Sri Lanka Special English

ZOA

SPECIAL EDITION A SRI LANK

We were here.

EDWIN VISSER:

‘We are starting a new chapter’

Sri Lanka shows resilience 26 YEARS OF RELIEF AND RECOVERY

2004 Tsunami

FROM RECOVERY BACK TO EMERGENCY RELIEF

INTERVIEW RAGA ALPHONSUS

‘I see God’s faithfulness’

‘ Z O A L O O K S AT T H E WHOLE PERSON’

Working through grief and pain

CONTENTS

12 ‘The sky turned black, we heard explosions in the distance’

Jaap Boersma and Gea Overweg look back on seven years in Sri Lanka

4 Dismay and disbelief after tsunami

9 Amarasiri: ‘Tamil livestock ate my harvest’

10 We were here.

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Raga Alphonsus: ‘I felt God wanted me back in Sri Lanka’

Resilience: falling down, getting up, and pressing on

For 26 years

15 Pushpalatha: ‘After the tsunami, I had to help remove bodies’

16 38 years between hope and fear: an overview

18 Rathi: ‘I had to leave everything behind’

24 Thirulogachondran:

‘I dare to dream again’

27 In the spotlight: Gerald Pullen

22 More milk thanks to Dutch entrepreneurs

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WHAT'S NEXT?

FOREWORD

A new chapter!

Recently, I was virtually present at the farewell for our Sri Lankan colleagues. It was inspiring to hear how the team in Sri Lanka has prepared for the future!

With admirable resilience, our colleagues in Sri Lanka have sought cooperation with local organisations. They supported the growth of these organisations and worked to establish a joint vision to continue to help the people of Sri Lanka.

I last visited Sri Lanka in 2015.

The civil war had ended, and the country was becoming safer and more stable. For ZOA, it was time to start to withdraw, but the people of Sri Lanka still struggled with poverty and inequality. At the time, we were already exploring the possibility of working with Woord en Daad.

ZOA focuses on emergency relief and recoveryre, while Word and Deed specialises in long-term development. Thus, we complement each other well.

It is wonderful to see how local organisations are continuing the work in Sri Lanka, in cooperation with Woord en Daad.

time and prayers, and young people who supported ZOA projects. Together, we accomplished a great deal. We were there with emergency relief after the devastating tsunami.

We were there to help victims of the war rebuild their homes and businesses. We were there to develop innovative technology for distance learning, enabling children in remote villages to get an education.

‘Our colleagues in Sri Lanka will continue the work with the same resilience that has always characterised them’

For ZOA, the time has come to leave, but our colleagues in Sri Lanka will continue the work via local organisations - with the same resilience that has always characterised them. I am sincerely proud of them.

We are not closing this book.

Rather, we are opening a new chapter.

Edwin Visser Chief Programme Director ZOA

Over the past 26 years, many people have embraced Sri Lanka: ZOA business ambassadors, donors who gave their

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OFF THE RECORD

‘There wasn’t even fear.

There was only dismay and disbelief: what Ís this?’

– Jakolien Meas-Bos, former ZOA staff 4

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PHOTO FOLKERT RINKEMA

DISMAY AND DISBELIEF AFTER TSUNAMI “That Sunday morning, December 26, 2004, was a beautiful morning: clear blue skies without so much as a breeze. It was literally dead quiet.

There weren’t even birds singing. We sat in church as the water got closer and closer. Water! Where did all that water come from? We fled out of the church, up the hill, towards the city centre - away from that devastating wall of water.”

“All of our ZOA colleagues and their families miraculously survived the tsunami. A few of them barely made it. We immediately went to work providing aid. Those were days full of despair and sadness, full of devastation around us. The civil war killed 60,000 people in 20 years. The tsunami killed more than 35,000 in five minutes.”

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THEME RESILIENCE

RUBAN

CALEESIOUS

Ruban and Caleesious from Sri Lanka:

‘We were here, and that gave hope’ 6

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The name “Sri Lanka” conjures up images of a beautiful, exotic island with idyllic palm beaches and a tropical jungle. But the country is also scarred by years of civil war and a horrific tsunami.

Virtually every family has victims. The human suffering is enormous. And yet Sri Lanka shows tremendous resilience - from falling down, to getting up, and pressing on. What happened?

BY MONIQUE BOOM // PHOTO'S BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Sri Lanka means glittering island. Jeya Ruban and Antony Caleesious fully agree, and both have worked for their country with passionate dedication. Ruban has been working for ZOA since 1998. Today, he is a programme manager. Calees, who has been with ZOA since 2004, is our country director for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Ruban knows the needs of the population first hand. Before he started working for ZOA, he was himself displaced. On three separate occasions, he was forced to flee the violence between the Tamil Tigers and government forces. Thus, he understands

the upheaval and fear of violence. “The traumas among the population are still great to this day. Some families had to flee as many as seven times. Many families are mourning the loss of loved ones.”

