Our School (REKAWA JUNIOR COLLEGE TANGALLA HANBANTOTHA, SRI LANKA) is situated in the southern tip of Sri Lanka bordering the city of Tangalle. There are 140 girls and 132 boys. We have 17 teachers and 11 classrooms. We can study from Grade 01 to G.C.E. O/L in our school. To enter university we have to go to another school.

We have about 03 acres of land around our school and we love to play in our small playground close to the school. Our school has 4 buildings but only one can be made use of as the others get wet on rainy days, especially when then monsoon rains (October-January) begin to beat on the roof. We have a small laboratory where we learn to do simple experiments. We have a library too but we have only very few books and they are not enough for all of us. We have taps where we can drink water when the water supply is given but we have to bring water from home on other days as the water tank cannot be used to store water. We have 05 toilets, which are clean, and nice. We have a computer room but we have no computer as yet.

We have many clubs in our school but the best society is the media communication society. We prepare school news and read it out at our meetings. We enjoy doing this.

What happened to us because of the Tsunami

We live in a fishing village. One in two of our fathers are fisherman while the rest are engaged as casual labourers or in the coir industry that is making ropes out of Coconut fiber. In our country all fishermen live on the shore in houses made of mud and roofs thatched with dried coconut palms. We love to play on the boats by the sea but the sea is very rough during the monsoon period and our fathers do not go out to sea during this time. We are also very careful when we swim in the sea during the period.

26th of December dawned bright and sunny as is usual during this time of the year. Our fathers had gone out fishing the previous night and we were waiting for them on the beach as usual. The sun had risen in the sky and we knew it was time for the boats to return. Suddenly the sea receded after a large wave many people ran towards the sea. We were amazed at what we saw. Fish and coral reef lay exposed. We had never seen such a sight before. Suddenly we heard a loud noise and a huge wave beat upon the short taking back most of our friends who were on the beach. We ran as fast as our legs could carry us. The only thought was to save ourselves. We ran onto higher ground with great difficulty but most of our friends could not make it. Our mud house just crumbled, the boats that were on the beach smashed to pieces. We lost everything we owned – our clothes, our toys and some of us their parents. 40 of us were affected very badly. Many were seriously injured and 4 of us lost close relatives. A vast emptiness stretched before us.

How Do We Recover?

We were living in the school that was converted to a temporary camp for the displaced families for about two weeks but many people helped us to resettle in temporary houses or with relatives. We now live in these houses some of which are tents donated by other countries. We were very glad to know that there were so many people who cared about us. We have started school and resumed regular school-work. It took us some time to resettle as a school community as the teachers too were affected by the Tsunami. But we have helped each other to recover and we are very confident that we can recover soon when we are resettled in the permanent houses that are being built for us.

That is why we were very glad to receive the cards sent by all of you. Thank you very much for sending us the wonderful cards. Staff from Plan Sri Lanka helped us to string the cards up on a huge fishing net and we exhibited the cards in the school garden. All of us really enjoyed reading them. Everyone came to see this exhibition including some of our parents.

On the second day, we wanted to make cards for you. So, with the help of our art teacher, the school principal and an external art teacher we formed ourselves into three groups, and started making cards. The art teacher from outside gave us tips on how to send a message through creative work and we also received some painting materials from Plan. But most of us used local foliage and other waste materials and learned how to make use of our own resources to send messages to friends. We enjoyed making the cards and writing messages that took us all day. “Although we have not seen your faces we were able to imagine you all.

Here are some of the things our friends said:

“We are so glad that our friends in America thought about us.”
K.W. Viduranga – age 15 (Grade 9)

“They have shown us love and care in a very meaningful way.”
K.H. Thilini Saranga – age 15 (Grade 10)
S.H. Shanika Sandamali – age 15 (Grade 10)

“The cards are very beautiful.”
Uditha Damayanthi – age 11 (Grade 07)

“We are very happy. Wherever we are, we are all children, we felt that someone cares for us…”
J.H. Madura Madushanka – age 13 (Grade 08)
M.H. Thushara Keerthi – age 13 (Grade 08)
L.A. Gayan Sandaruwan – age 15 (Grade 08)

”We felt very happy as children from country like U.S.A. felt our sorrow, we gain strength from it.”
Nuwan – age 16 (G.C.E. O/L)
Peadeep – age 18 (G.C.E. O/L)
Amila – age 16 (G.C.E. O/L)

We are trying to hard to rebuild our lives, but the 26th of December 2004 is a day that we will never forget. Our sincere wish is that we gain the strength and ability to carry on our lives as before regardless of the traumatic experience. We feel that life is twice given.