Thought waves that turn into a model village

by Ranga Chandrarathne

One of the Southern coastal villages that took the brunt of the Asian tsunami is Ahangama, sprawling township on the Galle-Matara road. Village of Mihiripenna was also under water.

Thousands of expatriates and nations of the world poured in unprecedented amount of aid for the affected villagers and looked after their immediate needs. One expatriate Sri Lankan naturalized and settled down in UK, saw the tragedy and how his native village went under water.

As the gushing water engulfed the entire village, thought waves flooded the mind of Dr. Upali Wickrama-Sekara, rekindling distance memories of childhood he spent there.

At first, he thought that he would build a few houses. However, his dream expanded further and he decided to build a village for the tsunami affected persons.

So his thought waves finally turned into a village that will be ceremoniously opened on Saturday (December 15) at Ahangama. Thus was born Hampton Village of Sri Lanka.

The village will be opened by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and British High Commissioner Dominik Chilcott. A special feature of the programme is the honourary presence and participation of Sri Lankan and English Cricket teams.

Dr. Wickrama-Sekara who retired recently having served as CEO of several British conglomerates, instead of spending his hard-earned money and time on travelling the world, decided to construct a village.

The village made up of seven facets is a unique village where the world's first tsunami memorial is constructed. A gigantic wave depicting the Asian tsunami was designed by one of the largest architect firms in London.

It is built in the form of an open theatre where 150 persons can sit and meditate on the lost neighbours. Hampton Village is also equipped with Community Centre, a playground and a wide network of roads provide easy access to the village.

Houses are designed according to modern architecture and made up of basic amenities in addition to tiled floors.

As Dr.Wickrama-Sekara lived in the Hampton Village in England for over 45 years, when the villagers questioned what he envisioned to do in the event of a Tsunami, he told them, 'I am going to build Hampton Village in Sri Lanka'.

Thus began the project that culminates in a modern village in Ahangama. The Hampton Village of Sri Lanka is registered as an approved charity in England and accountable to the Charity Commission and governed under the Chairman and Board of Trustees.

Speaking on the strict criteria adapted in selecting prospective villagers for the community, Dr. Wickramasekara stated that houses will be given to the most deserving persons. Eligibility for the prospective inmates include those persons whose houses were completely destroyed and had no money to build them and are living in rented houses or elsewhere with two children under 16 years of age.

For the first time, Hampton Village is to be incorporated by an Act of Parliament. Another important feature is that houses were given to persons on 'probation' basis for five years. During the five years, the family members' performances are monitored. On completion of five years, the ownership of the houses will be handed over to the inmates.

In the event of inmates wanting to sell the house, it can be done with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

The community is managed by an Association of inmates of the village which will attend to logistic needs of the community such as minor repairs of the houses. As the village includes a Geography curriculum for a case study, four houses are allocated for school children and teachers to stay in the village and study the geographical consequence of the tsunami as well as the lives of the newly built communities.

Foster-parent schemes have been introduced to look after the education aspect of children of the community.

A set of Committees such as Education, Sports and Children will look after various aspects of life in the community.

Competitions have also been held to promote cleanliness and beauty of the community.

Hampton Village will not only be a living monument of longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom but also show how much expatriate Sri Lankans can contribute to the betterment of life in Sri Lanka.

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