Cover Story for June 16, 2005
Following the disastrous tsunami that hit the island of Sri
Lanka last December, potable water was among the first needs faced by
thousands of homeless people and it remains a top priority. Virginia
Baptists are among other groups that are making it available to Sri
Lankans.
By Bill Latham
Life wasn’t easy in Telwatta even before the tsunami. Now, those who
survived the crashing waves of devastation on Dec. 26 are being
devastated by another kind of disaster—despair.
Kumary P., a small woman by western standards, is among the
survivors. Although she and her husband and child survived, along with
her two sisters, her parents died on that fateful day. Kumary considers
herself more fortunate than many, but dealing with the loss of her
parents and all of her household goods has been difficult.
Her sisters asked what her own heart was wondering: “When will
this disaster end?” The initial horror of her parents’ death and the
awful fear that more waves might follow have subsided somewhat, but now
the work of rebuilding has begun. Kumary and her family have moved back
into what is left of their house, but all around them lie grim
reminders of what they and the others in Telwatta have lost. Few
fishing boats remain to go out, and those that do have a hard time
selling their fish. It seems people have lost their taste for fish—fish
they suspect may have been feasting on tsunami victims still lying on
the bottom of the ocean.
In despair she turned to Father Freddy for help.
Father Freddy, as he is simply called in Sri Lanka circles, is a
full-time Sri Lankan Baptist minister. His duties are many, but now the
revered pastor did not know what to do.
Finally he told Kumary that he “does not have the answers for
her now but do not give up hope.” These are empty words five months
after a disaster.
This scene is not unique. Overnight 100,000 families were made
homeless by an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia whose fault was
the size of California. Thirty-eight thousand people lost their lives
on Sri Lanka alone and 2,000 perished in a single train derailment in
Paraalyia, the closest village to Telwatta. Many lives were touched by
the power of the tsunami; now lives will be touched by the love of God
and with the help of Virginia Baptists working together.
A formal cooperative has been formed by 19 Baptist groups.
Together we will help rebuild the lives of some, though unfortunately
not all, of the families of Sri Lanka.
Many Baptists have offered help on Sri Lanka. The Hungarian
Baptists were the first responders, dashing in within days after the
disaster to set up food, water and medical facilities.
A second, more deliberate, effort has been undertaken with the
help of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary Scott Hunter and
local Sri Lankan Baptists. Hunter will be the man on the ground in Sri
Lanka and will assist Sri Lankan Baptists to build a new village. Most
tsunami victims would prefer not to rebuild villages close to the
coast. Who can blame them—nobody knows when the next tsunami will come.
A seven-acre parcel of land two miles from the coast and on a hill, has
been purchased for this purpose. On this land 80 small homes will be
built by local craftsmen. A community center is in the offing and
Hunter will supervise its construction over the next year. Hunter’s job
is to make sure that cost over runs do not kill this project
mid-stream. In order for this village to succeed it is imperative that
there be accountability. Father Freddy represents the Sri Lanka Baptist
Convention, while Hunter represents the interests of contributing
Baptists. If the plan goes as scheduled, this time next year the
village will be built and occupied.
This village is not a hand-out but a hand-up. There is the
story in Matthew of the lame man waiting for the waters to be stirred
in order to be healed. Jesus asked the lame man if he truly wanted to
be healed because not everybody with their hand out wants to be healed.
The lame man told Jesus that he did want to be healed and Jesus healed
the man.
The local population is much like the lame man at the pool.
They have demonstrated their willingness to help themselves by not
waiting for help to arrive. They recognize that not everybody who makes
grand promises is capable of keeping them, so many have begun with the
help of friends and neighbors to reconstruct homes that were damaged
but still some distance from the shore. It is literally neighbor
helping neighbor.
There also are volunteers from Habitat for Humanity who are
re-constructing homes, as well many other groups and individuals.
Baptists will help Baptists to reach a community of non-believers. It
is an ambitious plan and requires missionary Hunter to live on-site.
“This is not going to be a project that is run by a management
team 100 miles away,” Hunter explained. “I will be living and working
with the Sri Lankans to assure that the project stays on course and
does not experience the cost overruns so frequently experienced when
the Western monies are involved.”
