Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), is an island country located near the equator just south of India. The country has endured a bitter civil war between the Sinhalese controlled government and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE - Liberation Tamil Tiger Elite) which began in 1983 and finally ended in May 2009. During this time, the people of Sri Lanka has suffered greatly and economic progress in this country has been stifled. The Tamil Tigers forced thousands of families out of their homes and committed terrible atrocities against the people, forcing the survivors to flee for their lives to other areas where they would live in severe poverty, often in refugee camps where many of them still reside in 2012. The civil war was due to ethnic differences between the Sinhalas in control of the country and the oppressed Tamils, although most of the Tamils were victimized by the war and not active participants.
Religious make up of Sri Lanka: Buddhist 69% Hindu 15% Islam 8% Christian 8%
On December 26, 2004, tsunamis swept across the Indian ocean, spawned by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, causing massive damage to Sri Lanka and the loss of approximately 31,000 lives. The hardest hit area in Sri Lanka was on the east coast in the Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomolee districts. The Ampara District (mostly in the Kalmunai area) lost about 10,400 lives (1/3 of Ampara's population), resulting in more than 3,000 new widows. Help for the people in eastern Sri Lanka was slow and the recovery effort was very minimal for this predominately Tamil-populated area. Most of the funds provided to the country never made it to the people in the eastern areas where the effects were the most horrific. There are still thousands of civil war and tsunami survivors living in tin huts and tents in refugee camps in 2012.
Missions of Hope
Fred Breedlove's Missions of Hope in Sri Lanka began in March 2005, helping tsunami survivors in Kalmunai primarily through "back-to-work" projects. The mission in March 2005 was followed by another in June 2005, both of which were based in Kalmunai where Fred lived and lived and worked as a volunteer with Ampara Economic Recovery Organization (AERO), a small Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in a Muslim community. Subsequent Missions of Hope took place in April 2007 when Fred opened a Sewing Center (partnering with World Impact Network) for tsunami widows in the Kalmunai YMCA and also worked with the Ampara YMCA in the jungle village of Mangalagama by building toilets, drinking water wells, and other humanitarian projects. In February 2011, Fred returned to Ampara to help the YMCA assist flood victims affected by a severe monsoon season, and to provide First Aid/CPR training for approximately 300 people. Three of these four Missions of Hope took place during the civil war on the east coast of Sri Lanka where much of the fighting took place. The mission in 2011 was the first one when the war was not still active, but the heavy military presence and road blocks still remain. Many areas in the east are still plagued by land mines left by the Tamil Tigers, and the heavily armed government troops and Special Task Force Police (STF) can be seen everywhere.
Much of the work on these missions would not have been accomplished without the support of friends, relatives, churches, and others. My thanks and gratitude goes out to my church (Mountain View Community Church in Snohomish, WA) and to World Impact Network (non-profit organization based in Bellevue, WA).
Places of interest in Sri Lanka
Colombo - Sri Lanka's capitol city & starting point for journey across the country.
Kandy - Sri Lanka's "hill capitol" located about 71 miles east of Colombo in the center of the coutry.
Ampara - About 217 miles east of Colombo, this town in the Ampara District is located in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and was severely damaged, with great loss of life, by the 2004 tsunami.
Kalmunai - this small coastal town was the hardest hit area within the Ampara District when the Tsunami struck SE Asia on December 26, 2004, killing more people (over 10,400) than in any other area in Sri Lanka. Since this was the hardest hit area of the country, this is where God led me to serve.
Batticaloa - coastal area just north of Kalmunai...one of the war zones during the civil war.
Trincomalee - coastal area just north of Batticaloa...another war zone where heavy fighting took place.