World Accord sends Canadian youth to Sri Lanka....twice! Part 1
The Spirit of Hope: Sara Maki’s Tsunami Journey
Part 1:
The Tsunami
In the early morning of Sunday December 26th, 2004, most of us probably remember waking up and going about the routine of a weekend winter holiday: for some that may involve Christmas and its festivities, for others that may involve attending another religious service and for others that may mean a much deserved extended sleep in. It was a day that started out un-extraordinary, but became a day that would change the world forever. When the news of the tsunami in South East Asia filtered onto television screens, newspapers and radio in Canada that fateful day, it seemed incredible and beyond a scale that we could fathom. Headlines reported “225,000 people dead”, “largest earthquake recorded in modern history”, and “waves 40 to 50 feet high”.
In response to the news, there was overwhelming support from the international community in the form of humanitarian financial assistance, voluntary services and emergency resources. At the time, I was working at a local not for profit organization in Waterloo, and helped to coordinate our association’s response. I was really proud to learn about Canada’s amazing response for tsunami relief and rehabilitation. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to go to Southeast Asia and work on the front lines of the tsunami recovery effort to help people who were suffering and who needed help getting their lives back. And so I went…
How I got there…
World Accord is a not-for-profit, non-governmental international development organization that connects Canadians with people of the developing world. I had traveled to Guatemala on a previous volunteer experience with World Accord and really connected with the values of the organization: development was done at the local level, it was a participatory and a shared learning experience, and, rather than a ‘donor and recipient’ relationship, seen as a partnership.
When I contacted World Accord and explained that I wished to volunteer in Sri Lanka and wondered if I could contribute through World Accord, Terry Fielder was very receptive. World Accord had a history with a non-governmental agency called South Asia Partnership in Sri Lanka (SAPSRI). Terry reconnected with the Executive Director, Dr. Padma Ratnayake and coordinated my placement.
My life was dramatically changing: I was off to exactly the other side of world to volunteer in Sri Lanka post tsunami rehabilitation.
The Tsunami
In the early morning of Sunday December 26th, 2004, most of us probably remember waking up and going about the routine of a weekend winter holiday: for some that may involve Christmas and its festivities, for others that may involve attending another religious service and for others that may mean a much deserved extended sleep in. It was a day that started out un-extraordinary, but became a day that would change the world forever. When the news of the tsunami in South East Asia filtered onto television screens, newspapers and radio in Canada that fateful day, it seemed incredible and beyond a scale that we could fathom. Headlines reported “225,000 people dead”, “largest earthquake recorded in modern history”, and “waves 40 to 50 feet high”.
In response to the news, there was overwhelming support from the international community in the form of humanitarian financial assistance, voluntary services and emergency resources. At the time, I was working at a local not for profit organization in Waterloo, and helped to coordinate our association’s response. I was really proud to learn about Canada’s amazing response for tsunami relief and rehabilitation. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to go to Southeast Asia and work on the front lines of the tsunami recovery effort to help people who were suffering and who needed help getting their lives back. And so I went…
How I got there…
World Accord is a not-for-profit, non-governmental international development organization that connects Canadians with people of the developing world. I had traveled to Guatemala on a previous volunteer experience with World Accord and really connected with the values of the organization: development was done at the local level, it was a participatory and a shared learning experience, and, rather than a ‘donor and recipient’ relationship, seen as a partnership.
When I contacted World Accord and explained that I wished to volunteer in Sri Lanka and wondered if I could contribute through World Accord, Terry Fielder was very receptive. World Accord had a history with a non-governmental agency called South Asia Partnership in Sri Lanka (SAPSRI). Terry reconnected with the Executive Director, Dr. Padma Ratnayake and coordinated my placement.
My life was dramatically changing: I was off to exactly the other side of world to volunteer in Sri Lanka post tsunami rehabilitation.
Sara Maki
World Accord
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