One thing I have learnt about doing humanitarian aid work in a developing country is thatsometimes things do not go as planned. When a problem does arise, change and resolutionoften run on ‘Sri Lankan time’, which is to say, occurs in a rather slow and relaxed manner.Often the best way to resolve matters is to visit in person the place in which the issue is sitedas face to face conversations usually have a much greater impact in sorting problems thanemail or telephone conversations. This proved to be exactly the case this week in Panbihinna.

A couple of weeks ago, during my first visit to the pre-school at Panbihinna, I noticed thatsome furniture was being stored in the pre-school which restricted the space available for thechildren to play. In addition, the electricity supply Prof. Joy had paid for had only been partiallyinstalled, the wiring completed but the mains electricity supply not yet connected. Concernedabout these issues I contacted the head of the International Division of Sarvodaya in Colombo,one of our partner organisations which oversees Project Sri Lanka’s (PSLs) programmes inour villages, to arrange a meeting. The journey to Colombo is a long one, taking about 4 hourseach way. When I arrived at Sarvodaya HQ on Tuesday, Bandula immediately agreed actionneeded to be taken to resolve the issues in Panbihinna. A few phone calls later, a meetingwas organised in Panbihinna with representatives from Sarvodaya HQ, the Sarvodaya districtand regional coordinators, an academic from Sabaragamuwa University close to Panbihinnawho assists with managing our ‘Hill Country’ community buildings, a number of relevantmembers of the Panbihinna community and of course myself. I was really pleased with thisresult, except for the necessity of my travelling back to my base in Matara that day only toreturn to Colombo the day after and then the onward 5 hour journey to the Hill Country toattend the meeting!

I arrived at the meeting more than a little bleary-eyed, but was pleased to see that all ofthose invited were attending. As the meeting commenced the issue of the electricity wasquickly resolved. The original land deeds had been misplaced, but had been found and all ofthe required documentation had been completed and submitted to the electricity board thatmorning. The problem of the furniture stored in the pre-school proved to be long and complex.It belonged to one of the community societies that use the building and all of the solutionspresented were unacceptable to one person or another. After 2 hours of discussion, I wasbeginning to feel frustrated and slightly irritable, especially as I still had the long 6 hour busjourney back to Matara to make. In the end, small compromises were made by all parties tofind an acceptable short-term solution.

The meeting moved on to installing a water supply to the building, though at a cost of 15,000rs(£75) I did not expect a solution. When discussing the issue of payment, representatives fromthe different societies argued that they did not need a water supply so should not have to pay.

It was really upset to hear such comments and stood up to make a speech, translated to thevillagers by Bandula. I spoke about the PSL providing the building to be a focal point for thecommunity, for all to use and enjoy. A community is supposed to be about people workingtogether and supporting each other and if particular societies could not do something for theircommunity and for the children of their village then this was a very sad thing. I did not expectthe impact these words would have. A moment later, the pre-school teacher stood and offeredto buy a water tank out of her own money. Soon after, an elderly gentleman pledged to pay forhalf of the piping. Others soon offered to pay the other half and also the technical cost of theinstallation and a promise was made that the water supply would be completed by September1st. The Sarvodaya Officers we impressed with the shows of generosity made and after somediscussion, said they wished to make a contribution too, pledging some classroom tables andchairs for the pre-school.

These unexpected generosity and show of unity and support from the villagers for thePanbihinna community building was deeply moving. I felt that I wanted to do something toshow my gratitude in return and promised that providing the electricity and water supply werecompleted as promised by the villagers, I would personally raise the money for an outdoorchildren’s swing by the end of the year. This pledge was met with a round of applause and itwas clear that my gesture was greatly appreciated by the villagers. The only problem I said,was that there is only a partial fence separating the outdoor area from the main road and if thechildren were playing outdoors I would be worried about them running onto the road. Couldwe agree between us, a way to extend the fence so that the children could play in safety? Iasked if the villagers would be willing to provide the fencing materials and tools if I were willingto do the manual work myself during my next visit to the are in two weeks? This requestwas quickly agreed and the mothers of the children offered to come and help with the fenceconstruction too. It was another beautiful moment and to me, epitomises what the partnershipbetween PSL and our adopted communities is about.

As I was leaving the meeting to make the long journey back to Matara, I was exceedinglypleased with the days outcomes. However, there was one final surprise to come, the icingon the cake so to speak. The teacher, who had left the meeting a little earlier, pulled up inan over-sized tuktuk and proudly unloaded the promised water tank. That she had gone tothe shop and purchased it so quickly was unbelievable and really showed the depth of hercommitment to fulfilling her promise. Before leaving, I had just enough time to pose for aphotograph with the villagers and village children beside the newly donated water tank.

The following few days were tough after so many long bus journeys in such a short space oftime. However, whenever I felt weary and lacking energy, I reminded myself of the amazingdisplays of generosity and overwhelming commitment to resolve the issues at Panbihinna thathave blossomed in part from my time spent on the road.