Dr.A.T.Ariyaratne & Dr.Vinya Ariyaratne accepting the donations from Sir Arthur C Clarke

A total of UK Pounds 2,547 (approximately SL Rs. 460,000) was donated by individual buyers of Asteroid, a new astronomy book co-authored by Sir Arthur and the leading British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore. The book, with its foreword written by the UK’s Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees, was released last month.

The collection was presented to Dr A T Ariyaratne, Founder and President of Sarvodaya, at Sir Arthur’s Colombo residence today. Dr Vinya Ariyaratne, Executive Director of Sarvodaya was also present.

“I am delighted that so many readers responded enthusiastically to our appeal,” Sir Arthur said. “Patrick and I are very glad to have raised funds through our book to support Sarvodaya’s outstanding efforts in Sri Lanka.”

In accepting the donation, Dr A T Ariyaratne said: “We appreciate this great humanitarian gesture by Sir Arthur Clarke. We at Sarvodaya have held Sir Arthur in high esteem for a very long time, and it is not surprising that he immediately appealed to the world to help Sarvodaya’s tsunami relief and rehabilitation efforts.”

Shortly after the devastating Asian Tsunami on December 26, Sir Arthur made a global appeal to help Sri Lanka’s humanitarian and rebuilding needs. He recommended Sarvodaya exclusively for this support.

Asteroid was in production at the time. In consultation with the book’s publisher, Canopus Books, its co-authors decided to donate all the proceeds to Sarvodaya’s tsunami relief fund.

“The friends of Sri Lanka reaches through a wide range of British people,”
said Sir Arthur’s brother, Fred Clarke, who collected the donations in the UK. “They all want to help in whatever way they can to overcome the problems caused by the tsunami.”

Fred Clarke and Sir Patrick Moore persuaded companies in the UK to help with the book’s production. The Daily Express covered the cost of printing the book, and The Independent newspaper paid for the postage. Other publications printed publicity, while volunteers donated time to assist with the production, distribution and promotion of the book.

“Sri Patrick’s initiative has brought together a large number of people who want to show their concern and support for our friends, known and unknown, in Sri Lanka,” Fred Clarke added.

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More about the book Asteroid can be found at: http://www.canopusbooks.com/as.htm

Sarvodaya founder and President Dr .A. T. Ariyaratne, Executive Director, Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne and Head of the Field Operations Unit, Mr.Subasena de Silva took part in the Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children on 15th May. This was sponsored by the Arigatou Foundation.

Sarvodaya Leader at Sakura City Council
May 17, 2005

Sarvodaya Founder and President, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, Dr.Vinya Ariyaratne and Mr. Subasena De Silva held discussions with the Vice Governor, Mr. Kumagai Takao and other members of the Sakura City Council, about Sarvodaya work and special tsunami activities.

Sarvodaya Leader visited for Jo-Enji Temple
May 18, 2005

Sarvodaya Founder and President Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne explained Sarvodaya’s psycho-spiritual healing program targeted at young people with Rev. Hitoshi Jin on 18 th May.

Discussion with Parliament Group
May 19, 2005

Dr.A.T.Ariyaratne Sarvodaya President and Mr.Subasena Deputy Executive Director of Sarvodaya were received by the representatives of the Democratic Party of Japan. Dr.Ariyaratne said three affected villages – one Sinhala, one Tamil and one Muslim – from the east and north of the country would benefit from this donation. The Democratic Party of Japan will remain connected with these villages in the long term.

In the first picture Mr.Yukio Hatoyama, MP, Mr. Kenta Izumi, MP, Mr.Tesuro Fukoyama and Mr. Suzuki the Secretary are seen handing over US$ 21,240 towards Sarvodaya Tsunami Fund.

May 4, 2005. Today, Sarvodaya received a donation from Mrs. Tamara Bailey and friends from Vacouver, Canada, who cooked up a storm to provide relief to those who suffered from the tsunami in December.