Hunter is uniquely qualified for his role. He has lived in the
region for more than a decade, working in Indonesia, Thailand and
India. His hobbies are water purification and the harnessing of wind
and sun as a source of power. He has had plenty of experience in water
purification and is a strong advocate of the process called slow-sand
filtration.
“The principle dates back to the time of Moses,” Hunter
explained. Ancient Egyptians discovered that ground water was cleaner
than surface water. Therefore, if ground water could pass through a
column of sand then it will be scrubbed clean by the sand particles.
Actually, it is much more complicated than just scrubbing
water with sand. The process is intensely biological. The first one
inch of sand is an ideal substance for bacteria and microorganisms to
adhere. Bacteria in the top layer of the sand does the cleaning. The
process provides water that is better than 99 percent clean.
But there is a catch. In the field of water purification 99
percent is not good enough. For water to be of drinking quality it must
be 99.99 percent clean. Make no mistake—going from rancid to 99 percent
clean is a big leap. It is the last 0.01 percent where the process gets
technical. At this point water can be boiled, chlorinated or
illuminated with an ultraviolet light. But 99 percent looks a lot
better to a refugee who has been boiling the soiled water of some low
area.
Hunter has provided his services to communities in Indonesia
and even placed one of his systems in a hospital. He is always
tinkering with the system to make improvements. The best part of all is
that the system is so “low tech” that the locals like it and it only
takes a few minutes to become familiar with maintenance procedures,
which usually involve the simple process of back-washing or scraping
off the top one inch of sand. The system indicates when it needs to be
cleaned by slowing down to a drip.
So what does water purification have to do with the planned
community? If left to their own resources these fishermen would
survive. It might not be pretty, but they would survive. The human
spirit is bigger than any disaster. But with the help of a local group
of Baptists, Hunter’s hobby can become a pathway to a better way.
Kumary will one day get a house she can turn into a home. If
things go as planned, she and her family will be one of the first to
take advantage of the new village. Not only will she enjoy a new
home—one which she will own if she stays and works in the community for
five years—but she can be part of something bigger. She can be part of
the kingdom of God, all because Baptists care.
Hunter will need some help in the upcoming months. He hopes to
enlist volunteer teams from Virginia, North Carolina and Texas. This is
a wonderful opportunity to become familiar with the ancient art of
water purification. There is a tendency for people to shy away from
what they do not know. Hunter feels this should not stop someone who is
truly interested in water purification. He has the experience and a
tremendous amount of background knowledge to draw upon.
And if one felt that working with water purification via sand
filtration was too low tech, try adding the Scott Hunter twist by
operating a photo-voltaic and wind mill that continuously charges AGM
batteries to run a small pump and a UV light. The system is as low tech
or high tech as you are capable of understanding.
Maybe the volunteer’s talents lay elsewhere. Hunter is in need
immediately of someone with surveying skills to lay out the village. He
can contract it out locally but he would like someone with basic
surveying and urban planning experience to back him up. And there is
always the need for support personnel. Carpenters and handymen are
needed to work side-by-side with Sri Lankans.
Most Americans may not initially appreciate Indian cuisine and
it would be helpful to have someone whose sole responsibility is to
work in the kitchen. This person should be creative. Sri Lankans use
many of the same foods we do—they just prepare them differently. There
is nothing like a plate of fresh papaya sliced like peaches to start
your day, washed down with a glass of freshly-squeezed mango juice.
There is also a need for women to volunteer for cultural exchange.
These volunteers will not witness directly but by interacting will show
God’s love.
Many people worry about language barriers. There are two
national languages but English is the language of commerce. Anyone
interested in experiencing the third world and an equatorial island not
unlike Hawaii will never have a better chance.
Anybody for a game of cricket?
Special to the Herald
Bill Latham, a member of West Side Baptist Church
in Harrisonburg, has participated in mission partnerships through
Virginia Baptists and has assisted in a number of Virginia Baptist
disaster relief projects. He recently helped missionary Scott Hunter
assess water purification needs in Sri Lanka as part of a tsunami
relief program with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Latham is
employed in the biology department of James Madison University.