Sri Lanka Floods and Lanslips

Today is a sad day for Sri Lanka. Yet again floods and land slips have destroyed parts of the country and killed an unknown number and displaced thousands.

My husband and I saw this type of devastation in 2010 when we were living in Kandy. A large rock hit the back of our house and our garden went into the house below us. Houses completely disappeared and people died as the earth and rocks landed on their houses. This was all a new experience for the protected Brits that we are.

Now the floods and landslips in Sri Lanka sound as if they have become more frequent. Climate change, population growth and more and more buildings all contribute. At night you can see lorries with illegal logs on them. I never buy mahogany furniture, although I used to.

We are privileged to put our small drop into the ocean of need in that place and in doing so, we have become attached to children and their families.

I know that communities will pull together. I am always challenged by the way they care for each other, and that included us in the landslips of 2010.

It isn’t just people caught up in this, but the animals and insects too. Insects from the jungle above us invaded our house. We were lucky to be able to go to a hotel while our house was cleaned up. In the river a small dead elephant hung from a tree.

We will be sending to the people we know and trust in Kandy and as a part of that, profits from the sales Marriage a Journey and a Dog this month, will be added to our gifts.

The Tsunami in Sri Lanka has left its scars, but life goes on after tragedy and poor people more than most know that.

The 1st picture is where a whole family died just down the road from us. The 2nd shows the tools workmen have to clear land slips. The 3rd is our front garden that was. The fourth is the tunnel that is always having land slips and holding up traffic . The 5th is our neighbor’s house being cleared of mud with a simple basket. The window is our window and shows how close a land slip came.

We will return there in October this year. (We are not affiliated to any organisation or religion).