As we move into more than a year of serving communities in Sri Lanka, our staff has come to better understand the reasons we work through the local church.

There were times when our staff in Sri Lanka questioned this theory or saw it as restricting. But today there is clear understanding. Through the eyes of our Child Survival Program mothers and the communities we work in, we see why the local church is important and how it is affecting communities, which are now growing to love the church.

Chandrakanthi is a name that is constantly on the minds of our Sri Lanka staff. After being nearly bludgeoned to death by an axe in the hands of her husband, today Chandrakanthi is a smiling, bubbly young woman, who is a testament to God’s amazing answer to prayer.

Chandrakanthi is part of the Child Survival Program in Puwakpitiya. The Puwakpitiya Assembly of God Church, with the help of our ministry, provided her with a lot of assistance during her time of recovery.

Chandrakanthi’s mother works in Dubai. When she came to know of her daughter’s plight, she returned to Sri Lanka for a short stay to see her daughter.

As soon as she saw Chandrakanthi, she came to the church. Entering the Child Survival Program office in the church, she broke down.

“Thank you, and thank you to the church for saving my daughter. If not for you, if not for this program, if not for this church, my daughter would be dead.”

Chandrakanthi’s sister told us,

“No other organization or even a religious institution would have been able to help my sister. Your God must be special.”

Pastor Palitha, from the Kithusewana Church in Inigodawela, is very happy that such a program is being conducted through the local church.

“Today the church is a meeting place for everyone, no matter what religion they are from. People welcome us into their homes. Even though they are not a part of the Child Survival Program, they inquire about the program. They volunteer to help out at the program. People are not looking at us with suspicion anymore. People are welcoming the church.”

Malini is a mother enrolled in the Arunodayapura Child Survival Program.

She lives in a small wooden house with her husband and three children. Hindu by religion, Malini is very happy about the Child Survival Program.

“I learn so many things from the church. No one else came to teach us, or look after our children or us before. No one cared about us this much. There is something special about the church.

The staff tell us that Jesus loves us and has given us all this. I don’t know this person called Jesus, personally, but I think He is special. I have never felt as welcomed as I feel at the church.”

Malini also shared that yes, she is poor and yes, she doesn’t have a lot of things, but the church helps her see beyond that and the church is helping her to overcome poverty.

But the church doesn’t always receive a welcome from the community.

The newest Child Survival Program in Pundaluoya opened about four months ago and has had its share of attacks, sadly not from the non-Christian community but from believers within their own church.

Program Manager Premalatha shares,

“Three families dropped out of our church’s Sunday congregation because we didn’t choose them and chose non-Christians over them for the program. They not only dropped out of the church but are currently spreading stories that the church is unethically converting people.”

But this program is going strong and the mothers are enthusiastic about regularly going to the meetings. Slowly but surely the community will come to see the good work that is being done through the Child Survival Program and church.

Abishek is two years old and a beneficiary of the Rajagiriya Child Survival Program. His mother, Maheshwari has no problem coming to the program on time because it is Abishek who is more excited about going to the church than she is!

“Every day he asks me, are we going to the church today? Are we going to the church? He looks forward to the monthly programs. Even if we just pass that way, he wants to go into the church.”

Sudharashani is a mother of three enrolled in the Patana Child Survival Program. Although she is Hindu, Sudharshani has much respect for the church.

“The church is a good place. Everyone is kind to us. I am not afraid to say that I am a part of the Child Survival Program or that I go to the church. I respect the church. My son loves to go there.”

The local church has become a safe haven, a place of learning and fellowship. People are not afraid of the church anymore. There are still problems, but through our mothers and children we are learning ways to overcome them.

The local church in Sri Lanka has been through a lot of persecution in the past years. Most of these incidents have faded off into silence, but it is still prevalent, mainly among smaller, independent churches.

Yet we have witnessed that through the local church and the work of the Child Survival Program, the mothers are now the ones who are standing up for the church. They go into their communities with positive thoughts and love for the church.

The local church is now becoming a part of the community, intricately woven into the tight strands of community life.

