COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (ABP) — Even the most graphic television images and emotional verbal descriptions couldn't prepare the American volunteer team for the devastation that is coastal Sri Lanka, one of the countries hardest hit by the Dec. 26 tsunamis.
The six men from the Baptist Child and Family Services of San Antonio were reduced to admitting, “It is impossible to even start telling you how bad it is.” Their initial impression, after arriving in the capital of Colombo Jan. 8, was multiplied by the knowledge they were headed to where the human and physical damage is much worse.
What they didn't know was they also were headed into a politically volatile zone. News reports said a “rare” outbreak of violence between Christians and Hindus on the east coast left at least three people dead and 37 injured. The religious preferences of the Sri Lankan population are estimated to be 60-to-70 percent Buddhist and 15 percent Hindu. Both Christianity and Islam are believed to be followed by 7-to-8 percent of the population.
The country has suffered through decades of civil war, but the battles are almost always between Hindu insurgents and troops from the Buddhist-dominated government. This explosion could be the result of highly visible Christian aid groups arriving in the area.
The tsunami heavily battered Colombo, but its full brunt fell on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka. That is where the Baptist Child and Family Services and its international relief arm have been asked to set up six emergency shelters for orphans. The Texas Baptist agency also will begin the process of training Sri Lankans to run not only the shelters but a permanent foster-care system.
The six-member team worshiped in a Sri Lankan church Jan. 9 before beginning a spine-battering, 12-hour drive across the country on roads that would be impassable if not for the urgent need to reach the hardest-hit areas. There have been reports of infants dying of starvation on the east coast, even after arriving safely at shelters, because of the lack of food.
The death toll for the country is estimated at 80,000. The devastation has delayed and complicated relief efforts. The 60-mile stretch of coast where the shelters will be located has left an estimated 30,000 survivors victimized by the tsunami, many of them children. The six emergency-care centers will house an estimated 800 to 1,000 orphans each.
Baptist Child and Family Services was invited to Sri Lanka by the government on the recommendation of Gospel for Asia, a Christian ministry that has numerous permanent staffers in the country. The two organizations have partnered together before.
The San Antonio-based BCFS provides residential services for emotionally disturbed children, assisted-living services and vocational training and employment for special-needs adults, mental-health services for children and families, foster care, and pre-natal and post-partum health services. Through its Children's Emergency Relief International, it provides humanitarian aid for children living in impoverished conditions in Moldova, Mexico and Russia.