Despair and hope

In recent decades, the people of Sri Lanka were caught between hope and despair.

Successive peace agreements were ripped up (see timeline on page 16), creating fresh uncertainty, particularly for the approximately 500,000 displaced persons and 161,000 homeless on the island. If that was not bad enough, the country was ravaged by floods over the past 25 years and by the 2004 tsunami. “But ZOA was there. After each disaster or during each conflict, we provided displaced persons with food, temporary shelter, sanitation, clean drinking water, and primary education.” Ruban laughs, “We even

‘We ‘moved’ with the people’

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BRAVE WOMAN Resilience. That is what Evert Jan Pierik encountered on his visits to various projects in Sri Lanka. He works for ZOA’s programme from the Netherlands, and a few years ago he traveled with Ruban and Calees.

They arrived in a village where ZOA had set up a savings and loan group. In these groups, villagers can make an investment and when they want to start a business, they get a loan. This makes it easier to set up a small business and builds mutual cooperation. “We visited a member of the group. We saw a simple house with a chicken coop and a tidy farmyard. In the house lived a woman who had lost her hands in the war. She told us she had worked in a Tamil Tigers bomb factory. One day, a bomb exploded in her hands. In addition to physical pain, she also had emotional suffering. This Sri Lankan woman felt a deep sense of shame, because no one cared about her or even noticed her.

However, she fought her way through it bravely. With ZOA’s help, she planted a vegetable garden and decided to raise chickens. Now she sells eggs so she can make a living. She showed me the notebook she used for bookkeeping. She had taught herself how to write without hands.

I still remember her with great admiration!”

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‘When you see children going to school, that’s when you know: there is a future’ invested in solar cooking – cooking with solar energy – a wonderful idea from the Netherlands.” And more seriously, he says, “The fact that we were always there gave displaced people a sense of stability. Our office, which was sometimes a tent, also remained accessible. Sometimes we had to evacuate because the situation was too dangerous. We moved with the people, as it were. That provided security.”

Resilience

“The people drew resilience not only from the emergency relief, but also from the recovery,” Calees adds. “Just think of building roads, the rebuilding of houses and schools. When you see children going to school, you immediately get a sense that there is hope, there is a future. Because you’re basically building up the next

generation. So education has always been very important. We trained teachers and developed teaching methods that include “living at peace.” We also invested in entrepreneurship, fishing, agriculture, and therapies for processing trauma. That paid dividends when the civil war ended in 2009.

People mourned their losses, but they could move on with their lives because we had continued with the recovery.”

From start to finish

What gave Calees and Ruban the strength to persevere? “The fact that you can give people hope by investing in their lives. We now see how a farmer has not one cow but ten cows, or not one goat but eighteen goats. A woman had suffered knife wounds, but she survived. And at first she went into hiding, but later she started a business and is now even a role model for others!”

“Moreover, it was encouraging that we could always call on donors and ZBAs (ZOA’s Business Ambassadors). If we needed help right away, we never asked in vain. Look, we can’t give people back their loved ones. And the scars run deep. You can’t say – as we’re leaving Sri Lanka – that everything has been resolved and that all the traumas have healed. But we were there from the beginning to the end, and that gave people hope.” j

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ZOA also displaced!

Our colleagues in Sri Lanka also needed to show resilience in the past 25 years.

In 2009, they were displaced themselves. They were based in a camp – a former school building – after escaping the front lines of the fighting. The government was worried some of the civilians might be rebels and decided to lock everyone up. Former ZOA country director Bernard Jaspers Faijer visited our colleagues and wrote about them.

“We last saw each other six months ago. After that, I wasn’t allowed back into the region. Mortar shells and bombs fell on a daily basis. Thousands of soldiers, rebels, and civilians were killed. Food became scarce. The rebels forced people to fight against the government army. But ZOA colleagues continued their work. Our supplies for shelter, toilets, temporary schools, and hospitals ran out. Eventually only food got into the area.”

“ZOA remains loyal to displaced people.

Now we are displaced ourselves. So long as our employees cannot leave, ZOA cannot leave because our employees are ZOA. We are deeply concerned about our colleagues who can’t escape yet. Will we ever see them again? We look at each other. In this camp, we are surrounded by prying eyes. This is a war.

There are things you can't discuss. Not even in this column.”

Eventually, all 35 colleagues and their family members survived the tragedy!