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As I entered the village community center in Inigodawela, these words rang out loud through the sound system,

“Testing, 1, 2, 3… Testing 1,2,3…”

This was the location for the today’s Christmas celebrations. Inigodawela, Chilaw, lies in the Northwestern Province, almost 85 kilometers from the capital, Colombo. Inigodawela sits quietly between the Negombo lagoon and vast coconut estates.

Stage lights were flickering and decorations were sitting proudly on the stage. Inigodawela Child Survival Program staff members were rushing to and fro trying to get things completed in time to start their Christmas program.

Trickling in through the two main doorways were mothers enrolled in our Child Survival Program. Right behind them were their husbands and the rest of their families. This day’s celebration was for the entire family, young and old.

One mom, Selena shares,

“This is my first Christmas party. I am so excited, we have never been to anything like this. My entire family is here. My husband and children are taking part quite a few times.”

There were smiles on each face that appeared through those doors. Some were already dressed for their parts in the celebration. Some carried large bags with their costumes.

The program was organized by the Child Survival Program moms and their husbands. They had spent long evenings at the church planning this big event. Enthusiasm had being building up since the beginning of November.

The hall was buzzing with chatter as it filled up. Excited children sat impatiently. Some were too young to know what was going on. But they seemed to sense the joy and excitement in their mothers faces’ as they, too, beamed.

Walking to the back of the stage, behind the large red curtains were presents and bags filled with gifts. Presents were wrapped in beautiful wrapping paper. Names were written clearly on each of them.

Baskets were filled with milk powder, cake, jam, sugar and a few sweets. Each pregnant mother was getting a gift of maternity dresses, and the other mothers were getting a skirt and a blouse each. The babies in the Child Survival Program were getting clothes and a toy, and their brothers and sisters got similar gifts. Fathers were given sarongs (a sarong is a large tube or length fabric that is worn by men in Sri Lanka).

Pastor Palitha serves at the Kithu Sevana Church in Inigodawela, and started off the Christmas celebration by saying,

“It is great to see all of you here today. This is a special day for us. It’s a special day for you, because this is your celebration. This was organized by you, and I have no doubt that this will be a great day of celebration.”

The program started with everyone standing for the national anthem as two young boys brought the national flag on to the stage. Then there were dances, dramas and one song after the another. Many songs were from the local cinema scene, and they each spoke of the love of a mother for a child.

Among these songs was one sung by Selena’s husband;

“You lost your mother’s love when she left you to seek greener pastures, but I am with you, don’t you see? I am there right next to you always, or is it just motherly love and not fatherly love and affection you recognize.”

As these words rang through the hall, there was silence, even among the children.

This father may have known it or not, but he had touched the hearts of all who where here this day. Drinking, extramarital affairs, divorce and alcohol abuse are large issues in these areas. A few of the fathers in the room were alcoholics and not involved with their children. But as this song rang out, the father next to me, holding his baby, had tears in his eyes.

Selena is a mother of four children and she lives near the lagoon. Her house is very simple. One large bed and a couple of chairs, one little mirror and a small place of worship (a small statue of Buddha and a clay lamp) makes up the living space in this mother’s home. Her husband was in the army for some time before he left to be with his family. Selena’s elder daughter was adopted by her brother.

With a hint of sadness in her voice Selena explains,

“My brother and his wife couldn’t have children and I was not in a position to look after her. We were much poorer then, so I gave her to my brother.”

Selena and her husband are active participants in the Child Survival Program. They are one of 40 families represented at this community hall, this day.

Laughter filled the hall as children and adults performed comedies, mimicking those from their own families. Stories of love, songs of friendship echoed. Children watched in awe as they saw their parents sing, dance and act, something very different from what they had witnessed at home.

Vasanthi sat with her little baby, Sasini, in her lap. Both watched with a smile as Vasanthi’s husband and Sasini’s father, Ranjith, acted in a comedy for which he and his team had been practicing from the time this event was organized.

A few chairs away Shashikala was enjoying the drama, while her little baby boy, Hirun, played with his own little hands, which seemed to be a little more interesting to him!

