Salvation Army Officer Reports from Sri Lanka
During her first two weeks in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka, Captain Bella Carroll's responsibilities have been vastly different from her normal tasks as Corps Officer of The Salvation Army's Carr P. Collins Social Service Center in Dallas, Texas. Along with a team of four other Salvation Army officers, Captain Carroll, who is a medical doctor, has assumed a role as skilled negotiator, going between the government and multiple other interests to make arrangements and secure cooperation for the Army's continued relief efforts in the area.
The work is "less tangible than giving a bowl of soup but it's crucial for this team, because we're the first responders, to lay the framework for the rest of the year, for all the projects that are being done," Carroll said in a telephone interview.
The Army to Build 1,000 Homes
One of the biggest projects will be to build 1,000 new homes on 244 acres of land that has been given to The Salvation Army by the government. The Army has secured a pledge from officials that if the charity covers the entire cost of building the homes, the deeds will be given directly to tsunami survivors once the homes are occupied.
To Carroll's knowledge, The Salvation Army is the only non-government organization that has been given land by the government. This is probably because the Army has been in Sri Lanka for 123 years, and because the Army was so quick to respond, even though many Salvation Army workers were injured themselves, but helping nonetheless. "We were kind of the first presence and we were the first ones with a concrete plan," Carroll said.
But at present, the land has not been officially released for takeover. Until then, the Army is setting up tents for survivors on private land. This is so important because many people are sleeping outside and "anyplace they can lay a mat," Carroll said, adding that, "some people are still in shelters but many of them are just sleeping in the rubble of their homes."
Medical Clinic and Services Planned
Since the land given to the Army to resettle families is in a rural area some distance from town, Captain Carroll's team is working on a proposal to build a permanent Salvation Army medical clinic on the site to provide health services to an expected 5,000 people who will occupy the new village. Such a large number of people would overburden the area's small rural health center.
Carroll is also writing proposals for heath services efforts, including one for psycho-social counseling for the settlers that will be living in the new village. In addition, she is working on a proposal to refurbish local clinics of the Hikkaduwa Ministry of Health, which suffered significant damage as a result of being close to the seaside.
School's Start to Bring Normalcy and Employment
The start of school is expected to help children in Sri Lanka emotionally, as they return to more of a normal routine. But one of the biggest needs is for school uniforms and school supplies. The Army plans to turn its conference center in Hikkaduwa into a makeshift garment factory outfitted with sewing machines.
Tsunami survivors will be given an opportunity to earn wages by making the uniforms from fabric supplied by The Salvation Army. The jobs will help many fishing families because their sole breadwinner was lost in the disaster. Captain Carroll described how, when the earthquake occurred, the water was sucked into the fault leaving fish exposed on land that only moments before had been covered by the sea. Thousands of fishermen ran onto the exposed sea floor to pick up the fish, but then, without warning, the wave came and swallowed them up.
Wide Range of Vital Services Provided
In addition to negotiating with key parties in Hikkaduwa, The Salvation Army team ministers to people in survivor camps and those along the seashore who cling only to the rubble of their homes. And last Friday, the team delivered toys that were donated by the Army's Hong Kong Territory to children in the town of Matara.
The Salvation Army will continue to perform vital services in Hikkaduwa, as well as in other areas of Sri Lanka. Captain Carroll will be on the island for about eight weeks before returning to Dallas. During her time there, she will appreciate your prayers and support.
Donations, designated “South Asia Disaster Fund” may be made at The Salvation Army’s secure donations web site by using a credit card. One hundred percent of all donations will be sent directly to assist the affected areas. The web address is:
Photo courtesy of The Salvation Army
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