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| Sunday, 20 March 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Alison Thompson : Peraliya's Angel of Mercy by Chamitha Kuruppu
Tidal waves that hit The country three months ago have left bitter memories, that will remain in our hearts forever. But for the people in Peraliya, Galle - one of the worst tsunami hit villages in the South - the aftermath has brought happiness, compassion and love. The signboard that once read 'Peraliya Welfare Camp' now reads just 'Peraliya' and except for few tents that serve as temporary classrooms, the village is dotted with wooden houses. There is nobody to complain about the lack of funds or mismanagement of aid. All the villagers are busy rebuilding their villages. Among them is a 'white lady' clad in a batik skirt and a kurta type top running around in her worn out rubber slippers. 'Hello Alison', ' Good morning Alison' - the greetings from the villagers indicate a fondness for the lady. "Bohoma hondai, bohoma hondai", 'Wada ivarada?"' she asks the villagers with a chuckle. Alison Thompson from Australia arrived Sri Lanka in January for a two week stay to help tsunami victims - but now two months on she refuses to go back to her motherland, claiming her "work is not yet completed". But, for the villagers of Peraliya, she has done 'more than enough' to bring a semblance of normalcy to their lives.
The well-organised, medical centre run by Alison is stocked with various medication. Alison and her team treat over 1000 patients daily. They are mostly from nearby villages. The four-member team, including Alison that took over the coordination work of the Peraliya Welfare Camp, three months ago, has now grown to over 20 and everyday a new member joins them. But, unlike Alison they leave in a couple of days. Other than ensuring day to day necessities of the tsunami stricken villagers, Alison and her team have already implemented several long term projects. One such program is the English Teaching Project for the villagers. "We are unable to identify many of their requirements due to lack of communication. So we decided to teach them English," stresses Alison. She believes that the project will also benefit tourism in the future. According to Alison, their foremost task is to provide temporary houses for everyone who has lost their house. "We are rushing to get them temporary houses before the monsoon sets in, we cannot afford to let them suffer anymore," she says. Teaching basic first-aid to the women, is another project planned by the team. Over 60 women have already enroled for the programme which is conducted with the coordination of several mid-wives in the area. Special and extra attention is drawn towards child victims in the area. Alison and her team have organised puppet shows for the children. "Every Sunday we take the children to the sea, so that they would forget what happened on December 26 and love the sea as they used to do before that," says Alison. The team even took the trouble to take 10 hairdressers from Colombo to give haircuts of villagers. "They haven't had a hair cut for the last three months," chuckles Alison. There were several Asian countries affected by the tsunami. What made Alison to select Sri Lanka? Alison who was working as a nurse at the New York World Trade Centre was severely injured by the 9/11 attack. A couple of Sri Lankan tourists who had been at the World Trade Centre during the attack had taken Alison to the hospital and helped her. "When I heard about the tsunami and saw the devastation in Sri Lanka I decided to visit the country," Alison explains. Being unable to collect the money for the visit, Alison started looking for sponsors. And after a couple of days, she managed to convince three of her friends and accomplish her mission. Alison and her three friends who arrived in Sri Lanka on January 7, were driving 'up and down' the Galle Road, to find a Welfare camp to give the donations they had brought. "Every camp was in need of aid and we couldn't decide which camp we wanted to help," Alison recalls. When the team reached Peraliya, they decided no one needed their help more than the villagers there. A partly damaged school building full of debris, was cleaned and reconstructed by the team in order to provide medical facilities for the victims. "All the medication and other donation including money we brought from our country was over in a couple of days. And Peraliya villagers were not receiving any aid. So we decided to stand near the main road and stop donors who were going to Galle," says Alison. "For some reason volunteers keep coming in. We have informed friends in other countries to help us," she points out. Alison thanked Trade and Commerce Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle for the support extended to them during their task. "There is no politics, no bureaucracy and no talks in this village. From the day we got here, the villagers have worked hard to bring Peraliya to the present state," she adds. When are you planning to leave? we query. " You can't just come in and leave. They have nothing. I can't just leave them like that," responds Alison.
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