It was time for the presents to be given. Mothers, some carrying infants, went on to the stage as their names were called out. Smiles were seen on every face as they received their gifts.

As I walked through the families present, taking pictures and speaking with them, one thing resounded from almost all of them;

“We are so happy today, we are truly happy beyond words.”

I think these words alone are enough to sum up the success of this program, which was organized by these families, for these families.

There is a definite change and impact in their lives since the Child Survival Program started. For me, an outsider to this community, the change is evident. From my first visit to this remote village up until now, I have witnessed and heard about the change that is breaking forth within these mothers and their families. There is a greater power within these families, a greater power working through them.

Christmas is a time for families and laughter and sharing. We provided the mothers and their children with special Christmas gifts this day. But that is not where this story ends; it’s just a beginning.

These Child Survival Program participants taught us that no matter what their lives were like, there is a change, and they are not just people looking to receive. They are families and individuals who are looking to share.

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Bludgeoned by an ax at the hands of her husband, Solomon, Chandrakanthi lay on the floor bleeding. She screamed,

“Help me, please help me!”

It was almost an hour before anyone came to her aid. Blood gushed from the deep cut in her head, covering most of the floor in the bedroom.

This is not a short story or the beginning of a novel. It is a truly horrific, yet very real, event that took place in Puwakpitiya, Avissawela, Sri Lanka.

But above all, it is a story of victory and God’s amazing healing.

Puwakpitiya is situated about 160 kilometers northeast of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Lying 138 feet above sea level, this is a quiet community.

Compassion’s Child Survival Program (CSP) started here almost a year ago and Chandrakanthi was a regular attendee. She and her youngest daughter, now 1 1/2 years old, have greatly benefited from the CSP program.

Chandrakanthi, her husband Solomon and their four children, lived with his father, Vennan, under the same roof. The house belongs to Vennan.

On that fateful night, Vennan had gone to a family function. In the early hours of the morning, he received the news that Chandrakanthi had been taken to the hospital.

“I rushed home and as I got there I met Solomon. When I asked what had happened, he said she had fallen and hurt herself so she was taken to the hospital.

“I knew that was a lie as soon as he said it.”

Yes, it was a lie. The reason Chandrakanthi had to be admitted to hospital that night was Solomon himself.

During an argument, Solomon had attacked her in a drunken rage and repeatedly hit her with an ax, crushing one side of her head.

The Child Survival Program manager shared,

“Chandrakanthi was found with blood all around her. It was when the house was being cleaned that it was realized how much she had bled.

“Under the bed was a large pool of blood. The floors had been almost completely covered with blood.”

At the hospital, Chandrakanthi lay almost lifeless in a coma that lasted more than three months. Doctors in Colombo gave up on her and sent her back to Puwakpitiya.

In Puwakpitiya she was placed in the intensive care unit. She couldn’t move. Lying flat with a sheet up to her shoulders, she looked like a lifeless body. As Chandrakanthi slowly recovered, she was able to hear and see but unable to speak or move her limbs. She would just shed tears.

When her children came to visit her, she would cry silent tears. When Vennan visited, all he could do was cry as he held her hand.

Chandrakanthi’s eldest son had witnessed his mother’s vicious attack. Each time the child visited her, he just held his mother’s hand. Now nearly a teenager, he still doesn’t speak about that day.

Through the Child Survival Program, extra nutrition packs were provided to Vennan as he cared for the children on his own. Mothers from the CSP joined hands in prayer.

Compassion’s ministry stepped in to provide additional medical help and pay the medical bills. For a humble family living in a small hut, the cost of Chandrakanthi’s extensive medical care was far too much to bear on their own.

As Chandrakanthi lay in her hospital bed, many people were on their knees in prayer for her. Prayer chains were created not just in Sri Lanka, but throughout the Compassion ministry family. Many people in many countries prayed for her.

Churches and youth fellowships in Sri Lanka cried for Chandrakanthi and God heard each prayer. He saw each tear. Chandrakanthi began to improve. Limbs started to move. Words started to form. The healing had begun.

