In the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster on 26th December, 2005, the immediate concern of the voluntary Organizations and individuals and foreign Organization who visited the island to help the affected persons, was to quickly identify the immediate needs of the displaced persons in affected areas and the affected persons wanted to convey their immediate needs to Volunteers and Voluntary Organizations who were willing to help them.

 In response to a large number of inquiries that we received from individuals and Organization, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation set up a joint Co-ordination Operation named “ANCL –SLBC Voluntary Service Operation”(ASVSP).The ASVSP could be accessed through telephone 242942 and Fax -2429600 at ANCL  and Telephone 5375847 and Fax-2698576 at  SLBC  and also through E-mail – “ help@lakehouse.slt.net.”.    

On the instruction and the guidance of the Chairman and the Board of Directors of the ANCL, the task of carrying out the Operation was entrusted with the Manager Web Development Department D.N.Wijesinghe who was appointed the Chief Coordinating Officer of the ASVSP while the media coordination was with the senior media personnel C.Dodawatte.
 
 

On that Fateful Day.........

By Dharmananda Wijesinghe

    We started our rescue operation on that fateful day when the entire villages were decimated by the death waves. The tremor of the Tsunami was not only felt by the coastal areas of the country which had been virtually washed off by the willed waves, but also the interior of the country. It was the same calmed and tranquil sea that once sustained the livelihood of thousands of folks that turned devilish on that fateful day. 

Good-hearted sympathetic fellow citizens flocked in their thousands to devastated beach front to help the affected citizens in an unprecedented spirit of unity and brotherhood.

We came forward to help them as pathfinders to those civic conscious citizens who volunteered to help their fellow citizens in the hour of need and in the wake of national calamity.

 Though we are tired now after a month of hectic work, in retrospect, we could breathe a sigh of relief concerning the load of work that had been done in coordinating the relief effort.

 As premier media Institutions, the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation joined hands to coordinate and direct the large number of volunteers and voluntary groups as our contribution to the massive national relief effort launched by the Government in this hour of national disaster.

The prime task of the ANCL-SLBC Voluntary Operation was to coordinate and direct Volunteers and voluntary groups to the affected areas gathering information through  Provincial Secretaries, Government Officials and Officer-in-Charge of Navy Camps in those regions. 

The island wide wave of humanitarian relief effort by Community organizations, Voluntary Organization, Institution and individuals surmount the devastating Tsunami which precede it

In this hour of national tragedy, we need well-planned management strategy to direct the large number of civic conscious individuals to affected regions.  

 The help offered were varied in categories.

  1. Help in term of labor in clearing up operations.

  2. Contribution in clearing up operation in terms of machinery (Bacos and water pumps to clear wells ) .
    There were groups of volunteers from far way provinces like Ibbagamuwa who were willing to transport the machinery on their own and to engage in clearing up operations in Hikkaduwa ) .

  3. Contribution in Medical Aid. (Doctors, nurses and attendants)

  4. Skilled labor for construction of buildings. (Masons, carpenters, plumbers, engineers and architects). 

  5. Counseling for affected children and adults.

  6. Legal Aid ( offer help in obtaining originals for the lost important documents such as Identity Cards, birth   certificates, etc., ) 

 To ensure a smooth coordination, creation of a Data Base was a primary requirement and therefore a Data Base was created by feeding the relevant information into the Computer.

A detailed description of the affected areas in Western, Southern, North and East and destroyed buildings , missing persons , cites of the Tsunami Relief Camps and medical clinics is incorporated into the Data Base.

The ANCL-SLBC Voluntary Service Operation was also provided a SOS service to find missing persons by publishing the detailed of the missing persons in newspapers and broadcasting them simultaneously over the SLBC.  

We are proud to join hands with the SLBC to contribute, even in mines cal terms, to the massive relief effort launched by the Government.

We are also willing to come forward for the rebuilding of the country from the pieces of destruction.

Join us !
It is our turn ! our effort !
and it is our mission !