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Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 9/26/07 |
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In
the News Archive - Year:
March 5, 2005 UWGB student organizes tsunami aid Sri Lanka native raising funds for fishermen By Cynthia Hodnett
Instead, the 22-year-old junior at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay spent most of her vacation in the country helping victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 31,000 there and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
An audience of about two dozen people listened as Corea-Dharmaratne spoke Thursday at UW-Green Bay about her country and what she experienced during the aftermath of the tsunami.
Corea-Dharmaratne also talked about the fund-raiser she is organizing, Tsunami Relief Effort — Students United. Proceeds will go to help the fishing industry in Moratuwa, an area along the coast of Sri Lanka.
She hopes to raise enough money by March 11 to help purchase boats and fishing nets for fishermen whose businesses were destroyed by the tsunami.
When news about the tsunami poured in, Corea-Dharmaratne began receiving e-mails from friends at the university, asking if she and her family were OK and what they could do to help.
"Most of the aid has been given to the more devastated areas down south (in Sri Lanka)," she said. "People have ignored them. I've asked my family to identify people who are really in need. The money, every dollar, will go to the people themselves."
Tracey Hoffmann, a 19-year-old sophomore, is one of several students helping Corea-Dharmaratne organize the fund-raiser.
"The shock factor of seeing this kind of stuff makes you realize there's a need for us to help," Hoffmann said. "A lot of people (at UWGB) have been donating. We're college students so we don't have much, but I think people want to help as much as they can."
Fishing is a major industry in Moratuwa, and fish are a food staple in Sri Lanka, Corea-Dharmaratne said. The fishing industry is slowly picking up after people stopped eating fish, because they feared the food was contaminated, she said. But most fishermen are out of work because their equipment was destroyed by the storm.
Unemployment is only one way the country has been affected by the disaster.
Corea-Dharmaratne saw the physical and emotional wreckage during her visit.
Her family lives in Colombo, which didn't sustain as much damage as other areas. Although their lives were spared, she and her relatives visited areas to help those who weren't as lucky.
To put a human face on the tragedy, Corea-Dharmaratne shared video filmed by her relatives depicting the devastation left by the tsunami. Hundreds of people can be seen running for their lives, trying to escape the massive waves — some as high as 30 feet tall — that spilled into villages. Most of the businesses and homes were by the ocean and nearly all of them were wiped out. Images of debris, uprooted trees, mangled homes and vehicles and dead bodies were scattered throughout the video.
"People risked their lives to save the lives of other people, especially children," she said. "Children were the most affected. Of those who died, over a third were children. They didn't stand a chance. Their parents had to choose between one child or the other, because they couldn't hold on to both children."
Corea-Dharmaratne said she thought about taking a semester off from school to help out in the relief efforts, but her parents encouraged her to finish out the academic year.
The business and finance major said the experience in Sri Lanka has motivated her to expand her volunteering efforts. She encourages other students to do the same.
"I hope you are able to understand how tragic this was and how many people were affected," she said. "I ask you to think of the many things we take for granted, like when we wake up with a roof above our heads. We don't have to worry about food and clean water. We have people around us that we love. These people lost so much. Their lives will never be the same."
Kimberly Bartlein, a 21-year-old junior who attended the event and made a donation, said she was moved by Corea-Dharmaratne's message.
"It made it more real," Bartlein said. "When you watched it on the news, it doesn't feel real to you. Once you saw it in the pictures, you saw what she must have seen."
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