It has been eight months since the attack. Today, Chandrakanthi sits outside her grandmother’s house smiling, laughing and calling out to us as we come to visit her. Tears fill our eyes and our hearts are warmed as we see before us God’s amazing work. Chandrakanthi, healed!

Chandrakanthi recently went for a routine checkup in Colombo. Her sister reported,

“When the doctors saw her, jaws dropped. They couldn’t believe it was her. They couldn’t talk for some time after seeing her. They were stunned.”

Chandrakanthi’s family is Buddhist. But as we met them this day, her father and her sister had this to say:

“We didn’t think she would be healed like this or even live. We cannot believe it. It is unimaginable. We know so many people have prayed for her. Maybe that is what healed her.”

Her children visit her almost every day. But her youngest child doesn’t recognize her and breaks out in tears each time her mother calls out to her.

Chandrakanthi’s speech is still developing, but it is not hard to understand her. Her mind is alert to sounds and words that are spoken to her. She communicates with those around her. Her left hand and leg are still a little numb and she hasn’t regained full control of them.

The Child Survival Program is working to obtain a walker for Chandrakanthi to enable her to get around the house more easily.

A family member tells us,

“Before, she couldn’t even walk. But today, look at her. You know, she came and sat outside on her own after grandma gave her a bath. She held the wall for support but she came here alone.”

Her father-in-law, Vennan, still continues to care for the children in any way he can and our ministry supports his sacrificial commitment.

“I will do all I can for these children as long as I have to look after them. It was God who made Chandrakanthi well.

“Nothing is impossible for Him. God knows that I cannot continue doing this. He will heal her completely. Only He can do it. He can do what men fail at. Nothing is impossible for Him.”

Chandrakanthi is truly a living testament to God’s amazing power and an answer to prayer. Her road to recovery has not ended, but she and her family have the faith that she will be fully healed. Her own father and sister, though they do not believe in God, know and have seen His power working in their family.

Chandrakanthi’s mother, who works in Dubai, has made it back to Sri Lanka for a short stay to see her daughter.She has also recently accepted Jesus as her Savior.

“Thank you, and thank you to the church for saving my daughter. If not for you, if not for this program, if not for this church, my daughter would be dead.”

Chandrakanthi’s sister is Buddhist. During one of her visits, she stated,

“No other organization or even a religious institution would have been able to help my sister. Your God must be special.”

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A cross made out of a dried palm leaf sits above of the main entrance to Vanitha’s home in Sri Lanka. Vanitha smiles as she stands in front of an uneven wall painted white.

The white wall is stained with soot and scribbles. Cracks run from its foundation up.

This house made out of mud was once a cattle shed.

When 29-year-old Vanitha got married, parents from both sides were not very happy about it.

When they didn’t have a place to live, she and her husband were given a cattle shed for their home.

Vanitha is now a mother of four young children. Her youngest, Paveen, is a 4-month-old little angel.

This young family of four sleeps on one twin bed, which looks very unsteady. But little Paveen was sleeping soundly as we sat down to talk with Vanitha and her husband, Isravel. Vanitha shares,

“The Child Survival Program is a blessing to us. I have received so much, I have learned so much, and I can’t explain how grateful I am.”

Vanitha runs outside to the makeshift clay fireplace and brings in their meal for the day. As she stirs the mixed vegetable porridge she continues,

“I didn’t know how to look after children. I did it for my three older children. But I just brought them up without actually knowing how important they are and how important it is to bring them up and teach them properly.

“Now I know how to choose good food for my family. I know to cook healthy meals, when we have things to cook.”

Suddenly, Vanitha’s face changes and sadness fills her eyes. She shares that they earn around 500 – 1,000 rupees ($4-8 USD) a day. Yet that is not every day, and some days, like today, they have only leftovers to feed their children.

Nallu, the Child Survival Program director, tells us that Vanitha and Isravel’s roof had collapsed a few weeks back.

“The family moves the bed around the house as it leaks, finding a place that is dry. They don’t have money to build a new roof.”

The house in front of theirs has been closed now for a long time. It’s strong and well built. This is Isravel’s parents’ house. No one is living there.

