Testimonials

Testimonial by: Clare Whitworth | 31 Jul 2007 - 20:21

I was initially unaware of Sarah’s charity when I organised to partake in a community volunteer project in Sri Lanka for 3 weeks this summer. However, on finding out about her work, I got in contact with Sarah before I left and she kindly suggested that I perhaps meet up with her while in Sri Lanka as our dates of visit overlapped. I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend with her, Jack, Maire, Roger and Jean in Hikkaduwa, where I got a real taste for the sort of charity work Sarah undertakes.

The work she was doing in helping those who were indisputably desperate tsunami victims made me question the authenticity of the organisation I was travelling with. I was with a commercial organisation which in comparison appeared exploitative and not helping true tsunami victims. Consequently, having gained an insight into Sarah’s charity, me and 7 fellow volunteers who were disillusioned with our project were relocated further North to embark on the worthwhile and fantastic opportunity of building a girls’ orphanage.

What this comparison really highlighted to me was the genuineness of Sarah’s work in and around Hikkaduwa, and the fundamental role she provides in helping the local Sri Lankan community. She is helping better those who are poverty-stricken with scarce resources. It was a difficult sight to witness, and it certainly puts life into perspective when you meet people who have next to nothing and have lost loved ones and their homes in the tsunami. I was particularly moved and saddened by the story of the ‘Railway lady’ and her 3 small children who had lost their father. Sarah took me to see where there lived, which was simply a dark, claustrophobic, one-roomed shack so close to the railway line that the whole shack shook when a train passed. Sarah has managed to raise enough funds to relocate this destitute yet lovely little family and build a new house for them.

This form of work that Sarah undertakes is truly inspiring, and spending just a weekend with her and the others was simply not long enough! Roger and Jean were fantastic in providing medical care for the local villages, with all of the community loving Jean’s ‘magic’ cream and vitamins!

I would love to go back to Sri Lanka again; the people are lovely and so appreciative of the help provided, and their determination in light of their tragic situation is remarkable. If I do get the chance to visit again I would definitely want to go with Bridge 2 Sri Lanka. I am certainly entering the 2 week competition and I can’t stress enough how much I would encourage anybody else to do the same. I wish to thank Sarah again for letting me gain an insight into her work and also to Jack, Maire, Roger and Jean for making my weekend with them so enjoyable. They were great company and my short stay with them all was certainly my most rewarding time in Sri Lanka.