantage of our school’s resources to collect this sum.

The TRTF organized several events, including joining a dozen schools across the country in selling bracelets that bore the word “Hope” in eight languages.

Class of 2005 President Vivek Mahapatra led the efforts to contribute to tsunami relief last semester. Mahapatra met with College President Fran Fergusson about possible fundraising after the tsunami.
“A lot of money was going to immediate relief. We agreed that it would be better to do something with a longer-term effect,” said Fergusson. “I think this is a superb extension of that.”

The preschool will be built in Kirinda, a small port on the south coast of Sri Lanka. Although the town is relatively unknown to the Western world, its haunting beauty and bizarre mythology attract many visitors from the surrounding region.

According to local legend, a king who reigned over Sri Lanka during the second century B.C. sentenced a monk to a gruesome execution. The gods, angered by this act, caused the ocean to flood the land.
The tsunami claimed over 200,000 lives and causing irreversible damage to the Sri Lankan landscape. Kirinda was particularly devastated, as 97 percent of its economy was dependent on fishing. With all of its equipment destroyed by the tsunami, Kirinda not only lost its infrastructure, but also the means to rebuild itself. Now, children will have easy access to a school.

“The Vassar community certainly has a lot to be proud of,” said Dilkushi Poovendran ’07, who was one of the leaders of the TRTF. But Diriya Lama Bima must still cover the remaining cost of construction—approximately $210.

Additional reporting by Anita Varma, Senior Editor.