When asked if Vanitha and her family can move in there and live in a proper home, there is silence as Vanitha and her husband just hang their heads.

Rejection from one’s own family is not easy to take. Living alone is painful. Yet this family lives day by da,y thanking the Lord for what He has given them. Isravel tells us,

“We are happy. The Child Survival Program has made my wife happy and that makes me happy.”

Just then little Paveen wakes up with a loud cry. The whole family runs to the bed smiling, looking into Praveen’s eyes. Vanitha’s sadness is gone. Isravel’s sadness is gone. Praveen is special. Isravel shares,

“Because of Praveen, we are being helped and we know that the sisters from the Child Survival Program care for us. We do have a family.”

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Our work in Sri Lanka began in 2010 with the Child Survival Program. The Child Sponsorship and Leadership Development Programs have not yet been implemented.

Country Director

Sujith Siri Kumara first came to know about our ministry in 2004 when he participated in the holistic child development program at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Penang, Malaysia. Since that time, he has been active in child advocacy in Sri Lanka.

In 2009 Sujith became the representative for our ministry in Sri Lanka, where he assumed duties as the interim Country Director.

Sujith was a Marxist in his youth, but later became disillusioned with the Marxist movement and faced a series of personal crises. He was planning to commit suicide when God reached out to him and he became a Christian. Since that time, he has been a dedicated Christian worker, serving as a pastor and church planter for Calvary churches in Sri Lanka.

Later he realized his calling to serve children, and he and his wife, Renuka, became house parents for ESCAPE, a transit home for sexually abused children.

From 1996 to 2004 Sujith taught, preached and trained thousands of pastors, teachers, social workers, police personnel and caregivers in governmental and nongovernmental organizations about child advocacy and protection.

Sujith also designed and planned a three-year diploma program in holistic child development at Lanka Bible College and Seminary in Colombo.

He has written several books on child care and child abuse, and served as the magazine editor for the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka to educate pastors and Christian workers in Sri Lanka.

Implementing Church Partners

Implementing Church Partners are local churches in Sri Lanka with whom we work to deliver child development and ministry in the field.

• Spiritual Climate
  Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist nation,and Buddhism is considered to be the state religion. The evangelical community makes up less than 1 percent of the population. Even though churches are persecuted at times, generally there is a sense of religious harmony in Sri Lanka.
• Unique Challenges
  It is difficult to move toward our desired spiritual outcome as Christians are sometimes accused of unethical conversion tactics in Sri Lanka. So sharing the Christian faith in a direct manner through the Child Survival Program is very difficult.

  There is a lack of Implementing Church Partner capacity. Our need for training is high as it is difficult to find qualified Christian staff for the Child Survival Program.

  Our Implementing Church Partners lack infrastructure and facilities. We also face issues with integrity and accountability with some Implementing Church Partners.

• Contributions
  Implementing Church Partners provide facilities for the Child Survival Program. They also provide access to water and electricity.



• Partner Development Activities
  We provide extensive training and workshops for the Implementing Church Partners regarding ministry values, goals, objectives, and desired outcomes to ensure holistic child development. We also provide extensive training on bookkeeping, facility management, communications and office administration and have regular meetings with the Cield Office staff, where Implementing Church Partners can share their work and experiences.

  We also have regular prayer days, which help the Implementing Church Partners and staff to renew strength in God as we continue to minister in Sri Lanka.

Complementary Interventions

Our Child Survival Program cannot address all obstacles to a child’s healthy development. The Complementary Interventions Program was created to work with our holistic child development model to provide additional services such as our AIDS Initiative, funds for Bibles for All Children, disaster relief and water projects.

Typical Complementary Interventions in Sri Lanka include medical and crisis relief.

Child Survival Program

• Caregiver Literacy
  We have identified that the biggest need for mothers and infants is health and basic care for infants. Some Child Survival Programs have started to teach literacy at a very basic level.
• Income-Generating Skills
  Income-generating activities such as home gardening and sewing are taught in a few of the Child Survival Programs, while others are focusing on health and nutrition.