PHOTO BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

PORTRAIT AMARASIRI (40) - FARMER

“For years, the Tamils' livestock have been trampling my land and eating my harvest. We work hard all year for that harvest and then it gets eaten like that. Thanks

to ZOA, we, the Sinhalese, can have peaceful dialogue with the Tamils. In

addition, ZOA helps us have discussions with governments from both sides.”

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PO

IO

RTF OL

ZOA has contributed to the recovery of Sri Lanka. We provided essential aid after three decades of war, flooding, and the tsunami of 2004. We are here was no empty slogan.

It became very concrete through things like these projects:

BY MARIANNE VAN ELST-SIJTSMA // PHOTOS BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Peacebuilding Three decades of violence left deep scars in the hearts of the people of Sri Lanka. In the wake of the war, cooperation and forgiveness among villages, communities, and sometimes even families was largely non-existent. ZOA decided to address the root causes of the conflict in several villages with the aim of building up peace and stability. We started by training around a hundred church leaders who could set a good example and share their knowledge.

They were trained in English and IT, but we also focused on growing their knowledge and skills for peacebuilding. ZOA organised

activities and gatherings for a total of 5,000 Sri Lankans. In this way, people were slowly but surely coming closer to each other.

Urban refugees in Negombo In recent years, increasing numbers of people from Afghanistan and Pakistan have sought refuge in surrounding countries. Some tried to request asylum in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka doesn’t have any sort of laws regarding refugees, thus they were abandoned to their fate.

ZOA had compassion on these people and worked together with UNHCR to help them find a safe place. The project in

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Negombo created a space where 1,900 men, women, and children received training in English and IT. They could also get psychological support there and do activities. The project also focused on the mistrust Sri Lankans felt, particularly towards Muslims – even more so after the Easter 2019 attacks. We used conversation as a way to build understanding between the two groups.

Housing Over 160,000 people lost everything during the long years of the civil war. Many families returned to their villages empty handed only to discover that nothing had been left standing. ZOA helped hundreds of people with building temporary housing. ZOA also helped build roads, water wells, and schools so that normal life could gradually resume.

Our housing project not only gave people a roof over their heads after the war. It also gave them a sense of hope for the future and of their own dignity. Many of them have now built permanent houses. They use their

temporary accommodation for storage.

This represents significant progress and ensures nothing goes to waste.

Women’s rights From 2016 to 2018, ZOA - together with our local partners and the government -extended a helping hand to 2,500 vulnerable women. Many of them were widowed during the war. ZOA focused on improving their working conditions, educating them about their rights, and training them so they could earn their own living. ZOA also helped establish and strengthen lending groups for women which they used to support each other. Our local partners focused on raising awareness of domestic violence and offered counselling and support. Next

to this, we encouraged the government to try to raise broader awareness of these issues. We also trained several women in leadership skills. This project made a big difference in the lives of many women and families.

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INTERVIEW THE PIONEERS

Jaap and Gea look back on their seven ‘plentiful’ years

‘We were not there for the Sri Lankan people, but with them’ “Next to our passion for Sri Lanka, it also seemed like a great adventure, say Jaap Boersma and Gea Overweg.

They boarded a flight to Sri Lanka in 1995 and were present for the launch of many ZOA projects in the country. In the end, their work made more of an impact than they expected.

BY MONIQUE BOOM // PHOTOS RDHS, KILINOCHCHI

JAAP AND GEA

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In 1994, ZOA concluded that Sri Lanka urgently needed help. The civil war had been going on for ten years already and the needs of the people were great. ZOA posted a job vacancy for a country director. “I was working as a manager in HR and was ready for a new challenge. Gea had been to Sri Lanka before and was keen to return.

I remember it well. She had a night shift in a psychiatric ward and I thought, ‘I will apply as a surprise for her,’” says Jaap. “Building something in a war-torn country was important to us and...it also seemed like a great adventure.”

Anxious moments

However, Jaap and Gea were soon confronted with the horrifying reality of the civil war.

“The first few weeks we were settling in with our two children – Gea was expecting our third – in the capital city of Colombo.”

While Gea stayed home with the children, Jaap traveled to evaluate what type of projects could be established and where.

Gea recalls anxious moments. “The sky turned black because oil refineries had been blown up. You could hear the explosions in the distance. I prayed that Jaap would come home safely. There was nothing else

Bombing near the refugee camp

I could do. Thankfully, I could share this with other people from ZOA.”

Displaced persons

“And thankfully, I didn’t have to go out on my own,” Jaap adds. “Experienced NGO personnel were prepared to help. A former employee of World Vision became one of the first members of our team in Sri Lanka.

