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Few days
following the Tsunami disaster that occurred on the 26th
of December 2004, the Florida Buddhist Vihara Inc. (Temple)
initiated a fundraising effort to assist the Tsunami victims
of Sri Lanka. With the assistance of Yasodha Ratnasekera
and Tilak Ratnasekera a “Disaster Relief Fund for
Sri Lanka” was established under the Florida Buddhist
Vihara (FBV) charitable organization to direct the donations.
At the initial community meeting that was held at the
temple on the 29th of December a collective decision was
made to use the donations primarily towards the immediate
life support needs (medicine and food). To facilitate
the relief effort, with the help of the Principal Priest
at Kanda Vihara Temple in Aluthgama, Sri Lanka, a bank
account was setup in Bank of Ceylon branch at Dharga Town,
Sri Lanka. On 01/06/2005, $10,000 from the Disaster Relief
fund was transferred to the account in Sri Lanka. To date,
no money from this account has been spent.
Within few days of the disaster, emergency aid from all
over the world poured into affected countries, including
Sri Lanka. Since the immediate needs of the affected people
were taken care of, the community decided to use the donations
to reconstruct homes that were destroyed. With this goal
in mind several members of the Sri Lankan community worked
tirelessly to raise funds through various means, that
included, appealing to the public, collection at work
places, car washes, garage sales, collection at the Out
Back bowl and a donor golf tournament. On the 23rd of
January the Sri Lankan community was invited to attend
a meeting to discuss and plan the reconstruction project.
Ven. Wipulasara Thero expressed his preference to appoint
a committee to oversee the project since the task at hand
is too large for one or two people to manage. Most of
the attendees also expressed the need to form a Committee
to coordinate the project. After an extensive discussion
following seven members were nominated by the attendees:
Asela Atalugama, Namal Gabadage, Viraj De Silva, Tilak
Ratnasekera, Lasantha Wijesiriwardana, Asoka Wijethilaka,
and Sarath Witanachchi. Ven. Wipulasara Thero was asked
to preside over the committee in the capacity of an advisor.
Responsibility of the Committee:
The charge given to the committee is to investigate
all possible options and to come up with a reliable
individual/organization in Sri Lanka that would undertake
the acquisition of land and the construction of homes.
One of the main considerations in selecting a contractor
is to avoid overheads and commissions so that 100% of
the money can be used in construction of the dwellings.
Committee has also been given the responsibility to
manage and account for every dollar spent from the Disaster
Relief Fund.
After a brief fact-finding mission, the committee convened
its first meeting on the 6th of February. The following
options were on the table for discussion.
1) Based on the initial effort by Tilak Ratnasekera,
a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between FBV
and Brig. Plalitha Fernando, who was a representative
of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, to allocate a land
for the construction of twenty (20) houses at Koskoratuwa,
20Km's N of Tangalle, on the Galle Rd, in the Hambantota
District. The land was to be allocated for the project
under two conditions. First, the decision to acquire
the land had to be made immediately (on 6th of Feb.
itself). Second, construction needed to start within
few weeks of such acquisition.
2) A proposal by Lanka Transformers Limited (Affiliated
with Ceylon Electricity Board) to construct 600 sf homes
for a coat of about $3,500 was discussed.
3) Investors Association of Dankotuwa Industrial Estate
(affiliated with the Ministry of Industries and Investment
Promotions) that was already involved in a project to
construct homes on behalf of a similar relief fund from
Australia for the Tsunami victims were willing to acquire
land on behalf of Florida Buddhist Vihara and construct
380 sf homes for about $2,200.
Majority of the committee decided not to accept the
land in Hambantota for three main reasons:
1) Based on the information that the committee gathered,
substantial amount of assistance has already been pledged
to the Hambantota district as it is the electorate of
the Prime Minister.
2) Number of people affected by the Tsunami in Hambantota
district was much less than in the other areas, such
as in Galle district.
3) At that time, the Committee did not have a well thought-out
plan or a reliable contractor lined up to begin construction
within a short period of time. The members were reluctant
to make a commitment in haste without verification of
the credibility of contractors.
