COLOMBO, 31 January 2005 — “I cannot build houses here nor can I feed these survivors, but all I can do is to make these little ones smile with these toys, “a US teacher who had come to help the tsunami victims told Arab News.
Annette McManus from Monterey, California, a primary school teacher attached to Modern Knowledge School in Bahrain, was one of those good hearted souls who came to console the traumatized children who were affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka. “When I heard about the calamity that befell the friendly people of this beautiful island, I simply rushed there to stretch my helping hands to those afflicted with this tragedy,” Annette who had visited the island earlier told Arab News. The country lost 36,800 people to the devastating waves, more than 12,000 were children, many of them babies. Of the children who survived, 938 have been registered as orphans.
Annette made use of the Eid holidays to meet the children at the refugee camps in the Southern part of Sri Lanka. “As a teacher of young children I have made a concentrated effort to instill the idea that being kind and compassionate should be foremost in their “learning”. The theme of my classroom is that “One-by-One”, each of us shall make a difference, even in the smallest way,” she said.
“I went to Sri Lanka with toys donated by my students to share with the children of the tsunami. We could only “touch” a few children...but...One-by-One...we do our best,” she added .
“They will understand that they are really “giraffes” who stick their necks out to help others...and perhaps this feeling will carry with them to adulthood..and in another small way the world will be a kinder place to live in ,” she stressed .
“It is one month after the tsunami attack but still the children have not fully recovered from the shock and strain of the disaster ,” the school teacher said, pointing out that these small gifts and kind words made them smile at this hour of their sorrows.
“I sang with them to make them happy. When I finished my stock of toys, I gave them candy,” Annette recalled. “They reciprocated with words of thanks ,” she said, admitting that sincere appreciation from the little ones was worth a million to her.
Commenting on the typical Sri Lankan hospitality, Annette said she stayed with a family in a village near Ambalangoda, some 50 kms from the capital of Colombo . “They gave me meals , made me sleep in their tiny home and took me to places where I could see the tsunami effected children,” she said, pointing out that all those services were offered free-of-charge.
Annette saw the Paradise Beach Hotel in Mirrissa, 15kms from Galle, where she stayed during her last visit, was in ruins. “It was a terrible sight , the people who served me were either dead or missing,” she said.
“Natural calamities of this nature can be a temporary setback but Sri Lanka with her hospitable people will forge ahead in the years to come,” Annette hoped.