He knew the region well and spoke English, Tamil, and Sinhalese. That’s how I could quickly talk with people to hear about their needs and tailor our projects accordingly.”

ZOA first assisted in refugee camps in the district of Polonnaruwa. In 1996 and 1997,

‘We hope the people of Sri Lanka embrace their beautiful country’

ZOA expanded to Batticaloa, Ampara, and Trincomalee. A year later, ZOA started working in the northern district of Mannar. ZOA provided thousands of families in camps and outside of them with food, drink, and tents. Eventually, ZOA helped with recovery in the areas of health care, education, infrastructure, fisheries, agriculture, and housing.

Suicide attacks

The conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers was bloody.

Jaap and Gea lived with the war. “Each day the headlines were dominated by battles and significant casualty figures. We were constantly on guard because there were suicide attackers. That stayed in our system even after we returned to the Netherlands in 2002. For example, we were suspicious whenever someone opened the trunk of their car.” It was a nerve-wracking time, also for the new ZOA team that Jaap and Gea had built up. They often worked near or behind the frontlines. “There were heavy

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‘Suicide is one the biggest side effects of the war’ experiences sometimes. We came to a village where there had been a massacre with machetes the day before. Later, some of our colleagues were locked up in a camp.

They survived, but everyday you had to make a conscious choice: is this important enough to risk our lives? The answer was ‘yes.’ We wanted to be there for our fellow human beings in need. We have enormous admiration for all our ZOA colleagues on the ground.”

INJURED PEOPLE ARE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL

Resilience

Jaap and Gea also admire the resilience of the local population. They could pick themselves up again when yet another ceasefire had collapsed or after the tsunami of 2004. “I recall how a grandfather and grandmother took in two grandchildren despite their abject poverty after the mother committed a suicide attack.” Virtually every family in Sri Lanka has victims. The current generation of people over age 35 contains many former child soldiers. Sri Lanka has a cultural taboo against discussing pain and loss. Suicide is one of the biggest side effects of the war. “By setting up psychosocial projects, we created a space for people to reflect on their sadness and pain. We published a therapeutic book with drawings and stories called The Cry of My Heart. ZOA looks at the whole person and that helps with processing trauma and peacebuilding.”

Beautiful country

Jaap and Gea decided to return to the Netherlands in 2002. They wanted their children to attend Dutch high school. “When we look back, we see seven fat years. We

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learned so much in Sri Lanka, including that you are not there for people, you are there with people. Our housekeeper Priscilla illustrated this perfectly. She was diagnosed with cancer and we wanted to help her with foreign expertise. But she said, ‘I don’t want that,’ even though she knew she was signing her own death warrant. ‘If my people don’t have a right to it, then neither do I,’ she said. That was hard for us to hear. Each day, we wonder: should we consume less so that the distribution between continents is more fair? We hope and pray that the people of Sri Lanka are granted space to remember, to know their own worth, and to embrace their beautiful country.” j

‘We have great admiration for our colleagues who were on the ground’

PHOTO BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

PORTRAIT PUSHPALATHA (35) - MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN

“Thankfully, I was not near the tsunami. I was a child at the time and would never have survived. My father perished because of that extremely high wave. I was asked to help remove bodies, even though I was still a child. We lost

everything. But thanks to ZOA, we got a house and sanitary provisions.”

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We were here.

From emergency relief to recovery to emergency relief to recovery. This single sentence summarises our work in Sri Lanka.

An overview of what happened and the aid we provided.

The LTTE is an acronym for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (commonly called “Tamil Tigers”) who were founded in 1976.

The LTTE fought for an independent Tamil state without the influence of the government.

23 July 1983 The long war between the LTTE and the government began. The LTTE gained possession of large parts of the country, and peace negotiations always seemed doomed to failure. Hundreds of people lost their lives, and thousands of people lost everything they had in the fighting.

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2001 and 2002 Yet another ceasefire was agreed, and peace talks took place. ZOA decided to help the people who wanted to return to their land, and 35,000 people who had lost everything received food and household items. ZOA also initiated talks between Muslim and Tamil leaders.

1 January 1995 ZOA started offering emergency relief in Sri Lanka because of the many refugees in six camps in the city of Polonnaruwa. The people who fled there had to leave everything behind, and hundreds had already been killed. ZOA helped in these camps with water and sanitation and by distributing aid packets.

8 January 1995 President Kumaratunga signed a ceasefire with the LTTE. This was broken by the LTTE after just 4 months, and violence flared up again.

1996 - 1998 ZOA expanded its programmes to other cities like Batticaloa, Ampara, Tricomalee, and Mannar.

2003 Peace talks stalled again.

Moreover, in-fighting amongst Tamil families flared up anew.