The committee’s decision was to gather more
information about the Dankotuwa Group, and if proven
reliable, engage them in the project. In light of various
reports coming from Sri Lanka about corruption, scam
artist, etc. that have been hampering the reconstruction
efforts, it was paramount for the committee to seek
out reliable personnel in Sri Lanka to manage the project.
Dankotuwa Group informed the FBV the availability of
a land in the Galle District (Hikkaduwa) for construction
if we decide to proceed with them. While awaiting further
information about the Dankotuwa Group, on the 15th of
February the committee decided to ask them to reserve
the land for the FBV project.
Lanka Transformers Limited proposal was not further
explored as Dankotuwa proposal seemed more attractive
to majority of the members.
Second meeting of the committee was held on the 26th
of February. With the consent of the Committees Yasodha
Ratansekera participated in lieu of Tilak Ratnasekera.
Following options were on the table for discussion:
1) Some Committee members, through their contacts in
Sri Lanka, had been trying to get information about
the Dankotuwa Group as well as the projects they were
involved in to make a decision. Other than the information
sent to the Committee by the group itself, the Committee
through their limited efforts was not able to independently
verify their credibility. In addition, the government
of Sri Lanka has imposed new restrictions/rules on construction.
The minimum size of a home was raised to 500 sf. With
these new guidelines along with skyrocketing construction
costs in Sri Lanka, the Group’s initial quotation
of $2,200 for a 380 sf house was expected to increase
substantially.
2) A group in Houston, led by Bandula Wije who is well
known to the Temple, has initiated a project in Galle
district. The Temple received the following e-mail from
him offering assistance in our construction project:
“
We in Houston are building 50 houses in Ambalanthota
on land we received from the government. While we were
looking for land we also got opportunities in Galle.
Galle will be completely rebuilt according to a plan.
Here also we are getting land and my friend (Maubrey
Ginige) and I have registered as donors.
If you are in need of land or a good project to help
out, Galle redevelopment is an ideal project. And we
can help with getting the necessary land. The good thing
here is all the infrastructure will be provided by the
govt. or others. Bandula Wijay”
In light of the assistance offered by Dr. Bandula Wije
and the absence of any guarantee by the Dankotuwa Group,
the Committee unanimously decided to forgo the Dankotuwa
offer.
Initial correspondences with Ms. Ginige were very encouraging.
It was learned that her associate Mr Mahesh Amalean
is heading the task force for Housing Reconstruction,
which was set up by the President of Sri Lanka. It was
further learned that she deals directly with the President
in matters concerning the reconstruction projects. She
appears to be very knowledgeable about the procedures
involved. The Committee also received an assurance that
she will work diligently to acquire the land for the
project, houses will be built to government imposed
codes and regulations, and that 100% of the money will
be used towards construction. The cost estimate per
house is between $4,500 and $5,000.
Considering Ms. Ginige’s background and her involvement
on a project with Bandula Wije of Houston, the Committee
felt comfortable about her ability and the credibility
to manage the project on behalf of the Florida Buddhist
Vihara, and to bring it to fruition. In light of recent
increases in construction costs and government regulations
the committee felt the cost is justified. This amount
also falls within the realistic cost estimates received
for construction projects that are underway by other
cities. The Committee along with Ven. Wipulasara Thero
agreed unanimously to seek Ms. Giniga’s assistance
in the reconstruction project.
The Committee also agreed on the following stipulations:
1) The decisions on the project will be made based on
the majority opinion. Implementation of decisions will
have to be authorized by Ven. Wipulasara Thero.
2) The money accumulated in the Disaster Relief Fund
for Sri Lanka will be transferred to a bank in Sri Lanka
where the Dollars will be converted into Rupees to accrue
interest. This is also a requirement by the government
of Sri Lanka to demonstrate commitment. Currently, $10,000
out of the fund is in a Bank of Ceylon account. Another
option to consider is opening an account with Hatton
National Bank (HNB). Ms. Ginige has expressed her preference
of having to work with a bank in Colombo. The committee
will agree on a bank that will be more convenient to
work with during the construction phase.
3) Disbursement of money from the bank will be made
only on the invoices produced by the contractor. Each
payment requires committee’s majority approval.
Subsequent to approval, the request to the bank for
disbursement should carry the signatures of Ven. Wipulasara
and a committee representative.
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