• Health Care
  Health care is provided by government hospitals. When mothers or children need special care that may require payment, our ministry provides them with the needed support.

  Half of our centers are currently found at tea plantations, where the health care system is not very effective. Therefore we make a special effort to ensure that the moms in the program get proper health care.

  Compared with other parts of the country, there is a lack of knowledge of health care at the tea plantations. Therefore, we have to equip our Implementing Church Partners with knowledge about health care.

  Our Child Survival Program specialist, who is a medical doctor, is using a curriculum to teach mothers about the health of their children and about basic care of their infants.

• Nutritional Support
  We provide regular nutritional packs to the mothers.
• Involvement of Fathers
  There are many fathers in the Child Survival Programs who join in at the meetings with their wives. Some of the centers have also conducted family planning sessions and lessons about having a happy family. We also interact with the fathers through family trips and home visits.

• Transition Out of the Child Survival Program
  Because the Child Survival Program only recently began in Sri Lanka, we do not yet have the Child Sponsorship Program. However, we are raising awareness among the Implementing Church Partners about the need for a Child Sponsorship Program.
• Areas of Expansion for the Child Survival Program
  We would like to expand to the Nuwara Eliya district in the central hills of Sri Lanka, which is predominantly occupied by Tamils of Indian origin. Ninety percent of the landscape there is covered by tea plantations.

  Families have lived in this region for generations working in tea plantations, and they are a marginalized community. Most of these families work for minimal payment, and they are exploited for work.

  

  The percentage of children who go to school in this area is very low because older siblings stay home to look after younger siblings while their parents are at work. Some children start working at a very young age. Many of these families cannot afford to send their children to school.

  Neglect and physical and sexual abuse are also high in these regions. Alcoholism is a growing concern in the tea plantations as men and women are addicted to alcohol.

  We would also like to expand in Colombo. The conditions in the slum communities are similar to the tea plantations. People live in close quarters and unclean environments.

  Children in this region are prone to diseases. Many do not go to school, and abuse levels are high.

  Poverty and frustration leads some mothers to commit suicide, sell their own children, or abort them. Many children end up working in the city as domestic servants or restaurant kitchen helpers.

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Inigodawela’s Child Survival Program staff suggested that its members build playhouses for their little ones. The church would then provide toys for the children to help promote the importance of play and family togetherness.

“We honestly didn’t think that we would see such amazing playhouses,” said Pastor Palitha, the pastor in charge of the Kithu Sevana church in Inigodawela, Sri Lanka.

“The fathers were so keen and enthusiastic about the project. Some built individual playhouses while others got together to build a single playhouse for a couple of families. The playhouses brought families together.

“This made fathers, as well the mothers, think more about their children and the need for children to have a play area of their own. Children play in the hot sun here. There is no proper play area for children. This project has brought our families together.”

Some playhouses are made out of wood, some out of slim bamboo shoots. Others have been covered with cloth or palmyra leaves. The materials are different, but the purpose is the same: to encourage play.

Dharshni

Down a lonely, gravel road is the home of Dharshni and her daughter Prabodya, who have been part of the Child Survival Program since the day Prabodya was born. Dharshni and her husband, Piyatissa, were married without their parents’ blessing. He was a smoker and a drunkard.

Because she was going through a time of severe depression during her pregnancy, Dharshni tried to abort little Prabodya by drinking kerosene.

Since coming to the Child Survival Program, this family’s lives have changed. Loving glances between husband and wife and parents and child are evidence of the miracle that has taken place in this family. A beautiful playhouse, built just for Prabodya, sits right next to their home.

Dharshni, smiling at Prabodya (whose attention was clearly on her playhouse) shares,

“Today is the first day that I put her in her playhouse. She was there the entire morning and didn’t want to come out.”

Dharshni went on to say that she and her husband are excited about the playhouse idea.

“We heard about it from the Child Survival Program. It is so good to have a place for her to play. It’s a place specially made for her. It’s a brilliant idea. I am so grateful.”