26 December 2004 Sri Lanka was hit by a devastating tsunami. 35,000 people were killed and more than 500,000 were displaced. Within four days, ZOA arranged food for 30,000 people who had seen everything washed away.

persons who were locked up in camps. After they were released from the camps, ZOA helped them rebuild.

After the tsunami, ZOA received 13 million euros from supporters for emergency relief in Sri Lanka. With this money, ZOA was able to help 25,000 people for three years by building 2,500 temporary shelters and 5,000 permanent houses, installing clean drinking water facilities for 25,000 families, and starting primary education in 50 villages.

July 2006 Peace talks failed again. The civil war flared up and hit people anew. Recovery gave place to emergency relief again.

2008 - 2009 The ZOA office had to be evacuated four times because of dangerous circumstances.

Many colleagues were also displaced during the fierce fighting at the close of the war.

18 May 2009 The army brought a brutal end to the war. ZOA provided food aid to 200,000 displaced

2012 Even though the recovery of the north and east of Sri Lanka was in full swing, the government offered little in the way of help for the restoring of relationships.

However, this was necessary to maintain peace between people.

Therefore, ZOA focused on strengthening the mutual bond between communities and tried to improve the status of women.

21 April 2019 On Easter Sunday, Islamic suicide attackers blew themselves up in three churches and three hotels spread across the island. They killed over 250 people. In the aftermath of the attacks, Muslim refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan went through a difficult time. ZOA, in collaboration with other aid organisations, offered food, water, and sanitation and also supplied clothing and medicine.

People were given the opportunity to come to a safe place where education was available for them.

December 2012 Heavy rainfall caused flooding, especially in the east of the country. Tens of thousands of people lost their homes. ZOA provided emergency relief and built temporary shelters.

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PORTRAIT RATHI (43) - SEAMSTRESS

PHOTO BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

“When war broke out in our country, I had to leave everything behind. I lived in a refugee camp for two years. There weren’t enough toilets and many people lived in close quarters. In 2011, I returned to the ruins of my village where ZOA gave me a house and sewing machine.

I am glad that we can live in peace and that I can earn money by sewing clothes.”

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INTERVIEW RAGA ALPHONSUS

‘BEST SOLUTIONS COME FROM THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES’ Raga Alphonsus: man of the early days Raga Alphonsus, 64, was involved in ZOA’s work in Sri Lanka from the earliest days. For over 30 years, he has worked tirelessly to help “his people” despite circumstances that were often dangerous and unstable.

He feels thankful. “God has blessed us richly. We were able to accomplish an incredible amount.”

BY MONIQUE BOOM // PHOTOS GRZEGORZ LITYNSKI AND BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

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‘I knew from personal experience what it was like to flee’ “The war in Sri Lanka played an important role in my life. My father died in the ethnic riots in 1983 that led to a prolonged civil war,” says Raga. In the wake of this tragedy, Raga moved to Canada, but he did not stay there very long...

Why did you return to Sri Lanka?

“I got restless. I felt that God wanted me back in Sri Lanka to help the people in need.

I wanted to work on their behalf. I knew from personal experience what it was like to flee and to lose someone to violence.”

In 1995, Raga met two ZOA employees who had traveled to Sri Lanka to evaluate whether ZOA could help. At the time, Raga was working with Save the Children UK in northern Sri Lanka. “As a Christian, I felt a deep connection with ZOA’s values.

So I took up contact with the first country director, Jaap Boersma. That’s how I joined the organisation.”

PIONEERS

You started as ZOA’s programme manager in the district of Mannar. What did that involve?

“My job was to research not only what the needs were but also which solutions the people were proposing themselves. That is ZOA’s strength: understanding what people are capable of doing on their own, how they want to be helped, and what is the best way of providing the help via innovative, costeffective, ‘home grown’ solutions.”

ZOA often works in difficult situations “Indeed. It was not easy. We worked behind

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the front lines, in areas where bombs fell around us. Sometimes there were significant shortages of things like drinking water, medicine, basic foods, and babycare necessities. From the start, we offered psychosocial support because we saw how much emotional suffering the war had inflicted. We were pioneers in that area. Not many organisations were doing that back in the 1990s. Fortunately, there was plenty of space for establishing projects within the local context. The wars and outbreaks of violence never erupted unexpectedly. People understood the fragility of peace agreements. They usually focused on the short term, preferring a water well over a house that might be shot to pieces. That is why we provided temporary housing that people could take with them. Again, the best solutions came from the people themselves and ZOA provided the technical support and missing resources.”

How did ZOA tackle that after the tsunami of 2004?