Mrs. Bailey is a chef par excellence, and used her skills and love for Asian food to organize a fundraiser dinner. The dinner was predominantly Sri Lankan, but contained influences from other affected countries like Indonesia, India, and Thailand, as a tribute to them all. Mrs. Bailey’s fundraising dinner was timed to coincide with the three month anniversary of the tsunami.

Text Box: Mrs. Karunaratne presents Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne with a check from her sister Mrs. Tamara Bailey of Vancouver, Canada.

Mrs. Bailey is a strong supporter of Sarvodaya, and in her dinner invitation described the organization as “ a wonderful and humane organization in Sri Lanka for almost fifty years, and that we know for certain is rendering great aid and comfort for so many, but particularly to women and children.” In addition to Sarvodaya, UNICEF also received support from this delectable fundraiser.

Mrs. Bailey, our humane work is made possible by donations like yours, and we wish to thank you and your friends in Vancouver, and your sister Mrs. Sushila Karunaratne of Kadawatte (who kindly delivered the donation) for your kindness and generosity.

Linde Material Handling Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore, donated two brand new Palette Stackers (Fork Lifts) to Sarvodaya to be used in Tsunami relief operations. Fork lifts were an urgent need for loading, unloading as well as store management of the large quantity of relief goods which includes food items, medicines, kitchen utensils etc. which are centrally stored at the Sarvodaya Headquarters and distributed to all parts of the country. The two brand new battery operated palette stackers/fork lifts were handed over to the Founder/President of Sarvodaya by Mr.Klaus Schwartz, the Managing Director of Linde Material Handling Asia Pacific PTE Ltd. on March 23rd, 2005 at the Sarvodaya Headquarters. Mr.Ricky Fernando of Scott International (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka who facilitated the donation and Mr.Ahmad Jamaludin, Area Manager – South Asia (Products and & IT Manager), were also present at the handing over.

This is an excerpt from the story on the DPI website, please visit there for more details.

As an artist deeply touched by the recent tragedy that has caused such long lasting upheaval in countless lives, I was searching for a way to make a difference. I offered tsunami relief links on my website, but felt I needed to contribute more. Not having the funds to “just write a check”, I felt compelled to somehow offer my art in an effort to provide aid.

I logged on to Lulu to see if this might be possible and what appearance it might take. During a chat session with Lulu Live Chat, I met a wonderful Lulu representative, Tanya Stockton. We talked about my current Lulu calendar project and she looked over my web site. She was very touched that I had included an easy way to reach the organizations that are offering aid to the victims of the tsunami disaster. I explained that I really want to do more toward the effort and that I have a dream of offering my art to somehow help in these efforts. It didn’t take us long to find our way to the possibility of a collaboration between Lulu and myself with this goal in mind.

At that time, I introduced, to Tanya, an elite guild of worldwide photographers that I had organized in 2001. The guild, DPI Internationale, was formed for the sole purpose of enlightening the public to digital photography being a viable art medium. Our DPI group has also been exploring the possibilities of continuing our quest to demonstrate to quality of images that can be produced using various digital cameras. Tanya became very excited as she looked over the locations of the DPI members. Our project was becoming an international effort in collaboration with Lulu. In the week that followed, many of the DPI artists expressed a desire to contribute to the project that has taken shape in a wonderful pictorial anthology of uplifting images.

We invite you to enjoy this timeless collection of images with a sprinkling of poignant quotes and snippets from these trying times. This is a way for us to contribute to those that so desperately need help. This is a way for Lulu to extend a long-term contribution to the children of this devastating event. And this is a way for you to support the relief efforts of Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka and the Humane Society International..

Your Copy of the book will serve as a reminder of this tragedy and your unselfish contribution to help others.