Nirosha

Nirosha is a mother who is raising two little boys on her own. Nirosha’s younger son, Sasidu, is 1 1/2 years old and cannot remember his father. Sasidu’s father is on the run from the army. He doesn’t come home for fear that the villagers will hand him over to the army.

The little playhouse Nirosha built is just enough for Sasidu and his brother. The dedicated mother made it by collecting wood from the nearby wasteland.

“The playhouse idea is a very good one. I am happy that I was able to do it for my children.”

Vasantha and Ranjith

Thumesh, the son of Vasantha and Ranjith, has a playhouse made to accommodate the entire family! This playhouse was constructed out of slim bamboo sticks collected from the riverbanks, and has a thatched roof. Vasantha explains,

“My husband and older son built this playhouse for Thumesh. He built the playhouse some time ago when the church introduced the idea to us. But the recent rains spoiled it. There were river snakes in the playhouse and the children refused to go into it. So we broke it down and built a new one.”

Three-year-old Imesh, Thumesh’s brother, loves to play in the playhouse with his brother.

“They play together and they both fall asleep in there. We would have never thought of something like this, if not for the Child Survival Program.

“I always thought that my child must become a lawyer or a doctor, someone important. But now I know that it is more important that my little boy grows up to be honest and kind to others. I want my child to live for others.”

Each child’s playhouse is unique, the result of much time and effort. The finished projects have not just benefited the children, but the parents as well.

Ranjith also shares,

“I felt proud to have made this playhouse for my son. He now has a special place for himself.”

Sadly, of the 25 playhouses that were originally built, only seven are now standing and in a usable state. Recent floods destroyed nearly all of the playhouses that had been built near the lagoon.

But there is hope, because already the playhouses are being rebuilt in Inigodawela — stick by stick.

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Banda Aceh was one of those communities devastated by the tsunami. We had no active program in Banda Aceh before the tsunami, and in fact, none of the areas where we worked in Indonesia before the tsunami were affected.

But when the tsunami hit, we initiated temporary relief work under the name ‘ARIEF’ or Aceh Relief for the tsunami victims. This local name was chosen in order to allow a local ministry to take over the relief and do follow-up work for the beneficiaries of the programs after our initial relief work ended. Our relief work was initially planned for one year.

Bambang, a current Aceh Relief director who now handles the follow-up programs, regularly travels across the Aceh area in the effort to identify areas where the next relief or development effort could best assist those impacted by the tsunami.

These visits identifiy the future target areas for Aceh Relief as well as the approach and plans to provide the best support program and right personnel.

After ARIEF ended, Aceh Relief has continued to provide emergency relief work in Banda Aceh through a partnership with Pelayanan Desa Terpadu, or Integrated Village Ministry, and known well as PESAT. They still use the Aceh Relief name for the sake of familiarity among the beneficiaries. Compassion has established a well-known, reputable name under Aceh Relief.

In six months’ relief work, Aceh Relief funded the restoration and replacement of new homes, roofs, latrines and running water systems for the houses in Loh and Lempuyang villages in Breuh Island. A Compassion initiative worked to rebuild 83 homes inhabited by more than 500 people.

Arief has set up a team of teaching units for traumatized children who live in the shelters. These units provide school facilities and social assistance, including financial support for school or apprenticeship equipment and fees, as well as temporary classes for children and family mediation.

Resti, a former teacher in Compassion’s education relief center who is now working with another non-governmental organization says,

“The repeated exposure of many children to severe forms of tsunami trauma resulted in low self-esteem, limited social skills and high likelihood of quitting school among young people.

“It also caused children to behave in ways which increase the risk of child abuse, such as running away from home and spending entire days in the street, leaving them vulnerable to sexual abuse.”

Resti used to travel with other fellow teachers to several “school” sites in Ujung Batee and Blang Cut townships – both located in Masjid Raya district, the area that felt the brunt of the tsunami destructive force. It took them an hour by car; add half an hour if they used public ground transport.

These volunteer teachers helped the children overcome their trauma by teaching songs and assisting them in regaining their self-esteem and social skills. Basic education was also given as balanced cognitive resources for children, so they might still be educated according to their age.

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