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[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Day after day, Methodist pastor assists fellow Sri Lankans

Dec. 19, 2005	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*
New York {706}

NOTE: Photographs and related stories are available at
http://umns.umc.org <http://umns.umc.org/> .

By Jan-Åke Thorell

MATARA, Sri Lanka (UMNS) - A year ago, the Rev. Anil Silva of the
Methodist Church in Matara in the south of Sri Lanka could not have
imagined what lay ahead for him and his congregation.

Nearly a year after the tsunami hit his country, he has been faced with
long queues of people outside the church. And still people line up.
Every day.

Silva has often had to field the questions: "Why are you doing this? Why
are you working for us, day after day?"
His reply is constant: "It is my duty as a Christian."

Even if "the gate to the church building is closed," Silva says, "the
work is going on. The body is in action."

People are surprised that the church assists people without exception
and that those receiving help are not asked to be or become a member of
the church.

Silva is quite explicit when fielding these questions, by telling those
who seek assistance from his church that it does not mean they now have
to attend church or that they need to be or become members of the
church. There is respect for all religions, and Silva does not impose
his religion on those of different faiths.

Since right after the tsunami struck, he and the members of the church
have assisted people with as much as they could - mostly with small
items, such as scales for the vendors in the markets, carpentry kits and
water containers.

It was soon clear to everyone in this community that no one had fully
understood at first just how huge the disaster had been, or how long it
would take for people to rebuild their lives, even with assistance.

And still people turn to the church for assistance. And still the small
congregation does what it can. The requests now are not so much for the
smaller items to help people get by day to day but for the bigger items:
boats for the fisher folk, houses and land.

Many people had suffered huge losses, such as a schoolteacher in town
who had built his own house only a few months before the tsunami. All
that remains of his home today is his mortgage. The bank wants the loan
repaid monthly, and the teacher does not know what to do. He went to
Silva for advice.

But as so often in the case of huge disasters, the needs of people
outstrip the ability of those responding to fully meet these needs. "I
have no answers to give," the pastor explains. "I gave him a cupboard
and a table for his temporary house. That's all I could do."

Silva, who is scheduled to leave soon for another congregation in
different area, estimates that about 300 families still live in the six
refugee camps in the Matara area. Although the conditions in the camps
are not the best, he says they are relatively well organized by the
different community committees.

People's daily needs are seen to, and there have been no outbreaks of
diseases. But, although many of the people who were displaced by the
tsunami have gone back to work, there are still people who are
unemployed.

To help people in re-establishing their lives, the Methodist Church,
which is a member of the National Christian Council in Sri Lanka, has
started a small workshop program on its property. Here, people learn to
make furniture for their homes in the camps. They have even made small
chairs for their nursery school.

But the truth is that people need their own homes.

This is the reason why the church has requested funds to buy land for 15
families. The church would also like to finance a self-help scheme,
which would allow people to build their own houses. However, as in many
other places affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, land for housing is a
problem in Matara.

"The problem is that before the tsunami, several families stayed in one
house. The owner may now get a new house from the government or an NGO
(nongovernmental organization), but the other families who had shared
the home get nothing," Silva explains.

This is why self-employment and income generating projects are so
essential for people now.

*Thorell was on assignment in Sri Lanka for the Church of Sweden, a
member of ACT International. This story was distributed by ACT
International.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org <http://umns.umc.org/>

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