The featured artists are:

Greg Anzalone, Buffalo, New York
Guy Biechele, Athol, Massachusetts
Noel Carboni, Florida
Art Cole, Northern Virginia
James Geddes, Seattle, Washington
Laryl Hancock, Yuma, Arizona
Mike Hollingshead, Nebraska
James Johnston, Ohio
Thomas Kirchen, Oregon
Trine Sirnes, Fredrikstad, Norway
Steve Vit, Australia
Ilona Wellmann, Gummersbach, Germany
Brian Zimmerman, Chester, Viriginia

The book’s creation is a collaboration of all members. James Geddes and Trine Sirnes spearheaded the project with coordinating efforts by the Lulu staff.

I am a student at the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, where I am currently studying for a Master of Arts in Sustainable Development. This institution, part of World Learning, is internationally renowned for the quality of education it provides to scholars seeking alternative solutions to problems of ongoing conflict and inequality. My professor Kanthie Athukorala has been kind enough to pass on to me your address so that I can bring the following matter to your attention. I am writing on behalf of the students of SIT who raised US $ 7,762.46 to support Sarvodaya’s efforts to provide shelter and care for children affected by the devastating tsunami that hit Sri Lanka last December. As the rest of the world, we were deeply saddened by the loss of life that resulted from the disaster.

In response, my colleague Chrissy Hyde and I, along with about half a dozen further students, initiated a dialogue about what contribution we as students could make to help South Asia cope with the aftermath of the catastrophe. We reminded ourselves of our responsibility as global citizens and resolved to organise a large fundraising event. Since, due to prior contacts with your organisation, many of SIT’s staff had already made individual donations to Sarvodaya, and inspired by a conversation with Kanthie, we chose your organisation as the beneficiary to receive all of our proceeds.

Our initiative included several components: a party by two SIT students, a bake sale during a concert at SIT, a staff fundraiser, and the main event on February 11, an evening of education and entertainment. Among other things, this evening featured children’s activities, an auction of art and crafts made and donated by SIT students and staff, an information session about Sri Lanka and Sarvodaya with Kanthie, open discussions about development, relief and trauma recovery, and live performances by SIT students and staff. The current issue of World Learning’s Newsletter features an article about this event; to read the article (which is attached to this message), please go to Our World Online.

I have also attached a photograph of our fundraising team (with Kanthie) so that you have some faces for who we are. Please feel free to distribute it or use it in any other way you may wish. For example, the picture (along with excerpts from this letter) may serve as an inspiration to other initiatives if posted on your website.

We are very happy with the monetary outcome of our fundraising efforts, especially since we were organising this event after (in some cases during) our classes of an intensive course. There are many reasons why we chose to support Sarvodaya, but let me just mention here that we are simply convinced that your organisation is able and determined to help those most affected, and in this we trust. On a personal note, I have utmost respect for the work you and your colleagues do on a national level, and I was fortunate enough to be able to write an in-depth case-study of Sarvodaya in one of my classes. I therefore wish you the best of luck in your ongoing endeavours of creating an awakened and unified society in Sri Lanka.

Dennis Winkler
Brattleboro, VT 05301, USA
March 7, 2005

*Response From Sarvodaya Executive Director, Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne*

Dear Dennis,

What a wonderful gesture. Congratulations and please accept my sincere gratitude on behalf of Sarvodaya for the commitment you demonstrated as global citizens in raising funds for the care of children affected by Tsunami. We deeply appreciate your generosity.

In terms of our programme for Tsunami affected children, we are currently working at 2 levels; At the 1st level we care for the children within the COMMUNITY itself by strengthening the social protection networks within the community through early child development programmes, pre-schools, educational support for the children to return to school, preventive measures for child abuse by way of education and promotion of child rights, and meeting the basic nutritional and social care needs of children. We also provide support for the relations of separated children to look after the children within the community. At the second level, we care for those children who unfortunately are unaccompanied and separated from parents (orphaned) due to the Tsunami (and ofcourse due to other causes as well) at well run child care homes which have now been expanded and upgraded to provide care for Tsunami affected children. Eventhough the number of children affected is quire large, those needing institutional care at the moment is very small. Besides the current recommended approach is to, as much as possible to provide the care for such children within their own community rather than in an institution, we put more emphasis and resources initially at the 1st level and when there is an absolute need at the second level. Therefore we will be using the donation you gave for activities at both levels and you will receive a report on when the programme gets started/completed.

