Singhapura part 1

SINGHAPURA A VILAGE IN NEED! Part 1.

Last month we where asked to come to Singhapura, a small and very poor village near the town of Polunaruwa in the Eastern-Middle Province of Sri Lanka. The request came from one of our friends who have been working there for the Red Cross. “They urgently need help, Bhante! For years no one has paid any attention to them!” He told us further that even tough the Red Cross started some work there, they would not be able to finish it and those who needed it most would not be profiting much of it. He then started to tell us all kind of things which made us curious and we decided to go and have a look.

After a trip of more then 9 hours by car we finally arrived. Our friend Kapilla received us at the tank of Polunaruwa and guided us to the village. What we saw there exceeded the things we where told. About 60% of the population is living under such poor conditions as seldom seen, even in Sri Lanka. We where 1st brought to the address where we should spend the night. We received hospitality from a family who can be considered one of the “rich” families of the village. We where well received and after a wash up and thee, we where shown around the village. Here we will give you 1st a report about the good things which are happening there, and after that we will tell you about the other things we where confronted with.

There are in a big part of the village nice channels with vast streaming water, they are a part of the new irrigation system which was much needed here because it’s extremely dry here for a big part of the year.

Thanks to this system the farmers, that’s nearly everybody here, can now grow crops again like in ancient times. This ensures that the people here can earn a living, anyhow those who own land.

Even paddy and coconuts are growing here now! Also most people use those streams to take their bath and do their laundry. It’s a great progress since I’ve been last in this arrear about 24 years ago.

Unfortunately is the drinking water of such a bad quality that we can say that it is quite poisoned, and not suited for human consumption.

Lately the Red Cross has built a water purification centre, which is a great blessing, or could be so. The problem is that if you want to be connected to the water system to receive the purified water you have to pay an entry fee of SRS 5000.=.

There are 92 families who are so poor that it is impossible for them to pay that amount, so they will not be connected and have to do with the un purified water!!!!!!

The water contains among others heavy metals like; Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic and Fluoride which causes chronic kidney diseases.

This is a BIG PROBLEM and there is rice of 25 % of kidney failure, their teeth are rotting away, liver and milt are slowly giving up, and also intestinal problems are chronicle etc. etc.

There where 140 families which had no toilet facilities, the Spanish Red Cross would supply them with a decent toilet. The problem is that after they supplied 55 houses with a toilet the money was finished (or stopped) so there are another 85 families who have to do with a whole in the ground!!! Not only uncomfortable but what is more important very unhygienic and a source of infections and eventually epidemics.

Then we came to the “Mother and Child Healthcare Centre” if you might call the ruined building we saw there so! This 1st line health centre was not to be called a building even! Not even fitted for animals to be stalled in!!!!! Not surprising that during the last couple of years there has not been a midwife here and that even Dr. Indika who is in charge of it never went there anymore. He visited the place 3 years ago and never went back. I must say that this is really very understandable indeed!

This Centre is one of the 1st urgent things which should be renovated so the 1st line health care for pregnant woman and woman with their baby’s should be started again!

Then we went to the Montessori school where the smallest children of the village are supposed to start their education. Even tough the super structure of the building is not too bad and can be repaired quit easily the rest is in a terrible state. What we 1st thought to be a kind of stall for goats or so, turned out to be the place where the children supposed to take their meals. The playground is in fact dangerous for these small ones to play. The toilets are not worthy of the name the washing facility is a trough and the rest is in the same state. As said the walls and the roof can be repaired and should be newly plastered, but the rest …….? (see pictures at picasa)

After we visited those places in Singhapura we had enough of it really!
That evening we talked with a number of people mostly young householders with children and some people in their twenty’s who formed a committee and who where not willing to lie down and accept the state in which their village is in! Admirable, but where to start and how to get things going? They did not have an answer to that!

It was clear to them and us that they needed help urgently!

The next morning we went to visit the school which was also in a bad state, but Bhante saw also that the teachers there where not really doing their thing. (This was confirmed by the English teacher there and he told that the discipline among the staff was the biggest problem of the school). There are 6 teachers and 12 children and the level is below 0 ! therefore we think this has on the moment a low priority and we will contact 1st the inspector for education and schools in the district before we look in to the possibilities. Even tough repairs are really needed, better work by the teachers is a 1st condition.

We talked with a few villagers and asked what their big whish would be except from the things we mentioned, and we where highly surprised to hear that they wanted a good library with, if possible, 1 or 2 computers so the youth could read and study there! We where so surprised because people in Lanka are not exactly known to be readers, and in some place those who like to read books are made fun of!

On that moment Bhante’s phone rung and we received message that due to the heavy rains the town where we used to live for some time, and which is in the vicinity of Telwatta, Baddegama was flooded by the heavy rainfall. There where a number of people who drowned and thousands of people fled their houses and where in need of help. We decided to start back to Telwatta and organize the needed help.

We quickly said goodbye and started our return journey at once.
On the way back Bhante started to mobilize people so next day we would be able to start a help program for those in need. When we where near to Kalutara we where forced to go back and find another way because the water blocked the road. Finally late in the night we returned back to Telwatta and could get a few hours of sleep to start of next morning early hour to Baddegama. But that is another story which you will find elsewhere.