ABDF

Friday, November 28, 2008

Hi everybody!

Well, it’s been one month to the day since I returned to the States from Sri Lanka, ending this year's “season.”

Now I’ve had a month to get over jet lag (took about a week), re-adjust to rich and not-so nutritious Western food (took about two weeks), and adjust to the cooler, dryer temperatures (still working on that, and I’m in Southern California – not Minnesota!), I can take the time to reflect on the past months, and start to strategize for next year.

Well, the first thing I can say is that I LOVE living in Sri Lanka.

No, it isn’t easy, especially the heat and humidity. And a lot of our everyday luxuries aren’t available, especially in Batticaloa. And communication can be tiresome, because even with the best English speakers, you still have explain things a lot. Having to explain or define everything all the time really wears you down and you start to understand why a lot of expatriates give up and only associate with other expatriates. I haven’t reached that point, and I hope I never do. But it is difficult. Dealing with the intense ethnic and religious hatreds and prejudices, the overwhelming, all-pervading presence of the military, and constantly having to think about security may add a certain spice to your travels for the short term, but over the long haul it can all really get to you. No, life here isn’t easy, especially if you choose not to live the rich, exclusive, and in my opinion, oblivious, life of the expatriate.

But like I said, I really love living in Sri Lanka, and Batti in particular.

Of course, it’s a huge help that I can get back to the US for a break; I think 8 months at one time is about my maximum. So I can come back to the US to decompress from Sri Lanka, and I can go to Sri Lanka to decompress from America! Win-win!

So this just-ended season, our first official season of ABDF operations, has been a tremendous experiment and learning experience, both personally and professionally. Personally I had to see if I could hack it living in such a place for an extended period of time. I think I passed with flying colors, if I may say so. Professionally there were many challenges to carrying out my work, ranging from a lack of funds, to stubborn and bureaucratic militia commanders, to communication problems, to the weather. However, despite this, and despite my own relative lack of experience, I think we did a great job. And ultimately the only true block on the work was the lack of money. As much money as I can get, I can certainly find worthwhile projects; this past season I could easily have done four or five times the number of projects.

This is precisely what I hope to do next year. We have a number of projects coming up, ranging from the more ordinary type of help to some pretty intriguing stuff.

For example:

• Our water tank project was so successful that two neighboring villages have also asked for tanks.
• The villagers at Thiraimadu Tsunami Resettlement village were so pleased with the coconut palms we gave them, we have been asked to sponsor some community gardens to help the villagers become more self-sufficient in food.
• The residents of Peace Village, a mostly Muslim tsunami resettlement village where we have been building a road, have asked us to start a secular preschool for their children. They have the room, but not the resources for materials and supplies.
• In an effort to bring the estranged Tamil and Muslim communities together, we’ll be bringing local Tamil and Muslim businessmen into a group to use their own money and resources to help members of the opposite community, and hopefully start to change hearts and minds.

These things, and a lot more, are all very do-able, with a little money and push from us in the ABDF. And I can’t WAIT to get started!

You with me?

xoxoxoxoxo

B.