Thank you again for your wonderful gesture and we look forward to having you all with us in here in Sri Lanka.

With best regards,

Vinya Ariyaratne

The United Sri Lanka Association of New Zealand has made a long-term commitment to rebuilding Sri Lanka. Apart from their generous fundraising, they sent Channa Ranasinghe here to evaluate the local needs and oversee the initial reconstruction project. This photo set documents his visit to the village of Wenamulla, which the USLA has adopted. It will be the first reconstruction project by Sarvodaya and the USLA, starting on the 3rd of February.

Channa is pictured here handing out schoolbags to students. The set also include photos from his visit to the East Coast, Batticaloa and Kalmunai.

Selected photos after the jump…

This is one of my (the person writing this) favorite photos, with the lighting glinting off the fender as if its coming from the child. The little fellow looks like he could fit in his backpack. The schoolkits mean a lot, because it gets the children back to some normalcy and routine, so they can move forward.

This is the saddest photo. It is a father, tending the grave of his child. He lost both his children, aged 18 months and 3 years. Now is (hopefully) a time of hope, but there are still great losses which may never quite heal.

“We are very proud of our 5 yr old son Dylan Goodman. He lives in California, USA. For his Birthday, in lieu of gifts, he requested the guests to donate money to Sarvodaya USA and collected $600.00 for the Tsunami victims. Dylan and his sister Brianna along with their dad Brian Goodman have never been to Sri Lanka, where their Mom, Niroshi, was born. Soon all of us will be visiting to see the beautiful Island of Sri Lanka. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the Tsunami victims.”

All donation, thoughts, prayers are appreciated. Sarvodaya would like to thank everyone for their continued interest, concern, and donations towards the Tsunami Relief Effort. They make a difference in peoples lives, and we hope you can see that.

The Sarvodaya Vavuniya Telecenter was opened with the participation of the Microsoft Company on 2005.02.21.

The Community Telecentre Project was created to bring information technology to rural communities in 12 districts. In this opening ceremony, the first telecenter was opened at the Vavuniya District.

On this occasion, Doctor Vinya Ariyarathne, the Executive Director of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, Lory Foreman, regional director of the Microsoft, Sriyan de S Wijeyerathne, the country manager of Microsoft and Chanditha Smaranayaka, project coordinator of Microsoft in Sri Lanka were all in attendance.

The overall goals of this project are manage to construct 12 district telecentres within project area and launch a scholarship program for rural youth. The main objective of this project is to persuade the rural public to take advantages of IT. It is envisioned that this will be develop the community.

The training programs of the Vavuniya Telecentre are scheduled to launch in March of 2005.

Sarvodaya would like to thank the Artist Sergio Torro, his representative Melissa Landina and Via Verde Digital for their beautiful donation of Art, pictured above. The description they included is below:

“The painting, “Wisdom Eyes” is 14″ x 14″ and 24 Karat Gold Leaf. It features a classic theme that is most relevant in such difficult times, depicting the all seeing eyes of the Buddha, a symbol of spiritual awakening, and the Sanskrit numeral one, symbolizing the unity of all things, like the unity we feel with the people of Sri Lanka. The time honored message symbolized in the painting is the wisdom of the eyes which see both the exterior world for the illusion that it is, and the interior world that is the path to awakening and Enlightenment. It is the hope of the Artist that the symbolism of the “Wisdom Eyes” painting will helpt to nourish the spirit at a time when it is needed most. It has been created on a self-mounting wooden frame and is suitable and ready for display. It is the Artist’s hope that it may bring light to one of the relief camps, schools, orphanages, or places of meditation, and to help replace the art that was taken by the sea.”