After the tsunami, the island fell into chaos. We immediately set to work in the affected areas helping the ZOA team that was already there. We offered first aid and helped remove bodies. After that, we took a step back because many organisations with plenty of money suddenly entered the country. People received a lot of the same stuff that they didn’t actually need. We tried to encourage fishermen to go fishing again.

That was quite a challenge. Fishermen had not only lost their boats in the tidal wave but they were too scared to go out on the water

again. We bought boats and helped people overcome their fear of the water. That’s how we gave them new hope!”

RECOVERY

How was the transition from emergency relief to recovery?

“That transition was not complicated.

For us, it was always very important to work directly with local communities and organisations. We have always been futureoriented. We ask: what is important now with an eye to the next step? We prefer to invest in comprehensive emergency relief. We would ideally invest right away in education, infrastructure, shelter, setting up

but also ZOA’s paperwork. This helped us rebuild our work after the war. This earned ZOA Sri Lanka an impeccable track record of service and the trust of our donors. All of our colleagues were faithful. They were willing to sacrifice everything for their fellow human beings in need. I see God’s faithfulness. He protected us. None of our ZOA staff were killed. He gave us the strength and the ability to keep working for others.

ZOA stayed faithful. We were present from day one, and we stayed.”

‘We bought boats and helped fishermen overcome their fear’

or restarting businesses, and the facilitation of peace talks. In this way, we can lay the foundation for recovery.”

You have great admiration for the dedication of your ZOA colleagues. Can you give an example?

“A female colleague was getting ready to go to the hospital to give birth to her baby. In her bag, she packed not only baby clothes but also ZOA financial documents. After the baby was born, the hospital was in danger of being bombed. She succeeded not only in bringing her family to safety

‘She put baby clothes in her bag and... ZOA’s paperwork’

THANKFUL

How do you look back?

“We accomplished an incredible amount in the areas of emergency relief and recovery.

We always arrived on the scene quickly and went to regions that are hard to access.

Local organisations and communities will continue with this upward trend. I look back with gratitude. God has blessed up richly.”

And what are your plans now that ZOA is leaving Sri Lanka?

“I don’t believe it’s an accident that I was born here. It was providence. Thus, as long as I live, I will be ‘salt and light’ and do what is good. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, but it has its dark sides, like the religious and ethnic violence and the high risk of climate disasters. There is still more than enough to do to relieve the suffering. There is no chance I will get bored!” j

Major donors ZOA can only do its work thanks to the donations we receive from our faithful supporters and several major donors. Also on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka: sincerest thanks for your contributions – big or small.

European Union Civil Protec on and Humanitarian Aid

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ENTREPRENEURS DONATE MONEY AND EXPERTISE

Dutch farmer Bas de Jong, one of the ZOA Business Ambassadors, visits a local dairy farmer in Sri Lanka in 2014

More milk production with help from Dutch entrepreneurs Dutch entrepreneurs got to work as ZOA Business Ambassadors (ZBAs) to help with the recovery of Sri Lanka. With success. They made a direct difference in the lives of vulnerable farmers.

BY ANNELOT HEKMAN // PHOTO BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Try to imagine that you are 35 and expecting a baby, but you have no stable income.

You worry how you will manage when the little one arrives. Thankfully, we have a social safety net. But that safety net does not

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exist in Sri Lanka due to the prolonged civil war. That is what made Janaka Priyadharshana’s situation so hopeless. He was a day labourer and also looked after several cows in the neighbourhood. Like

many Sri Lankans, he has an understanding of livestock, but he had not earned anything because the cows produced little to no milk.

Then he heard about a ZOA project which helps dairy farmers to increase their milk production, work with better breeds of cows, and improve their access to the market.

Janaka bravely decided to sell all his cows and use the money to buy a purpose-bred dairy cow. He had faith in ZOA. That faith is not disappointed. He received training and now he owns three dairy cows that produce 10 to 15 litres of milk per day. This, coupled with growing crops on a small piece of farmland, allows him to earn enough income to support his young family. “ZOA’s support was critical in helping me improve my knowledge and skills in the area of dairy farming [...].This allowed me to build up a stable income and livelihood to support my family,” he says.

Wonderful project

The east of Sri Lanka, in particular, has traditionally been an area where much livestock farming takes place. However, the extended civil war (1983-2009) disrupted this system and production was almost completely shut down. Next to this, a great deal of knowledge and experience was lost.

The dairy sector is critical to the livelihood of many people in Sri Lanka. Therefore, ZOA - together with a group of Dutch entrepreneurs - went to work rebuilding it. The result was a wonderful project that focused on improving dairy farming in the districts of Batticaloa and Ampara. The project focused on improving the genetic potential of breeds, boosting production, and increasing the capacity of farmers’ organisations – all with the aim of becoming better aligned with the market. Various Dutch entrepreneurs were involved as “ZOA Business Ambassadors for Sri Lanka.” For six years, they worked to improve the lives of

vulnerable farmers. The project has now been completed and handed over to local organisations.

