Rural extension studies professor visits his homeland as part of delegation from WUSC and other universities
BY ANDREW VOWLES
It had been four months since the Dec. 26 tsunami devastated parts of his homeland. But observing rebuilding efforts this spring in Sri Lanka's wave-ravaged coastal region, Prof. Jana Janakiram, Rural Extension Studies, still felt himself overwhelmed at times.
Janakiram visited the country in late April and early May as U of G's delegate on a tour arranged by World University Service of Canada (WUSC). His group, including representatives from WUSC and four other universities — Waterloo, Manitoba, Queen's and Trent — travelled through some of the worst-affected areas of Sri Lanka's southern and eastern coast, where the tsunami had killed tens of thousands of people and left many more homeless.
The group had already seen the aftermath of the deadly waves, from damaged buildings and boats still grounded ashore to people living in numerous temporary shelters. Still, Janakiram was left speechless and teary-eyed after meeting one man who, contravening official warnings, had pitched his family's tent between the road and the sea and refused to move.
“For me, it was very emotional — it was like seeing my own brother or sister in trouble,” says Janakiram, whose relatives living in the capital of Colombo were unaffected by the tragedy.
Four months after the tsunami, roads and railroads on the Sri Lankan coast are again passable, buildings are under repair and small businesses are being resurrected, he says.
The WUSC group met in Colombo with government officials and representatives of non-governmental organizations and aid groups before embarking on a six-day coastal tour.
“WUSC is really on the ground — it's a respected organization,” says Janakiram. “Because of them, a number of doors were opened to us.”
He also met Wijewickrama Abeydeera, a U of G rural studies graduate who now heads the Sri Lanka Centre for Development Facilitation (SLCDF). Through its network of about 3,300 community groups and about 300 NGOs in the country, the organization has been involved in reconstruction and relief efforts since the tsunami hit and is one of several that has dispensed relief funds raised in Guelph since the disaster.
“The SLCDF has been amazing,” says Jessica Paterson, a master's student in rural planning and development, who by early June had helped raise almost $8,000, about $6,000 of which went to the SLCDF. “Almost every dollar that's been raised they've given directly to the people in need.”
Paterson also sent $500 to women's groups in southern Sri Lanka for a revolving loan fund used by people in two fishing villages where she had worked with an international development organization four years ago. And she sent $1,000 to the extended family she lived with during that trip, who lost their fishing boats to the tsunami.
“They're amazing people,” she says. “They're frustrated at having to rely on the government for so much, mostly for food. Because they've lost their main source of income, they can't provide for themselves. They just want to get back on the water. I think that's a general feeling: they want to get back to some kind of life.”
That's a sentiment shared by Janakiram, who says the high point of his trip was observing people's dignity in the face of tragedy and their resolve to help themselves. “They are coping; they are doing what they have to do.”
The low point was the sheer extent of the tsunami's destruction, including the loss of entire areas of the coast, he says.
Now back in Canada, members of his fact-finding group hope to obtain federal funding for an environmental management project to help restore the coastal environment and develop sustainable livelihoods for people. They're discussing other possible development projects; academic exchanges, training and curriculum development with members of universities in Batticaloa, Ampara and Ruhuna; and partnerships with WUSC and non-governmental organizations.
“I hope to see organizations helping individuals and people able to help themselves,” says Janakiram. Now writing a report on the trip for U of G administrators, he plans to talk about his experiences at a public lecture.
The trip was an eye-opener for Janakiram, whose distance education projects in agriculture, rural development and community development have taken him to such destinations as Cameroon, India, Egypt and Russia. He had left Sri Lanka about 40 years ago for study and work abroad. Even during return visits, including a trip to see relatives in February, he hadn't ventured much beyond the capital. In a sense, he returned this time as much a student as a professor.
“I thought I knew my country. I didn't. My eyes were opened to a different perspective.”
