3 days left in Canada…here’s the latest: my grandfather (who’s 75!) and his assistant (who’s like my brother) have offered to come along with me to Sri Lanka for 2 months. I will be there until July-August. We’ll be getting on a plane on the 27th (my grandfather’s birthday! 
). Special thanks my Comp. Sci. crew who have provided donations for the victims through me. They told me to spend the $ as I see fit (even if it was towards my plane ticket), but of course I will be spending it on the people out there. They’ll have pics to show how their donation is being put to good use! A thank you to Natalia as well who has been nice enough to pick up some stuff from the MEC for me (i.e. water purifiers, etc.). Thanks a lot guys! I’m going to be packing mostly relief supplies, as I should be able to get clothes there if I need them.
Planned Travel Path in Sri Lanka
We will be landing in Colombo (the capital city) on Mon. the 31st. I’ve been told I need to stay there for at least 3-5 days in order to get accustomed to the climate. Yes, I drew those ghetto path squares myself. We’ll be setting up two “home bases”: one in Colombo and one in Vavuniya. We will head over to Galle, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Mullaittivu to survey the damage. A lot of aid has already been sent to Galle as it is the closest affected city to the capital. We have got FIRST HAND reports that despite the massive influx of aid funds, it’s taking a long time to get help to farther areas like Mullaittivu. This is where I’m trying to help. My grandfather has suggested we go and see exactly what is going on, then we’ll come up with an action plan.
Finally, for those who only watch CNN or only read the papers where the large aid people get to say: “There’s more than enough aid…” here’s a direct quote from an email I’ve received from VSL (who are actually on the ground there):
“If you have been talking with some of the larger International NGOs, and the Multilaterals and Bilateral organizations, you would have no doubt heard that there is no need for workers and that we are already overloaded with too many people.
Let me assure you emphatically this is not the case.
…There is large inability for these [small local] organizations to make their demands known at the national level. It was only by getting out there in the field we were able to identify these needs. “
I’ve told them if they need any help to contact me. Once again, good thing I make my own decisions…