Motivated and professional

The project not only impacted the lives of dairy farmers like Janaka but also Dutch entrepreneurs and ZOA personnel on the ground. René Treur of Treur Kaas B.V. was involved as an entrepreneur from the inception of the project, which connected nicely with his own busines. This gave him more of a feel for the project and allowed him to contribute in a substantive way. Being a ZOA Business Ambassador (ZBA) meant much more than donating money. René says, “Several things struck me during the dairy farming project and have stayed with me. First, the professionalism and drive with which ZOA operates, both in the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. As ZBAs, we were well informed and involved in the progress of the project. During my trip to Sri Lanka, I was able to see the impact on people’s lives with my own eyes. I have great respect for the local population - how they live their lives and persevere in their work, despite difficult circumstances. As a result, with God’s blessing, this project can now be completed and handed over.”

‘This project spread like wildfire’ Thanks to this project, over 1,400 genetically enhanced calves have been born, 14 dairy cooperatives were formed, and 70 percent of the farmers have access to water and feed. The income of over half the dairy farmers involved has increased by no less than 27 percent. There is much reason for gratitude. Caleesious says, “Partly on behalf of the dairy farmers of Sri Lanka, I would like to thank the ZOA Business Ambassadors for their expertise and, of course, also for their financial contributions over these years.” j

Like wildfire

ZOA personnel in Sri Lanka also saw the added value of the experience and expertise of the Dutch entrepreneurs. “It was a good move to involve Dutch entrepreneurs in this project and draw on their experience in the field of entrepreneurship. Their knowledge of dairy farming in the Netherlands and its application to the situation in Sri Lanka was very interesting and of added value.

This project spread like wildfire; more and more farmers are adopting this way of livestock farming to boost their production and income,” says country director Antony Caleesious.

Get involved!

Are you interested in getting involved in ZOA's work or becoming a ZOA Business Ambassador? Take a look at www.zoa.nl/ondernemers or scan the QR code.

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PORTRAIT THIRULOGACHONDRAN (13) - STUDENT

PHOTO BYMARIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

“I was five when our family moved from the refugee camp back to our village. I was pretty scared. We had absolutely nothing. We were taught by a teacher in a temporary hut. We had to sit on the ground. The hut was always packed full of children. Later, we got a school building from ZOA. Now I dare to dream again. I would like to become a nurse.”

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ZOA M AG A Z I N E

HANDOVER

... WHAT COMES NEXT? “It seems so simple: ZOA starts helping in situations where people are in need and the more our projects are focused on development, the closer we are to departure. Unfortunately, in practice, it is not that simple,” says Evert Jan Pierik, programme officer at ZOA. Countries regularly suffer setbacks, disasters, or outbreaks of violence during the recovery phase. This was also the case in Sri Lanka.

Differing periods of need

ZOA started providing emergency relief in Sri Lanka at a time when many people's lives were devastated by the civil war. In 2004, a devastating tsunami hit the island and many Sri Lankans lost everything (again). Also then, ZOA was there to provide people with the basic necessities of life.

The protracted violence finally came to an end in 2009. In the years that followed, ZOA helped tens of thousands of people rebuild their lives. Sri Lanka had to deal with differing periods of need before work on sustainable recovery could begin. Today,

ZOA is there from emergency relief to recovery. When the recovery phase commences, the question arises: “What comes next?” Leaving a country is never easy, especially not after 25 years. However, this becomes easier when you know projects have been successfully completed and you can leave some projects in good hands, like Woord en Daad and local partners like OPEnE.

BY MARIANNE VAN ELST-SIJTSMA AND HENRIEKE BUIT

ZOA’s projects in Sri Lanka are increasingly focused on development and our departure is within sight.

to develop a value chain that is sustainable and allows fishermen to eventually work independently.

Evert Jan says: “A good handover is incredibly important. ZOA does not want to just walk away and leave a void. We take the time to say goodbye, but at some point you do have to leave.”

“ZOA has worked for years on emergency relief and recovery. Woord en Daad will take the next step in economic development and focus on independent, sustainable fisheries,” says Antonie Treuren, programme leader for Inclusive Agribusiness at Woord en Daad. In this final phase, Word en Daad, together with the partners and fishermen in Sri Lanka, is working on the independence

To ensure we do not leave the people of Sri Lanka without support, ZOA spent the last several years working with local organisations and Woord en Daad. The people of Sri Lanka can turn to them for further support.

