Funday Times

The children of Panama- Let us help
Panama is a remote village situated 17 km from Pottuvil in Ampara District. The village is the eastern entrance for Kumana sanctuary. The village has about 1600 families, primarily of Sinhala Buddhists. There is a temple, a government hospital and a school with a student population about 1200. Paddy farming, fishing and minor cultivation had been the main activities of the community.

Panama as a village was not seriously affected by the tsunami in terms of the lives, but some physical damage to houses, about 20 house holds. The road to Panama goes through the Arugam Bay area and was linked by the bridge at Arugam Bay. The recent Tsunami destroyed the bridge at Arugam Bay together with the Arugam Bay surfing area in Ulla and this had completely isolated the village from the rest of the community and the tsunami related assistance.

The Sri Lanka Navy, Special Task Force and Canadian DART team operated a boat service at Arugam Bay to cross the sea and the one and only bus is the means of common transport other than the tractors. Sri Lanka Air force does a tremendous task by airlifting dry rations to Panama from Ampara.

However the Staff at Panama school managed to open the school for the New Year. It was mentioned by the prelate in Panama temple that the homes of the 22 students have been affected. Several donors and local assistance groups help the village to come to normalcy. A UK donor group has organized a medical camp for all the village folk. The Panama Hospital has been supplied with water purification equipment with coordination by SL Army and ITT Industries, USA. A donor group organized by the RMA in Sri Lanka has agreed to provide items for the affected school children of Panama.

These villagers and the children have not had a great life even before the tsunami disaster. They had floods few months back and then came tsunami and again floods. Fishermen have lost their small boats. The merchants who came for village produce do not come here any more. The bullock cart people who sold firewood cannot continue without people to buy. On top of that Wiloya, which crosses the road to Panama from Pottuvil, is frequently flooding.

The development programmes have often overlooked this corner of the eastern province It is the same now as there are several locations where more physical damage has occurred. So the donor assistance flows in that direction. But the Panama village is also a victim of tsunami. This is an invitation for all to help the children of Panama.

By Sujeewa Ratnakumara
Industrial Services Bureau,Kurunegala

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