ZOA may be leaving, but the development of Sri Lanka continues.

Fisheries project

In the search for organisations, Woord en Daad entered the scene thanks to their expertise in sustainable economic development. This organisation is going to support projects including our fisheries project. Over the next several years, Woord en Daad plans

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→

of the fishermen. This also contributes to justice and equal opportunities.

Antonie says, “We see how a project like this can change the lives of hundreds of people. Not only does their income increase, but their resilience to unforeseen circumstances grows. The status of women and the future of young people also have a place within the project. In this way, we can bring about change, both now and in the future.”

CHILDREN GETTING A PLAYFUL ENGLISH LESSON

Educational projects in Sri Lanka

For many years, ZOA has focused on improving the quality of education in Sri Lanka. After the war ended in 2009, research showed there was a great shortage of qualified teachers, especially in the subjects of English and mathematics. Because education is an important part of the recovery of a country, ZOA decided to start improving the quality of education at a number of primary schools.

ZOA and OPEnE

Before long, ZOA found a local partner that showed interest in starting to work together on these educational projects: OPEnE. “There was a shared vision for working on the development of education. We came

together for this for years,” says OPEnE’s director Suthagar Arulpragasam.

By now, OPEnE has taken over the educational projects in order to continue them in the years ahead. The focus of the educational projects is on providing high-quality English instruction, promoting independent learning, and improving IT skills.

“Education is a critical element of a country’s development, but it often takes several years to become truly sustainable. ZOA has laid the foundation and we can continue to build on it. We are very grateful for this.”

Suthagar has a clear vision for the future of the projects. “In the coming years, we want to offer training courses at 49 schools and support teachers in order to structurally improve the quality of education. In this manner, we hope the good work done by ZOA can be continued by OPEnE, which will help the country with sustainable development,” he says.

And now onward!

ZOA spent 25 years working in a beautiful country that has suffered varying episodes of destruction, war, and need. In recent years, many projects were successfully completed, and many people were helped to stand on their own two feet again. ZOA is pleased that various projects have been taken over by local partners to continue the work where necessary.

It is now really time to go.

We are pleased that ZOA was able to help from relief to recovery.

We were there.

A fisherman enjoys his lunchbreak

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in the spotlight

‘It all started with this trip...’

Gerald Pullen, 23, from Meppel, the Netherlands, traveled through Sri Lanka in April 2013 with a group of young people from Greijdanus College in Zwolle. The trip was part of Be Honest, an awareness programme organised by ZOA and Woord en Daad.

How does Gerald look back on that trip?

What stayed with you the most?

“For a game of football, I traded shirts with one of the guys from the opposing team. I have a scar on my stomach, and he saw that.

The boy asked if that was also the result of a war. He also had a scar on his stomach, but that was because of the war.”

Which project made an impression on you?

“Catch up class. ZOA helped children who had fallen behind in their education due to the civil war. They were still young children. They really liked that we came to visit.”

What was it like to start working as an ambassador in the Netherlands?

“Inspiring young people to live a more honest life was a fun challenge. We gave presentations at schools and churches. Do you buy honest clothing? Do you choose fair trade? Are you grateful to live in a safe country?”

How did the trip impact you personally?

“For me, the trip to Sri Lanka was the beginning of many more trips and development projects. I think it is great to serve other people who have ended up in a situation that they never asked for. That all started with this trip.”

‘I have a scar on my stomach and he saw it’

Colofon This ZOA magazine is a special edition due to the completion of ZOA’s projects in Sri Lanka. To mark the occasion, this magazine will appear both in Dutch and in English, both digital available and in limited print edition. Interested in ordering additional copies? Contact communicatievragen@ zoa.ngo Address Sleutelbloemstraat 45 Postbus 4130 7322 AJ Apeldoorn The Netherlands ++011 31 55 36 63 339 www.zoa.nl info@zoa.ngo NL46 INGB 0000 0005 50 NL02 RABO 0387 5120 12 ISSN: 1871-0727 KvK: 41009723 Editorial team René Vlug (editor-in-chief) Monique Boom KlaasJan Baas (final editing) Lieuwe de Jong (photography editor) Henrieke Buit Edwin Visser Annelot Hekman Evert-Jan Pierik Marianne van Elst-Sijtsma Design Deelstra en de Jong, www.deelstraendejong.nl Photography Marianne van Elst-Sijtsma Lieuwe de Jong Folkert Rinkema Grzegorz Litynski © ZOA. ZOA gives permission for the reprinting or redistribution of articles on the condition that the source is acknowledged.

Please send us a copy.

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Thank you for being there for Sri Lanka. Thank you all!